Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Birth's Obituary," Charles Olson explores themes of legacy, transcendence, and the pursuit of meaning through a tribute to the modernist poet Hart Crane, whose life and death epitomize the poetic and existential extremes that fascinated Olson. Crane, best known for "The Bridge," a work that sought to capture America’s spirit and symbolized transcendence through technological and cultural progress, becomes in Olson’s poem both a mythic figure and a cautionary tale—a visionary who leaped into the unknown but whose ambition also led him to an untimely death.

Olson’s title, "Birth's Obituary," encapsulates the paradoxical nature of existence as both a beginning and an ending. Birth, typically a symbol of hope and new potential, is juxtaposed here with death, suggesting that life itself may contain a prewritten end, or a fated trajectory. This theme of life and death intertwined sets a fitting stage for Olson’s exploration of Crane’s legacy. Crane’s own life—filled with creative vigor and self-destructive tendencies—reflects this paradox, as does his choice to leap from the Orizaba, ending his life in the ocean that was a recurring symbol in his poetry.

Olson opens the poem with the image of "Plane's flight your helix, transcontinental blood." The helix evokes both the movement of DNA, symbolizing life and continuity, and the trajectory of an airplane, suggesting the modern, technological world Crane inhabited. This flight could symbolize both the literal journey of modern humanity across continents and the spiritual or poetic journey Crane undertook in his writing. The reference to "transcontinental blood" speaks to the mixture of old and new worlds, of indigenous and modern, as Olson reflects on the heritage of an "Indian girl" fused with the modern "New Archeopteryx," referencing the prehistoric bird, a symbol of ancient origins and evolution. By calling Crane the "New Archeopteryx," Olson suggests that he is a creature of modernity, a poet who bridges past and future through his language.

In the line "I remember your death, and reject all answers," Olson acknowledges Crane’s tragic end but refuses to accept simple explanations for it. The phrase "Noon, high time, at Orizaba stern you stood," points to the fateful moment when Crane leaped from the ship Orizaba, a moment Olson regards as a mythic, almost sacrificial act. Crane’s "ecstasy of wake" signifies both the wake of the ship and a state of heightened consciousness or poetic ecstasy, positioning Crane’s leap as an act of transcendence rather than mere despair. Olson views Crane’s death as an enactment of his life’s work: "Span made act, your death another / Myth propelled." In this reading, Crane’s leap becomes the ultimate culmination of his poetic aspirations, transforming the poet himself into a bridge between life and death, myth and reality.

Olson’s phrase "Space, our shroud and swaddle, makes each a navigator" suggests that existence is both confining and liberating, binding each person in the limitations of space and time while also pushing them to explore these boundaries. Here, "Cathay" represents the distant, unknown realms to which one might aspire. Crane's spiritual pursuit and artistic ambitions are likened to an explorer’s journey toward an unreachable destination, driven by an unquenchable thirst for discovery and understanding.

The line, "Oh Hart, wave-right you are!" connects Crane to the ocean, symbolizing the poet’s alignment with natural forces and suggesting that he was "right" to embrace this vast, uncontrollable element. Olson positions Crane’s act of drinking "the poison as Crockett the cloud," blending the real and mythical again as he compares Crane’s fate to those of mythic heroes and explorers. The "tall man's thirst" underscores Crane’s yearning for something beyond the ordinary—a desire that led him to the edge of human experience.

Olson closes with a powerful metaphor: "After slake of sea, / Gyre on your tongue the tempest of the moon / Loud in your throat the wings of the sun." Here, the sea represents both a source of fulfillment and destruction, a force that Crane has consumed or been consumed by. The "tempest of the moon" implies a chaotic, nocturnal energy, while the "wings of the sun" evoke light, power, and inspiration. Together, they capture the intense dualities in Crane’s life: the lunar pull of introspection and isolation, the solar urge for expression and connection. Crane’s voice, imbued with these elemental forces, becomes a force of nature itself—an eternal testament to his vision and spirit.

"Birth’s Obituary" serves as Olson’s meditation on the life and death of a poet whose aspirations exceeded the bounds of ordinary life. In Crane, Olson finds both a kindred spirit and a tragic figure—a poet who, like Icarus, dared to reach beyond human limits. Through Crane’s example, Olson explores the beauty and danger inherent in the poetic pursuit, as well as the universal human drive to transcend the limits of existence. The poem becomes a tribute to the mythic journey of the artist, forever caught between the allure of the unknown and the inevitability of loss, and in doing so, Olson extends Crane’s legacy, cementing his place within the timeless, ongoing narrative of human aspiration.

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