Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Robert Creeley’s poem "The Question" explores themes of desire, sensuality, and the objectification of the female body through a complex mixture of admiration, sensual imagery, and self-aware irony. In this short, provocative piece, Creeley examines the allure of physical beauty and the impulse to capture it through description. Yet, by doing so, he raises questions about the act of describing or idealizing women as objects of sensual pleasure. The poem's tone is both celebratory and ambivalent, balancing admiration with a critical undercurrent that invites the reader to reflect on the implications of viewing others through the lens of sensual desire.

The opening line, "A description of the sensuous / is its own answer," suggests that words themselves, when used to describe beauty or sensuality, provide a form of fulfillment or satisfaction. The phrase implies that simply describing the sensual is enough; it needs no further justification or rationale. This perspective positions language as a means of experiencing and savoring beauty in the abstract, as if the act of description alone is an act of indulgence. Yet, this idea also hints at a kind of limitation—by claiming that description "is its own answer," Creeley may be acknowledging that words, while evocative, can only capture a surface-level understanding of sensuality, leaving the deeper complexities untouched.

"A multiple love is / mine. / These women." Here, the speaker seems to relish in a love that is varied and expansive, expressed through admiration for more than one person. The phrase "multiple love" could indicate a polyamorous or non-exclusive love, emphasizing the speaker’s embrace of variety and diversity in his affections. Yet, there is a possessive quality to the phrase "is mine," which suggests that the speaker perceives these women as part of his domain or collection of experiences. By stating "These women," the speaker implies a sense of ownership or authority over his objects of affection, reducing complex individuals to categories within his sensual experience. This line, though brief, establishes a tension between appreciation and objectification, where "love" and "ownership" seem to blur.

The next lines, "Who in their beds, their / beds or buttocks bared for the nocturnal / revels, agh!" bring the reader into a more explicit and physical depiction of desire. The repetition of "beds" emphasizes the setting of intimacy, while "buttocks bared" conveys a raw, almost voyeuristic image. The word "nocturnal" adds a sense of mystery or secrecy, associating these "revels" with the night, a time often associated with hidden or forbidden pleasures. The exclamation "agh!" serves as an expression of both excitement and perhaps a tinge of shame or self-consciousness. This reaction implies that while the speaker is drawn to these sensual images, there is also an awareness of their rawness or excess, a recognition of the intensity—or perhaps the vulgarity—of his own desire.

The final lines introduce a metaphor that merges the body with nature: "Or if her tits be rose, or roses, or any / flower, with what, say, to water this / garden of particular / intent?" By comparing a woman’s body to a "garden" that requires care and nourishment, the speaker both romanticizes and objectifies the female form. "Roses" and "any flower" evoke traditional symbols of beauty, fragility, and fertility, while the phrase "to water this / garden" introduces a sexual metaphor. Here, the speaker grapples with the paradox of adoration and possession—while he sees the woman’s body as a beautiful, natural space deserving of care, he also reduces it to something that exists for his cultivation or pleasure.

The question "with what, say, to water this / garden of particular / intent?" highlights the speaker’s awareness of his own desire as something deliberate and focused, a "particular intent" that is openly acknowledged. This question introduces a self-reflective moment, as if the speaker is questioning the appropriateness or nature of his desire, perhaps wondering what he, as an admirer, should bring to this metaphorical garden. The "particular intent" speaks to the conscious, even calculated nature of his desires, acknowledging the tension between genuine admiration and the possessive implications of objectifying others.

Structurally, "The Question" is fragmented, with enjambed lines that create pauses and breaks in thought, mirroring the speaker’s fluctuating feelings of admiration, desire, and self-awareness. Creeley’s language is both vivid and suggestive, drawing readers into the speaker’s inner world while allowing space for interpretation. The poem’s form reinforces its content, as each line seems to hover between celebration and introspection, caught between indulgence and critique.

Through "The Question," Creeley explores the complexities of sensual attraction and the power dynamics involved in viewing others as objects of desire. The poem’s title itself, "The Question," could be seen as referring to the speaker’s own uncertainties about the nature of his love and attraction, as well as the ethical dimensions of his desire. The speaker is aware of his own objectifying gaze, which seeks to capture and possess beauty even as it acknowledges its own limitations. By framing these reflections in terms of a "garden of particular intent," Creeley encapsulates the tension between the natural impulse to admire beauty and the moral ambiguity of reducing others to objects within one’s own desires.

Ultimately, "The Question" is a meditation on the nature of sensuality, attraction, and the line between admiration and objectification. Creeley invites readers to consider how desire shapes perception, and how love or admiration, when filtered through possessive or objectifying impulses, can become something more complicated than pure affection. In doing so, the poem reflects on the inherent contradictions in human relationships, where the impulse to cherish beauty is intertwined with the desire to claim it for oneself.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...