Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Telephone Poles" by John Updike presents a poignant reflection on the modern landscape, where nature and human-made structures converge and diverge in complex ways. Updike uses the familiar image of telephone poles to explore themes of permanence, technological progress, and the altered relationship between humans and the natural world.

The poem begins with a historical assertion, "They have been with us a long time." This simple statement positions telephone poles as almost timeless entities within the human landscape, suggesting a durability that even surpasses natural elements, specifically "the elms." This comparison immediately sets the stage for a meditation on how human innovations can outlast elements of nature that were once considered permanent and unchanging.

Updike cleverly uses the metaphor of a "savage sieving the trees" to describe how modern humans, though not hunting, are still searching through these man-made forests of poles as if they were natural trees. This imagery portrays telephone poles as so integrated into our environment that they become almost indistinguishable from natural objects, becoming a "race of giants that have faded into mere mythology." This anthropomorphism connects the poles to ancient myths, perhaps as a modern-day equivalent of titans or forgotten gods, now mundane and overlooked despite their once formidable presence.

Our contemporary disconnection from the mystical or the sacred is further emphasized as our "eyes, washed clean of belief," lift to see the functional and stark "crowns of bolts, trusses, struts, nuts, insulators." These components, likened to "barnacles" and a "Gorgon’s head," suggest something almost menacing about the telephone poles, despite their commonplace nature. They hold a potential energy, a latent power that could "stun us to stone" if not approached with the correct blend of reverence and practical understanding.

However, Updike brings back a sense of ownership and familiarity by reminding us that "they are ours. We made them." This line shifts the narrative from one of alienation to one of creation and responsibility. The details of "cleats of linemen" and "spikes... driven sideways" not only humanize the poles by showing the marks of human hands and labor but also symbolize how these structures have been adapted to human use, effectively becoming part of our constructed environment.

The poem subtly critiques the displacement of natural landscapes by celebrating the utility of the telephone poles. Updike notes the advantages of these poles over trees: communication wires where birds' "twitter, Unscrambled, is English," and the lack of leaves which means no "tragic autumnal casting-off" to contend with. These lines are laden with irony, contrasting the literal and metaphorical transparency of communication via telephone wires with the more opaque and messy forms of natural communication and seasonal change.

Ultimately, "Telephone Poles" serves as a contemplation on the dual nature of human progress. While there is a clear sense of loss—of nature, of mystery, of the uncontrolled aspects of life—there is also acknowledgment of the practical and enduring creations of humanity. Updike invites the reader to view these everyday structures as monuments of human ingenuity and adaptability, embedded within and yet distinctly separate from the natural world they inhabit. The poem, through its thoughtful and evocative language, asks us to consider the complex interplay between the natural and the artificial, and to reflect on what it means to live in a world where these two realms are inextricably linked.

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