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DE SENECTUTE, by             Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography


"De Senectute" by John Ashbery, with its title referencing Cicero's essay on old age, is a poignant exploration of aging, memory, and the transient nature of life. Ashbery's characteristic blend of the surreal and the mundane creates a dreamlike atmosphere, where the ordinary and the extraordinary coexist and intertwine.

The opening line, "Whatever charms is alien," immediately sets a tone of detachment and otherness, suggesting that what attracts us is often outside our understanding or control. This theme of alienation is woven throughout the poem, as Ashbery reflects on the passage of time and its effects on perception and memory.

The poem meanders through various scenes and images, much like memories surfacing in an aging mind. References to mundane activities – "returning with salt on her tunic’s hem" or stumbling "on some unpleasant evidence of the neighbor’s dog’s" – are juxtaposed with profound reflections on life and aging. This mix of the trivial with the significant mirrors the way life is experienced, a tapestry of important and unimportant moments.

Ashbery touches on the relentlessness of time – "Fifty is young today. So’s eighty." – highlighting the fluidity of age and perception. The poem conveys a sense of resignation and acceptance of life's inevitable progression, with its attendant loss and diminishment.

The imagery of the seasons – spring with its robins, August with its cooling showers – is used to symbolize the cycle of life, the ongoing rhythm of beginnings and endings. The natural world is depicted as both a source of beauty and a reminder of the inexorable march of time.

The poem's conclusion, with its blend of the surreal ("The wolf took up a broom and swept the walk") and the contemplative ("The empty corral is on the point of coming into being"), leaves the reader with a sense of the unresolved nature of existence. Ashbery's use of enigmatic and often contradictory images and ideas invites multiple interpretations, challenging the reader to find their own meaning in the flux of life and memory.

"De Senectute" is a meditative and introspective work, typical of Ashbery's style, offering a richly textured reflection on aging, the passage of time, and the ephemeral nature of human experience.


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