Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Plow Cemetery" by John Updike is a deeply reflective and evocative poem that explores themes of heritage, memory, mortality, and the passage of time. Updike weaves a narrative that connects the physical and historical landscape of Plowville with personal and familial memories, creating a rich tapestry of the past and its enduring presence in the modern world.

The poem begins by recounting the historical significance of the Plow, an inn that served as a waypoint on the roads to Reading, eventually giving its name to Plow Hill, Plowville, and Plow Church. This introduction sets a foundation of rootedness and continuity, illustrating how a single point of commerce gave rise to a community and its landmarks.

The reference to Grandfather Hoyer hauling stones to build the Plow Church spire injects a personal connection into the historical narrative. The detailed memory of the stones and the bending planks under their weight not only highlights the physical labor involved in building the church but also connects this effort to personal endurance and resilience. Updike draws a parallel between this memory and another type of enduring pain—dental pain—linking physical labor and physical suffering to a sense of personal history and identity.

The cemetery itself, "Plow Cemetery," located downhill from the church, serves as the final resting place for the poet's maternal ancestors, whose lives are commemorated by both German and English inscriptions on their gravestones. The slow erosion of these stones symbolizes the gradual fading of individual identities into the anonymity of time, even as the more durable granite of John Hoyer’s family grave stands resistant to this weathering.

Updike’s description of the cemetery shifts to a more personal tone as he discusses his mother's purchase of a burial plot for him, revealing his initial resentment of this "heavy gift." This plot symbolizes not only a physical space but also a figurative pulling back to one’s roots, a theme that resonates throughout the poem. The earth of the cemetery is metaphorically described as "red, like blood mixed with flour," suggesting a fundamental, organic connection to the land that is both familial and elemental.

As the poem progresses, changes in the landscape are noted—the quieter traffic due to the new Interstate, the shifting views, and the "ever-fresher graves" that mark the passage of time and the continuity of life and death. Despite these changes, the essence of the place and its connection to the past remains predominantly unchanged, defined by the organic alterations of the natural and human landscape.

In the closing lines, Updike reconciles with the idea of his final resting place in Plow Cemetery, contemplating the inevitability of his return to his origins after a long absence. This acceptance is captured in the poignant reflection that though he may have been away for fifty years, he has "forever to make my absence up," a realization that ties together the themes of return, belonging, and the cyclical nature of life and death.

"Plow Cemetery" is a meditative journey through personal and communal history, exploring how places hold the memories of the many lives that have passed through them and how these places, in turn, shape the identities of those connected to them. Updike masterfully intertwines the personal with the historical, the physical with the metaphysical, creating a narrative that is both a tribute to and a reflection on the places that define us.

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