Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Muriel Rukeyser’s poem "Paper Anniversary" intricately weaves a tapestry of personal and collective anxiety set against the backdrop of a concert hall on the night of a catastrophic financial crash. Through vivid imagery and a carefully constructed narrative, the poem explores themes of loss, disillusionment, and the stark contrast between cultural refinement and economic despair.

The poem begins with a scene of seemingly ordinary cultural engagement: "The concert-hall was crowded the night of the crash / but the wives were away; many mothers gone sick to their beds / or waiting at home for late extras and latest telephone calls / had sent their sons and daughters to hear music instead." This sets the stage for a night that juxtaposes the high art of music with the underlying tension of the unfolding financial disaster.

As the speaker and their father arrive late, they encounter a scene where music becomes a form of escape, yet fails to offer true solace: "I heard the Mozart developing through the door / where the latecomers listened; water-leap, season of coolness, / talisman of relief; but they worried, they did not hear." The music, symbolizing cultural and emotional refuge, cannot penetrate the pervasive anxiety and concern for financial stability that dominates the minds of the audience.

The concert hall, typically a place of emotional connection and artistic appreciation, is depicted as a space of disconnection and turmoil: "Into the hall of formal rows and the straight-sitting seats / (they took out pencils, they muttered at the program’s margins) / began the double concerto, Brahms’ season of fruit / but they could not meet it with love; they were lost with their fortunes." The imagery of "formal rows" and "straight-sitting seats" emphasizes the rigidity and lack of genuine engagement, while the reference to Brahms' music, often associated with richness and fullness, highlights the irony of their emotional and financial impoverishment.

The poem’s depiction of intermission reveals the collective disarray and personal despair: "Intermission with its spill of lights found heavy / breathing and failure pushing up the aisles, / or the daughters of failure greeting each other under / the eyes of an old man who has gone mad and fails." This scene underscores the disintegration of social facades, as people grapple with the immediate impact of the financial crash.

The poem’s climax unfolds as the music resumes, yet the sense of impending doom remains palpable: "and the Stravinsky explodes / spasms of rockets to levels near delight, / and the lawyer thinks of his ostrich-feather wife / lying alone, and knows it is getting late." Stravinsky’s dynamic and often chaotic compositions mirror the inner turmoil and external chaos. The lawyer’s reflection on his "ostrich-feather wife" further illustrates the superficiality and disconnection prevalent among the audience.

As Debussy's music begins, described as "drowning the concert-hall," the poem transitions into a more surreal and symbolic representation of the audience's emotional state: "distortions of water carry their bodies through / the deformed image of a crippled heart." This imagery conveys a sense of being overwhelmed and swept away by forces beyond control, paralleling the financial devastation occurring outside the concert hall.

The concluding stanzas reflect on the pervasive sense of loss and the inescapable reality of the crash: "While from the river streams a flaw of wind, / washing our sight; while all the fathers lie / heavy upon their graves, the line of cars progresses / toward the blue park, and the lobby darkens, and we / go home again to the insane governess." The return to the "insane governess" suggests a return to chaos and instability, highlighting the futility of seeking refuge in the familiar when the world has irrevocably changed.

The poem closes with a poignant reflection on joy and the transient nature of happiness: "The night is joy, and the music was joy alive, / alive is joy, but it will never be / upon this scene upon these fathers these cars." The fleeting moments of joy are overshadowed by the grim reality of economic collapse, as "the windows already hold photography / of the drowned faces the fat the unemployed." The "drowned faces" serve as a haunting reminder of those who have been consumed by the crash, and the poem ends with the stark image of the "sons and daughters turn[ing] their startled faces / and see[ing] that startled face," encapsulating the shock and disorientation experienced by the younger generation.

"Paper Anniversary" masterfully captures the tension between cultural engagement and economic despair, using the concert hall as a microcosm for the broader societal impact of the financial crash. Through rich, evocative imagery and a poignant narrative, Rukeyser delves into the complexities of human emotion and the fragility of societal constructs in times of crisis.

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