Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Eleanor Wilner's poem "Epitaph" is a haunting reflection on mortality, privilege, and the transience of human grandeur. The poem is narrated from the perspective of the first-born daughter of the Pharaoh, who perished during the biblical plague that struck down the firstborn of Egypt. Through evocative imagery and poignant introspection, Wilner explores themes of ennui, the superficiality of wealth, and the complex interplay of love and hatred.

The poem opens with a stark declaration of the narrator's fate: "Though only a girl, / the first born of the Pharaoh, I was the first to die." This establishes the historical and mythological context, placing the speaker within the tragic narrative of the plagues of Egypt. The mention of her youth and premature death immediately evokes a sense of wasted potential and the arbitrary cruelty of fate.

The speaker describes her life in the palace, where she and her peers, despite their wealth, were already "bored." This boredom is underscored by their opulent yet empty existence: "rouged pink as oleanders on the palace grounds, / petted by the eunuchs, overfed from gem-encrusted bowls, / barren with wealth." The comparison to oleanders, a beautiful but poisonous flower, suggests the toxic nature of their privileged lives. The phrase "barren with wealth" encapsulates the hollowness of their existence, where material abundance fails to provide true fulfillment or purpose.

The speaker reminisces about the activities that filled their idle hours, such as painting with "delicate brushes dipped in char / on clay, or on our own blank lids." This image of painting on their own eyelids suggests a superficial attempt to create beauty and meaning in a world where their inner lives remain unfulfilled and "blank."

A turning point in the poem occurs when the speaker and her companions discover the infant Moses "wailing in the reeds." This moment, infused with mythic significance, is depicted as a miraculous event: "plucked / from the lotus by the ibis' beak, / the squalling seed of the sacred Nile." Moses, allowed to stay as a "toy," becomes a focal point for the narrator's otherwise directionless emotions.

In a striking reversal of the typical narrative, the speaker reveals her deeper, darker motivations: "while I pretended play, I honed him like a sword." This line indicates that, under the guise of innocent play, she was shaping Moses, instilling in him a deep-seated hatred for the Egyptian world he was born into. This complexity adds a layer of tragedy to the poem, as the narrator's actions contribute to the downfall of her own people, including herself.

The poem concludes with a reflection on the nature of the Pharaoh's palace: "this painted Pharaoh's tomb, this palace built of brick / and dung, and gilded like a poet's tongue; / these painted eyes." These lines strip away the illusion of grandeur, revealing the palace as a mere facade, an elaborate but ultimately empty construct. The comparison to a poet's tongue suggests that, like poetry, the palace is an artifice, beautiful but unable to alter the fundamental realities of life and death.

"Epitaph" thus serves as a meditation on the ephemeral nature of power and the inevitable decay that follows even the most gilded of existences. Through the eyes of the Pharaoh's daughter, Wilner poignantly illustrates the futility of material wealth and the destructive potential of human emotions, leaving readers with a sense of the profound fragility of human constructs against the inexorable forces of time and fate.

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