Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Linda Pastan's poem "Suffocation" delves into the intertwined experiences of boredom, anguish, and the inescapable weight of history, using Anton Chekhov's play *Three Sisters* as a lens through which to explore these themes. The poem reflects on the emotional suffocation that characters in Chekhov's play—and, by extension, the speaker and her family—experience, drawing connections between personal and cultural histories, the burden of memory, and the deep, often unspoken emotions that lie beneath the surface of daily life.

The poem opens with a reference to *Three Sisters*, where "everyone / is infected with terminal boredom." This phrase immediately sets the tone, suggesting that the characters in the play are not merely bored but are suffering from a deeper, existential malaise. The "terminal" nature of this boredom implies that it is inescapable and has permeated their lives to the point of being a chronic condition. The speaker then recalls Irena's line about her soul being "like a locked / piano without a key," a metaphor for the feeling of being trapped or stifled, unable to express oneself fully. The speaker empathizes with Irena but also recognizes that even playing the piano, an activity that should bring joy or relief, can become a repetitive, meaningless exercise: "the fingers can wander up and down / the scales, going nowhere." This observation deepens the sense of futility and entrapment that pervades the poem.

As the poem progresses, the speaker reflects on the characters' longing for Moscow, the city that represents their idealized escape from the suffocating provincial life they lead. The speaker, however, is aware of the harsh realities of Moscow: "the cold, / unyielding streets where even the ice hardens / to the color of stone." This description of Moscow serves as a reminder that the idealized escape may not bring the solace the characters yearn for; instead, it may only lead to a different form of suffocation, one that is just as cold and unyielding as their current existence.

The poem then shifts to a more personal reflection, as the speaker observes someone she loves "slowly die," witnessing firsthand how "anguish and boredom can be married / for years, an ill-assorted couple, suffocating / in each other's arms." This image of anguish and boredom as a married couple suggests that these emotions are inextricably linked, feeding off each other and compounding the speaker's sense of suffocation. The observation of Masha, one of the sisters in the play, during the curtain call, with "tears still streaming / down her face," further emphasizes the deep emotional undercurrents that exist beneath the surface of outward appearances. Masha's transition from one self to another "through the wall / of applause" is described as a "backwards birth," a metaphor that suggests a painful, regressive transformation rather than a liberating one. The applause, which should be a moment of recognition and validation, instead becomes a barrier that Masha must pass through, highlighting the disconnect between external success and internal suffering.

The speaker then contemplates the source of all this emotion, wondering if it comes from "some deep pool / where one can be dragged and dragged / beneath the surface but never quite drown." This image of being submerged in a pool of emotion, yet never fully drowning, captures the relentless nature of the speaker's feelings of suffocation. The emotions are overwhelming, but there is no release, no final escape from the weight of these experiences.

The poem concludes with a reflection on the speaker's own family history, particularly her grandfather's escape from Russia. The mention of Russia, "a country / my grandfather thought he had escaped from / but which he wore always / like the heavy overcoat in the story / by Gogol," connects the speaker's personal history with the broader themes of the poem. The grandfather's attempt to escape from Russia is mirrored in the speaker's own feelings of suffocation and the desire to escape from the burdens of memory and history. The overcoat, a symbol of both protection and burden, represents the weight of the past that the speaker cannot shed, much like her grandfather could not fully escape Russia.

The final lines of the poem bring this theme full circle, as the speaker recalls being wrapped in her grandfather's overcoat as a child, feeling an "ecstasy / of boredom" that made her childhood "seem a vast continent I could only escape from / hidden in a coat, in steerage, and at great risk." This image of childhood as a vast, oppressive landscape from which escape is difficult and dangerous highlights the inescapable nature of the suffocation the speaker feels. The overcoat, once again, symbolizes the dual nature of memory and history: it offers protection but also imposes a burden that is hard to bear.

"Suffocation" is a deeply reflective and evocative poem that explores the complex interplay between personal and cultural history, memory, and the emotions of boredom and anguish. Through its rich imagery and references to Chekhov and Gogol, the poem captures the sense of being trapped by the past and the struggle to find meaning and release in the face of overwhelming emotional weight. Pastan's exploration of these themes resonates with the universal human experience of grappling with the burdens of memory and the desire for escape, making the poem both intimate and profound.

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