Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Pyrography," a poem by John Ashbery, is a sprawling text that captures the multifaceted experiences and emotions that encompass American life. Set against the backdrop of Cottage Grove, the poem offers a panoramic view of the nation's landscapes, spaces, and inherent contradictions. The "galloping / Wind balks at its shadow," reflecting the unsteady pace of change and the impermanence of things.

While Cottage Grove is a real place, its inclusion in the poem could be more allegorical or metaphorical than geographical. It serves as a focal point for exploring broader themes of American identity, labor, community, and the subtle dynamics of everyday life.

One of the poem's primary concerns is communication-echoed in "the mirroring of state to state, / Of voice to voice on the wires." The notion of mirroring serves as a metaphor for the complexities of national identity, which, like reflections, can be both true and distorted. The poem sees America as an amalgam of voices, its diverse states connected yet separated by their unique colloquialisms-these "greetings like golden / Pollen sinking on the afternoon breeze" are rich yet transient, perhaps a comment on the short-lived nature of social interactions in the contemporary world.

The poem turns its focus inward to touch upon America's service industry-"In service stairs the sweet corruption thrives"-conjuring images of hidden labor that sustains the nation. It is not just the high-rises and highways that form America but also the unseen corners where "the page of dusk turns." A sense of impending change or transition fills the atmosphere, with characters in the poem agreeing to leave for an unspecified 'elsewhere,' a journey through the nation's "gyrating fans of suburbs."

The ambiguity of destination mirrors the overall uncertainty and constant transition inherent in the American experience. The poem speaks of "the disappointed, returning ones," suggesting that the search for something better is a cycle, a loop of hope and disillusionment that doesn't deter the seekers. The line "Toward the nothing of the coast" perhaps encapsulates the existentialist notion that the journey is more critical than the destination.

Ashbery, renowned for his architectural sensibilities in poetry, discusses structures-both real and imaginary-built "in the image of ourselves: / An arch that terminates in mid-keystone." These incomplete structures metaphorically capture the incompleteness of American life and history, a story forever in the making. How to live in "this space from which the fourth wall is invariably missing" is a question that reflects the continual search for meaning and identity in an environment that is forever shifting, forever revealing yet concealing its true nature.

The poem concludes with an almost panoramic sweep through the American life cycle, "from August to December," touching upon moments of glory and monotony. The mention of "painted furniture" shows how even small changes can influence the atmosphere and, by extension, history. If one needs to write the history of today, "it would be necessary to model all these unimportant details," highlighting the significance of the mundane in constructing narratives, national or personal.

In the end, "Pyrography" is a complex tapestry of the American ethos, touching upon its landscapes, social fabric, history, and the eternal quest for meaning. Its closing lines suggest a sort of resignation, a "narrow fidelity" to the inevitable. Just like its various characters who are in a perpetual search for something else, the nation itself is destined to be caught in an "unravelling / Out toward the junctions," a journey that is as complex, ambiguous, and intricately woven as the poem itself.

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