Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Variation of Themes by Roethke & Eliot" by Alan Dugan intricately blends imagery and symbolism to explore themes of innocence, transformation, and the intrusion of external forces into personal and domestic spaces. The poem employs a narrative style that captures a moment of childhood wonder and juxtaposes it against the harsher realities of adult life, reflecting a complex interplay between internal experiences and the external world.

In the poem  we can see the influence of several themes commonly associated with both Theodore Roethke and T.S. Eliot, albeit expressed in Dugan's distinct style. Here's how some of these themes manifest in the poem: Identity and Self-Discovery, Alienation and Isolation, Nature and its Correlation to the Human Psyche, Time and Memory, and The Role of the Poet and Poetry.

The poem opens with a vivid and innocent image: a child engaging with the world through a steamed pane. The child's actions—signing with his nose and fingerprints, drawing a heart, and the initials of a stranger and his own—reflect a pure, explorative interaction with his environment. This scene is emblematic of childhood innocence and the human desire to leave a mark on the world, to express and connect. The imagery of the heart and initials pierced by an arrow enhances the theme of youthful idealism and romantic aspirations, with the arrow being "clear and cold," suggesting both the purity and the sharp realities that can accompany such feelings.

The transformation of the child's waiting into light, where "the lights came on inside and out," symbolizes a moment of realization or enlightenment, possibly the dawning awareness of the broader, more complex world around him. This change is so profound that it alters the very atmosphere of the home: "the smell of women, food, and househeld pee was changed." This line suggests a shift from the mundane or domestic to something more intense and possibly overwhelming as adult life encroaches upon the child's awareness.

The entry of "Cloth" soaked in beer, tobacco-smoke, and the "air-smells from the business of outside" introduces adult elements into the child's environment. Cloth, perhaps representing a father figure or another adult male, brings the odors and substances of the external world into the domestic sphere, marking a stark contrast to the child's earlier innocent engagements. The description of these smells and the soaked cloth portrays the often unseemly and gritty reality of adult existence, encroaching on the child's previously pristine and imaginative world.

The poem then shifts to describe how "Strength moved through the rooms laughing too loud and hard for the long bead curtains of rules around explosive plates and cracking chairs." This passage conveys a sense of disruptive force, possibly the chaotic influence of adulthood or external pressures breaking into the ordered, rule-bound environment of childhood. The laughter that is too loud and the imagery of explosive plates and cracking chairs suggest a breaking down of structures and norms that once provided security and order.

The transformation concludes with the child first depicted as a "marsupial of pockets," suggesting a phase of collecting, hoarding, or perhaps seeking comfort in small, enclosed spaces, akin to a marsupial in its pouch. The evolution to a "freehold bird swung in the air" symbolizes a release or a leap into a broader existence, where "his knowledge of the world of god expanded in a space too small for joy." This line poignantly captures the idea that with greater knowledge and awareness comes a recognition of the constraints and limitations of reality, which can temper the pure joy once felt in ignorance.

"Variation of Themes by Roethke & Eliot" is a deeply reflective piece that explores the loss of innocence, the impact of external influences on personal growth, and the bittersweet nature of coming to understand the world in all its complexity. Through this narrative, Dugan connects the personal evolution from childhood to adulthood with broader existential themes, reflecting on how our environments shape and sometimes confine our spirits.

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