Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Paul Muldoon's poem "Aisling" is a complex and layered work that intertwines mythological allusions, personal encounters, and political commentary, all while playing with the traditional Irish poetic form of the *aisling*. In an *aisling*, a vision or dream often features a female figure who personifies the Irish nation, but Muldoon subverts this tradition, blending it with modern references and a tone that oscillates between the surreal and the mundane.

The poem opens with the speaker recounting a late-night journey home, an ordinary setting that quickly turns extraordinary as he "staggered / into a snowdrift." This sudden shift from a summer night to a snowdrift immediately introduces a dreamlike quality, a sense that the boundaries between reality and imagination are porous in this narrative. The snowdrift, an unexpected element in summer, sets the stage for the surreal encounter that follows.

The female figure the speaker encounters is described through a series of mythological and symbolic comparisons: "Her eyes spoke of a sloe-year, / her mouth a year of haws." These references to the natural world—sloes and haws—are fruits that ripen in autumn, suggesting a connection to cycles of growth and decay, fertility and barrenness. The mention of different goddesses—Aurora, Flora, Artemidora, Venus—conjures images of beauty, fertility, and femininity, but the inclusion of "Anorexia" disrupts this romantic or classical imagery, introducing a modern, troubling reference to a contemporary issue. The "lemon stain on my flannel sheet" adds a personal, almost mundane detail that grounds the poem in a tangible reality, while also symbolizing something tainted or spoiled.

The phrase "It’s all much of a muchness" suggests a kind of resignation or acceptance of the blending and blurring of these diverse images and references. It indicates that the distinctions between these goddesses, or between the real and the imagined, have little significance in the speaker's experience—they all contribute to a larger, indistinct impression.

The poem then shifts dramatically to a stark political reality with the reference to "Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital" and a "kidney machine" supporting a "hunger-striker." This is a clear allusion to the Troubles in Northern Ireland, specifically the hunger strikes that were a significant part of the conflict. The hunger-striker, who has "called off his fast," is now sustained by a "saline drip into his bag of brine," a phrase that starkly contrasts with the earlier mythological references, grounding the poem in the harsh and brutal reality of political struggle and human suffering.

The final lines, "A lick and a promise. Cuckoo spittle. / I hand my sample to Doctor Maw. / She gives me back a confident ‘All Clear’," return to the personal and the medical. The phrase "A lick and a promise" is an idiom that suggests something done carelessly or hastily, while "Cuckoo spittle" might evoke something fleeting or deceptive. The interaction with Doctor Maw, who gives the speaker an "All Clear," seems to suggest a superficial or inadequate resolution, possibly to the speaker’s own concerns or to the broader social and political issues referenced in the poem.

"Aisling" blends the personal, the mythological, and the political in a way that reflects the complexities of modern life in Ireland. Muldoon’s use of the *aisling* form, traditionally a vehicle for nationalistic themes, becomes here a means of exploring the intersections of past and present, the real and the imagined, the individual and the collective. The poem’s fragmented imagery and shifting tones mirror the disjointed and multifaceted nature of identity and experience, particularly in a place marked by conflict and history. Through this intricate and layered work, Muldoon invites readers to consider how myths and realities intertwine, how personal and political struggles coexist, and how the search for meaning often leads to more questions than answers.

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