Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

William Carlos Williams?s "March" is an expansive and multilayered poem that explores the volatile transition between winter and spring while weaving together themes of renewal, creativity, struggle, and memory. Williams uses March as a metaphorical axis, balancing nature’s turbulence and humanity’s enduring impulses to create, survive, and understand its own history. Through vivid imagery, historical references, and personal reflections, the poem transforms the ordinary passage of time into a profound meditation on perseverance and artistic vitality.10018609

The opening section portrays March as a fleeting, fragile prelude to spring. Winter is described as "long in this climate," its lingering presence nearly overwhelming the promise of spring. The briefness of spring is encapsulated in its manifestations: "a flower or two picked / from mud or from among wet leaves." These images suggest the resilience and delicacy of new growth, emerging despite the "treacherous / bitterness of wind." The contrast between the "shining" sky and its sudden descent into "black" with "fierce jaws" reflects the volatile nature of the season, oscillating between hope and adversity. This section sets the tone for the poem as a reflection on persistence in the face of harshness.

Williams directly addresses March, likening it to various symbols of beauty, impermanence, and creative struggle. He compares March to "the pyramids, our pyramids -- / stript of the polished stone," suggesting a grandeur that has been weathered and stripped by time. The image invokes the persistence of human effort and the layers of history that obscure and reveal meaning.

March is also likened to Fra Angelico, the Renaissance painter known for his serene frescoes: "painting on plaster!" The exclamation imbues the description with admiration for the fragile medium and the enduring brilliance of his work. This comparison highlights the paradox of impermanence—art, like March, exists on the cusp of fleeting moments and eternal aspirations.

The metaphor of "a band of / young poets" emphasizes the restless, unrefined energy of youth, paralleling the raw and volatile energy of March. The speaker’s declaration that he is "moved to write poetry / for the warmth there is in it / and for the loneliness" reflects art’s dual function: a source of connection and a response to isolation. By dedicating a poem to March, the speaker seeks to capture its essence, both its starkness and its promise.

In the third section, Williams broadens the scope of March by drawing on ancient history and mythology. The vivid description of Ashurbanipal, the Assyrian king, hunting lions in "blue and yellow enamel" brings to life the power and drama of human endeavor. The sacred bulls and dragons lining the path to Nebuchadnezzar’s throne hall evoke the grandeur of ancient Babylon, now buried under "ten thousand dirt years."

The "winds that blow back the sand" serve as both literal and metaphorical agents of revelation, uncovering these forgotten relics and renewing their presence. The interplay between the natural forces of March and the human effort to excavate and preserve history symbolizes the enduring struggle to uncover meaning and beauty amid destruction and decay.

The speaker connects the digging of "natives" to their own search for warmth and meaning. The act of unearthing ancient artifacts becomes a personal and universal act of reclamation: "digging me warmth -- digging me sweet loneliness." The historical echoes of March reinforce its role as a season of both loss and renewal.

The fourth section shifts to a personal and introspective memory of the speaker’s "second spring" spent in a monastery in Fiesole. The serene, contemplative image of the Virgin Mary "intently serious, / and still / watching an angel" captures a moment of timeless spiritual devotion. The contrast between the stillness of the painted scene and the turbulence of March underscores the poem’s exploration of opposites: stability versus chaos, permanence versus transience.

The Virgin’s unwavering gaze at the angel, whose "eyes / hold the eyes of Mary / as a snake?s hold a bird?s," adds an undercurrent of tension and inevitability to the sacred moment. The surrounding imagery of "flowers" and "trees in leaf" reinforces the recurring motif of renewal and life’s cycles.

The final section returns to the present, infused with urgency and defiance. The speaker declares, "But! now for the battle! / Now for murder -- now for the real thing!" Here, March’s turbulence is reimagined as a violent, almost mythic struggle to emerge from winter’s grip. The winds, described as "snakelike," embody the relentless, searching force of nature.

The speaker joins the winds in their desperate quest for spring: "I spring among them / seeking one flower / in which to warm myself!" This personal and visceral longing mirrors the larger themes of survival and creation. The speaker’s ridicule of their own "starved misery" reflects the human tendency to mock one’s struggles even while enduring them.

The winds, though "lean and frozen," are urged to "think of the blue bulls of Babylon," to draw inspiration from the grandeur of history and the persistence of human effort. The exhortation to "Fling yourselves upon / their empty roses" captures the duality of despair and hope, the relentless pursuit of beauty even in the face of barrenness.

"March" is a sprawling, dynamic meditation that intertwines the cycles of nature, the persistence of art, and the personal quest for warmth and meaning. Williams’s use of historical and mythological references elevates the poem’s exploration of March from a seasonal observation to a reflection on the enduring forces that shape human and natural worlds. The juxtaposition of ancient ruins, personal memory, and present-day struggles underscores the universality of renewal and the necessity of enduring through tumultuous transitions.

Through its vivid imagery, shifting tones, and layered metaphors, "March" captures the essence of its titular month: a season of stark contrasts, relentless winds, and the fragile promise of spring. It is a profound and resonant work that celebrates the human spirit’s ability to persevere and find meaning in the turbulence of life.

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