Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Small Woman on Swallow Street" by William Stanley Merwin is a haunting, complex work that explores the nature of agency, vulnerability, and omnipresence in a world full of uncertainties. Through the focus on the figure of a "small woman," the poem unfolds as an allegory for the human condition, with its unsettling elements of danger, movement, and the need for constant vigilance.

The poem is driven by its vivid, unsettling imagery. Right from the start, we're introduced to a "Four feet up, under the bruise-blue / Fingered hat-felt," which brings forth the image of a woman who is almost camouflaged within her environment. The "sly brim" of her hat is likened to an insidious force that will "cover / The whole world," suggesting an omnipresent, almost malignant influence. This is not a comforting maternal figure but rather a creature who is both vulnerable and dangerous, whose very presence casts a spell of uncertainty over the world she inhabits.

The focus then shifts to the woman's eyes, which are endowed with "Fifty years' / Start in gray." These eyes are elusive and almost omniscient; "you will never / Catch up to where they are." This introduces a temporal dimension, suggesting that the woman's experience and wisdom are beyond our understanding or reach. In doing so, Merwin subtly confronts us with the limitations of our own perspective and understanding.

The enigmatic description of the woman's "boots big with wide smiles of darkness" further complicates the reader's perception. They are "climbing," reaching almost to her knees, bypassing where "there should have been ankles to stop them." This adds a note of urgency; there is a lack of boundaries and controls, contributing to an escalating sense of danger or chaos. The "black sea is down where the toes are," threatening to engulf and "swallow all."

Then, the narrative takes an abrupt, confounding turn: "But eyes push you down; never / Meet eyes." As if admonishing the reader, the speaker warns against making eye contact. The concept of gaze here is powerful and complex; it's as if looking into those eyes would draw one into an inescapable vortex of vulnerability and perhaps, culpability.

A theological undertone is brought into the poem with the lines, "Do not look up. God is / On High. He can see you. You will die." Here, Merwin infuses the work with a sense of predestined doom, alluding to the omnipresence and inescapability of divine observation.

In this chilling narrative, Merwin effectively blurs the lines between the observer and the observed, the powerful and the powerless, thereby challenging our understanding of agency and vulnerability. It's a poem that makes us confront our assumptions about who is in control, who is to be feared, and what elements of life are actually within our grasp. Through its enigmatic central figure, "Small Woman on Swallow Street" becomes a metaphorical space where human complexities are magnified, leaving the reader unsettled yet deeply contemplative.

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