Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Charles Olson?s "Perfume!" is an intricate exploration of desire, nature, and the interconnectedness of the physical and spiritual worlds. The poem is both a celebration and a meditation, interweaving sensory immediacy with metaphysical inquiry. Olson’s vivid imagery and philosophical assertions highlight the complex interplay between the self, the external world, and the catalytic force of desire.

The poem opens with the arresting and universal sensory experience of scent: "The perfume of flowers." This simple declaration draws attention to the act of perception itself, grounding the reader in the corporeal realm before moving into more abstract considerations. Olson describes scent as something tangible yet ephemeral, a "plane of air" that envelops the speaker. Specific references to "lime or narcissus" and "lemon on the path" situate the poem in springtime, a season traditionally associated with renewal, vitality, and desire.

The transition from nature to the bedroom is seamless yet jarring. The "poison of desire" and the "elixir" suggest a duality in the nature of passion—it is both intoxicating and potentially destructive. This tension defines much of the poem, where the boundary between fulfillment and annihilation becomes increasingly porous. The "season of me" reflects the speaker’s immersion in this state of heightened awareness, where body and soul unite in a single act of becoming. The command to "arise" and the assertion that "sleep: in one motion are all the terms" collapse distinctions between activity and rest, waking and dreaming, emphasizing the fluidity of experience and the holistic integration of opposites.

Olson’s philosophical musings deepen as he denounces the idea of dispersion as "heresy." This claim challenges notions of fragmentation and insists on the inherent unity of all things. The "charge" is not mutable; it is an immutable force to be discovered, not created. This idea ties into Olson’s recurring themes of energy and form, where the state of "wobble" or confusion is a temporary condition masking the underlying coherence of existence. The "nucleus" and "cluster" evoke scientific imagery, suggesting that even at the atomic level, there is a natural tendency toward order and union.

The poem’s tone shifts again as Olson returns to the visceral effects of desire, likening its byproducts—the "lustre of us"—to the "poison" that flowers exude. The repeated exclamation "Virid! virid!" underscores the vividness and vitality of spring while acknowledging its dangerous allure. Green, traditionally a color of growth and life, is reimagined here as toxic, its beauty inseparable from its potential harm. This duality encapsulates Olson’s view of nature and humanity: the forces that sustain life are the same forces that can overwhelm or destroy it.

Olson’s imagery of burning and smoke reinforces this theme. Flowers "burn of it," and so does the speaker, consumed by the very forces that animate him. The smoke, an ephemeral product of combustion, mirrors the fleeting yet potent nature of scent. The appearance of the tanager—a brightly colored bird—introduces a moment of sudden and fleeting beauty, much like the scent that permeates the air. The tanager’s landing "on the pine" links the natural world to the speaker’s internal state, where the immediacy of perception sparks both joy and introspection.

The concluding lines bring the poem’s central tensions into sharp relief. The "bauble" of the heart and the "sceptre" suggest a paradox: the heart, often associated with love and desire, is both trivial and powerful. The sceptre, a symbol of authority, reinforces the idea that desire wields a transformative power over the self. Yet the heart’s characterization as a "bauble" also hints at the fragility and transience of human passion. This duality mirrors the poem’s broader meditation on the fleeting yet profound nature of sensory and emotional experiences.

Structurally, the poem mirrors the flux it describes. Its free-verse form, with shifting rhythms and fragmented phrases, captures the fluidity and intensity of desire. The enjambment and lack of punctuation create a sense of urgency and continuity, reflecting the unstoppable flow of life and the interconnectedness of all things. Olson’s use of sensory language—particularly his attention to scent and its visceral effects—grounds the poem in physical experience even as it reaches toward philosophical abstraction.

"Perfume!" ultimately serves as both a hymn to the intoxicating beauty of the world and a warning about the consuming nature of desire. Olson’s vivid imagery and philosophical reflections invite readers to consider the delicate balance between vitality and destruction, unity and fragmentation. The poem is a testament to the power of the senses to ignite the soul, reminding us that in the ephemeral lies the eternal, and in the fleeting, the profound.

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