Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Glasses" by John Updike is a poem that explores the ambivalent relationship the speaker has with his glasses. Through vivid imagery and metaphoric language, Updike articulates the discomfort and alienation that can accompany the use of glasses, despite their utility in enhancing vision.

The poem begins with a simple, straightforward statement that sets the tone for the ambivalence that follows: "I wear them. They help me. But I don't care for them." This admission serves as a refrain throughout the poem, underscoring the push-pull relationship the speaker feels towards this necessary but burdensome accessory.

Updike employs the metaphor of "Two birds, steel hinges," to describe the glasses. This imagery suggests something unnatural and mechanical clinging to the sides of the head, framing the "small sky" of the speaker’s vision. The "birds" evoke a sense of being haunted or shadowed by the presence of the glasses, a constant reminder of their imposition.

The description of how the "Rim-horn impinges / Upon my vision's furry fringes" further conveys the intrusive nature of glasses. The choice of the word "impinges" emphasizes how the glasses infringe upon what would otherwise be a natural field of vision, causing discomfort at the peripheries. The idea of "vision's furry fringes" suggests a soft, almost living boundary of sight that is uncomfortably constrained by the hard, lifeless material of the glasses.

Updike describes the accumulation of "Faint dust" on the glasses, portraying them as a barrier between the wearer and the world. This "Unblinking shield" hides the "naked, deprecated eye," revealing how glasses can make the eyes—the windows to the soul—feel diminished and vulnerable.

The speaker's experience of his gaze as "aimed" intensifies the sense of alienation. The glasses transform the natural act of looking into something mechanical and deliberate: "It is as if / Two manufactured beams had been / Lodged in my sockets hollow, stiff." This imagery evokes a feeling of being controlled or restructured by an external device, making the act of seeing feel less organic and more like operating a machine.

The social implications of wearing glasses are subtly touched upon with the lines, "And when / I pivot, vases topple down / From tabletops, and women frown." These lines humorously but poignantly illustrate the physical awkwardness and social embarrassment that can accompany adjusting to glasses. The glasses not only alter the speaker’s interaction with space and objects but also affect how he is perceived by others.

Overall, "Glasses" by John Updike is a richly descriptive poem that captures the complex feelings of dependency, irritation, and self-consciousness that can accompany the use of corrective lenses. The poem delves into the sensory and psychological impacts of this common yet deeply personal object, exploring how it mediates one's engagement with the world and with oneself.

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