Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Homage to Emerson, on Night Flight to New York: 4. One Drunk Allegory" by Robert Penn Warren captures a surreal moment that blends the physical with the abstract, presenting a vivid scene that seems to resonate with deeper meanings. The poem continues Warren’s exploration of existence and perception, using a drunken encounter as a metaphor for life's chaotic and often absurd nature.

The poem begins by reinforcing the idea of needing something specific to hold onto in order to maintain a sense of identity, especially in the disorienting context of "38,000 feet." This high altitude, a literal and metaphorical elevation, symbolizes a state of detachment or abstraction. The speaker recounts an incident in New Orleans, outside the "Old Absinthe House," a place historically associated with bohemianism and artistic intoxication. The scene he describes is chaotic and grotesque: a "drunk Crip" slips, sending "flying crutches" into the air. This chaotic image is likened to a "Texas tornado exploding with chicken feathers," invoking a sense of surrealism and violence.

The speaker's struggle to help the drunk man, who speaks in an "expensive Harvard-cum-cotton voice," further enhances the absurdity. This man, despite his physical and perhaps social downfall, retains a sense of decorum and resignation. He says, "This is as good a position as any / From which to watch the stars," suggesting a philosophical acceptance of his state. The scene morphs into an allegory, especially as the speaker, perhaps influenced by Emersonian ideas, interprets it through a lens of deeper significance. Emerson believed in the inherent meaning within every aspect of the natural world, and the speaker's drunken state leads him to a similar, if not skewed, interpretation.

The allegory here seems to touch on themes of human frailty, the randomness of existence, and the dignity—or lack thereof—in adversity. The "drunk allegory" symbolizes the unpredictable and often absurd nature of life. The incident with the man, who repeatedly falls and attempts to maintain his composure, mirrors the human struggle to find meaning and maintain dignity amidst chaos.

The poem shifts back to the present, to the "womb-gloom" of the DC-8 airplane where a baby is crying. The baby's cry, described as a "small white worm in my brain," is a striking image that suggests an intrusion of reality into the speaker’s contemplative or abstract state. The cry has an unsettling presence, almost detached from the baby itself, symbolizing perhaps the intrusion of raw, visceral reality into a space of contemplation. It represents the persistent, often uncomfortable truths that nibble away at our thoughts and perceptions, reminding us of the unavoidable aspects of existence.

In the final lines, the speaker notes that "far over Kentucky, the stars are shining." This return to the stars mirrors the drunk man's earlier statement about watching the stars from the pavement. The stars, a recurring motif in this poem, symbolize the eternal and the distant, indifferent to the chaotic happenings below. The contrast between the human struggle and the serene, unchanging stars underscores the poem’s existential theme—the smallness of individual experiences against the backdrop of the vast universe.

Overall, "One Drunk Allegory" uses the absurdity of a drunken encounter to delve into deeper philosophical reflections. The incident outside the Old Absinthe House becomes a microcosm of the human condition—full of chaos, attempts at dignity, and the search for meaning. The poem questions the significance of our experiences and the meanings we attach to them, much in the spirit of Emerson's belief in the inherent significance of everything. Yet, it also acknowledges the ambiguity and often surreal nature of these meanings, especially when viewed from the disorienting heights of 38,000 feet.

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