Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Homage to Emerson, on Night Flight to New York: 1. His Smile" by Robert Penn Warren reflects on the transcendentalist ideals of Ralph Waldo Emerson through the lens of a night flight. As the speaker contemplates Emerson’s philosophy, he juxtaposes these lofty ideals against the stark reality of a modern, mechanized world. The poem oscillates between a contemplative engagement with Emerson's writings and a detached observation of the world outside, capturing the tension between idealism and the dispassionate progress of time.

The poem opens with a setting of descent into night, as "Over Peoria we lost the sun." The landscape below is described as smeared with snow "like sputum," suggesting a world that is both beautiful and tainted. This imagery establishes a contrast between the sublime and the banal, reflecting Emerson's transcendental belief in the inherent beauty of the world, yet tinged with an acknowledgment of imperfection or decay. The flight itself becomes a metaphor for transcendence, a literal rising above the earth, yet within a "pressurized gloom," suggesting an artificial and constrained environment.

The presence of Emerson is introduced with the essays lying on the speaker's lap, as a "finger / Of light" pokes the page. This divine-like intervention, reminiscent of Emerson's belief in the divine connection between humanity and nature, causes the page to glow, suggesting a moment of insight or revelation. However, this moment is undercut by the stark observation, "There is / No sin. Not even error." This reflects Emerson's transcendental optimism in the inherent goodness of the world, yet in the context of this modern flight, it carries a sense of irony or skepticism, as if to question the applicability of such idealism in the present.

The "pressurized gloom" of the airplane is contrasted with the natural world Emerson revered, as the night outside "hisses / Like sand from a sand-blast." This hissing, a sound too high-pitched for human ears, is likened to the inaudible murmurs of the heart. The speaker's heart, "as abstract as an empty / Coca-Cola bottle," evokes a sense of emptiness or disconnection. This metaphor suggests a critique of the modern, commercialized world—a world where the soul's depth is reduced to the hollow interior of a disposable object, lacking the spiritual richness Emerson celebrated.

Emerson's serene vision of the world is presented with a touch of irony as the poem describes him walking "in the greenwood," his smile "sweet" and harmless. He walks lightly, unaware of the specifics of nature, "not even know[ing] the violet's name," yet he "bowed, smiling," having "forgiven God everything, even the violet." This portrayal of Emerson suggests a kind of naive idealism, an innocent or perhaps oblivious acceptance of the world in its entirety. This image reflects Emerson’s philosophy of self-reliance and the importance of seeing the world with fresh, non-judgmental eyes, but in the context of this poem, it also suggests a lack of engagement with the gritty reality of life.

The poem concludes with a sudden shift to a personal memory of the speaker as a boy with a wart on his right forefinger. This abrupt change in focus brings the lofty reflections back to the concrete, physical world. The wart, an imperfection on the body, contrasts with Emerson's idealized vision and serves as a reminder of the flaws and realities that transcendental philosophy might overlook or dismiss. This final image anchors the poem in the human experience, suggesting that while Emerson's ideas offer a vision of transcendence and beauty, they may not fully encompass the complexities and imperfections of life.

Warren's poem ultimately explores the tension between Emerson's transcendental idealism and the disenchanted, mechanized reality of the modern world. It grapples with the idea of finding meaning and beauty amidst the disconnection and artificiality of contemporary life, using the metaphor of a night flight to encapsulate this existential struggle. Through this homage, Warren reflects on the enduring influence of Emerson's thought, even as he acknowledges the limitations of applying such a philosophy to the complexities of the present.

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