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Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained | |||
The poem begins with an ordinary action—crawling out of a car into a rest stop—but quickly veers into the surreal with the appearance of Lady Baltimore cake served by "Mme. du Barry look-alikes." This blending of historical references with contemporary settings introduces a theme of timelessness and the fluidity of reality, a recurring motif in Ashbery's poetry. The encouragement from one of the servers to the narrator, "Don't hurry, Mr. Executioner," further disrupts the expected with its juxtaposition of hospitality and the macabre, emphasizing the poem's exploration of the unexpected and the uncanny. The mention of Red Skelton, a real-life comedian known for his roles in the mid-20th century, roots the poem in a specific cultural context while also highlighting the theme of performance and artifice. Skelton's drowning in "lists of trivia and itching-powder dreams" speaks to the overwhelming nature of inconsequential information and the blurry line between wakefulness and sleep, reality and imagination. This theme is reinforced by the image of his brother cleaning up after elephants, an act that evokes the behind-the-scenes labor that sustains the spectacle, further complicating the poem's meditation on appearance versus reality. Ashbery's use of "My scented glove offends the daintiest among them" introduces a personal element, suggesting sensitivity and perhaps a critique of social mores and pretensions. The reference to "cries of old London" and the "exhaustive repertory" of shrieks evokes a historical depth, connecting the poem's contemporary setting with the past and suggesting a continuity of human experience marked by outcry and resistance. The poem's title, "Runway," suggests themes of departure and transition, which are realized in the narrative's progression toward leaving home "forever, to be pitched about on storm-tossed seas." This imagery of embarkation into the unknown reflects a longing for adventure and a departure from the familiar, resonating with the poem's overarching exploration of the boundaries between the known and the unknown, the real and the surreal. Structurally, "Runway" is characteristic of Ashbery's free verse approach, eschewing consistent meter and rhyme in favor of a more fluid, conversational style that allows for the seamless integration of disparate images and ideas. The poem's form mirrors its content, with its shifts in tone and setting reflecting the unpredictable nature of the narrative and the complexities of human consciousness it seeks to represent. Stylistically, Ashbery employs a rich tapestry of language, weaving together colloquial speech with literary and historical allusions. His imagery is striking for its precision and its ability to evoke both the familiar and the strange, challenging readers to navigate the shifting terrain of the poem's narrative landscape. The playful yet poignant tone of "Runway" is indicative of Ashbery's broader aesthetic, which often finds beauty and meaning in the juxtaposition of the absurd with the profound. In the broader literary and cultural context, "Runway" exemplifies postmodernism's preoccupation with fragmentation, intertextuality, and the questioning of narrative authority. Ashbery's poem engages with these themes, presenting a world where meaning is multiplicitous and reality is subject to constant reevaluation. "Runway" invites readers to embrace the uncertainty and richness of experience, suggesting that understanding comes not from the imposition of order but from the willingness to encounter the world in all its complexity. In conclusion, "Runway" by John Ashbery is a meditation on the fluidity of reality, the interplay between the mundane and the extraordinary, and the human desire for knowledge and adventure. Through its surreal narrative, the poem challenges conventional understandings of time, space, and identity, offering a richly textured exploration of the possibilities of language and the imagination. Ashbery's work continues to captivate and perplex, inviting readers to engage with the world anew, unmoored from the familiar and open to the wonders of the unknown. POEM TEXT: https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/2001-05-21/flipbook/084/
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