Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Illustration" by John Ashbery is a poem that weaves a tapestry of symbolic imagery and metaphor to explore themes of perception, desire, and the human condition. Divided into two sections, the poem presents a narrative that is both enigmatic and rich in allegorical meaning.

Part I of the poem introduces a novice perched precariously on a cornice high above a city. This image immediately sets a tone of tension and precariousness, suggesting a metaphorical and literal edge between safety and peril, the known and the unknown. The presence of angels and police, entities representative of spiritual and worldly authority, further intensifies this tension, as they implore the novice to descend.

The novice's rejection of conventional offers of friendship, material gifts, and comforts underscores a deeper longing for something transcendent, beyond the mundane and tangible. Her statement, “I desire monuments,” and her wish to move “figuratively, as waves caress the thoughtless shore,” indicate a yearning for a legacy that transcends the physical world, reflecting a quest for meaning and recognition beyond the temporal.

The scene culminates in a dramatic and surreal image of the novice, likened to a roc’s egg, drifting naked downward, signifying both a literal fall and a metaphorical descent into vulnerability and exposure. This descent out of the angels' tenderness and men’s minds suggests a journey from the celestial to the earthly, from the idealized to the real.

Part II contemplates the implications of the novice’s act. The idea that “Much that is beautiful must be discarded” introduces the notion of sacrifice and the shedding of superficialities to attain a truer, more elevated self. The comparison of moths to the flame encapsulates the human drive towards self-destruction in pursuit of unattainable ideals.

The poem reflects on the ephemeral nature of human aspirations and achievements, symbolized by the rockets and the fleeting celebration. The novice, initially perceived as an embodiment of transcendence, is revealed to be an “effigy of indifference,” a mirage of meaning in a world where true understanding remains elusive.

The closing lines, contemplating the leaves' relationship to winter, evoke the idea of impermanence and the cyclical nature of existence. The leaves are not defined by winter, just as human beings are not solely defined by their endings or failures.

In summary, "Illustration" by John Ashbery is a complex and introspective poem that delves into the depths of human longing, the pursuit of meaning, and the inevitable confrontation with the limits of our understanding and existence. Through vivid imagery and profound symbolism, Ashbery invites the reader to contemplate the nuanced interplay between reality and aspiration, appearance and essence.

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