Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "A History of Weather" by Billy Collins, the poet embarks on an imaginative journey to chronicle the weather patterns of the past, linking meteorological phenomena with human history in a ten-volume elegy. This poem weaves together the tangible and intangible, suggesting a deep interconnectedness between the environment and human experience. Through this ambitious literary project, Collins aims to memorialize not just the weather itself but its impact on the moments that have shaped human civilization.

The poem begins with an evocation of a perfect spring morning, "candid sunlight elucidating the air, a flower-ruffling breeze," a setting so inspiring it sparks the poet's desire to document the history of weather. This opening captures the reader's attention, not only with its vivid imagery but with the ambitious scope of the project it proposes—a comprehensive elegy for the "atmospheres of the past." Collins employs the weather as a metaphorical envelope, wrapping the significant events of human history, suggesting that every moment of our past is cradled within a specific meteorological context.

Collins then outlines the structure of this history, starting from the present moment's cirrus clouds sweeping over his house, and moving backward in time. He imagines chronicling the weather's presence during pivotal human events—rain on battlefields, winds at beheadings and coronations, snow flurries in Victorian London, gales in the Renaissance, tornadoes in the Middle Ages, and the overcast days of the Dark Ages. This reverse chronology serves not only as a literary technique but also as a symbolic unravelling of history, peeling back the layers of human experience to reveal how deeply intertwined our lives are with the natural world.

The scope of Collins's project extends even further back, to the "frozen nights of antiquity" and the "heat that shimmered in the deserts of the Bible," before concluding with the climate before the biblical Flood and ultimately, the weather before human history. This ambitious journey through time seeks to capture the unobservable, to document the indocumentable—weather patterns in a world without human witnesses.

The poem's closing image of an unpeopled world, where "unseen clouds drifted over" and not a soul lay "gazing up at the passing of enormous faces and animal shapes," is particularly evocative. It suggests a world ripe with potential, untouched by human interpretation or intervention, where the weather moves as a silent protagonist in the Earth's story. This image also serves as a poignant reminder of the transient nature of human existence against the vast backdrop of geological time.

Collins's work is hailed as "ambitious and definitive," a testament to the depth and breadth of his undertaking. By positioning the weather as a central character in the narrative of human history, Collins highlights its omnipresence and influence. The weather becomes a witness to our triumphs and tragedies, a constant companion through our collective journey.

"A History of Weather" is more than just a poetic exploration of meteorological conditions; it is a meditation on the passage of time, the fragility of human memory, and the indelible mark that both humans and nature leave on each other. Collins masterfully uses the concept of weather—a force at once universal and intimate—to explore the interconnectedness of human history, the natural world, and the unseen forces that shape our lives.

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