Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Pooem" by John Updike is a playful and clever poem that centers around the poet's whimsical and ultimately unsuccessful quest to observe a hoopoe, a colorful and distinctive bird. Beginning with the poem title itself, Updike uses a lighthearted and humorous tone, enriched by inventive wordplay and rhyme, to craft a narrative of hopeful anticipation and whimsical disappointment.

The poem begins with a quote from Sir Stephen Tallents in the *London Times*, discussing his own hopes of seeing a hoopoe. This serves as a springboard for Updike's own fanciful tale, connecting his personal whimsy to a broader, shared human experience of seeking out the rare and delightful in nature.

Updike humorously recounts his own efforts to spot the elusive bird, using playful, made-up words to maintain a rhythm and rhyme scheme that mimics the bird's exotic name. Terms like "scoopoe," "heliotroopoe," and "telescoopoe" not only echo the sound of "hoopoe" but also add a playful, almost childlike quality to the verse, emphasizing the joy and silliness in the pursuit of the bird.

The poet describes sitting on a "grassy sloopoe," looking through a telescope and weaving "snares of finest roopoe," all in hopes of capturing a glimpse or more of the hoopoe. This image paints Updike as an earnest and somewhat comical figure, deeply engrossed in his bird-watching endeavor.

However, the quest ends not with the triumphant sighting of the bird but with the receipt of a humorous note, delivered in a "crusty enveloopoe." The message playfully informs him to "Abandon hope, you doopoe; / The hoopoe is a misanthroopoe." This conclusion serves as a playful anticlimax, delivering a message from a seemingly knowledgeable correspondent—signed cryptically as "U. e."—that the hoopoe, personified as a "misanthroopoe," is not interested in human admiration.

The use of playful language, inventive neologisms, and the light-hearted portrayal of disappointment showcase Updike’s ability to find humor and literary enjoyment in the mundane and the elusive. "Poem" is both a nod to the naturalist’s quest for rare sightings and a gentle mockery of the often quixotic nature of such pursuits. Updike turns a simple bird-watching experience into a lyrical adventure, filled with linguistic fun and the whimsical twist of unfulfilled desires, all wrapped in the rich texture of his imaginative verse.

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