Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Robert Creeley';s poem "Beyond" explores the themes of existential uncertainty, the concept of an afterlife, and the elusive search for meaning. The poem takes the reader through a contemplation of what might lie "beyond" life, touching on notions of judgment, salvation, and the emptiness that can accompany such abstract musings. Creeley';s language is reflective, probing the complex relationship between belief, expectation, and the ultimate realization of nothingness.

The poem begins with a conditional statement: "Whether in the world below or above, one was to come to it, rejected, accepted, in some specific balance." This line introduces the traditional duality often found in religious or spiritual concepts of the afterlife—the idea of a "world below" or "above" where one might be sent after death. The mention of "rejected, accepted" evokes the binary possibilities of salvation or damnation, suggesting a judgment that would determine one';s ultimate fate. The phrase "in some specific balance" implies a careful weighing of one';s actions or morality, a reckoning that will lead to either acceptance or rejection.

"There was to be a reckoning, a judgment unavoidable, and one would know at last the fact of a life lived, objectively, divinely, as it were, acknowledged in whatever faith." This line reinforces the inevitability of judgment, implying that each person';s life will be evaluated at some point. The mention of "objectively, divinely" suggests that this judgment will be beyond human bias, viewed through a transcendent lens that sees the "fact of a life lived" clearly. The use of "in whatever faith" highlights the universality of this concept, as if the specific beliefs do not matter; instead, what matters is the understanding that there will be an ultimate accounting, regardless of one';s particular faith or belief system.

"So that looking now for where ‘an ampler aether clothes the meads with roseate light,’ or simply the ‘pallid plains of asphodel,’" introduces a reference to classical imagery often used to depict the afterlife. The "amplest aether" and "meads with roseate light" evoke a heavenly vision, a place of beauty and peace, while the "pallid plains of asphodel" refer to the Greek underworld';s asphodel fields—a place for the souls of the dead, often portrayed as a shadowy and indifferent realm. By referencing these two contrasting visions of the afterlife, Creeley captures the dichotomy between hope for a glorious, ethereal paradise and the possibility of a muted, ambiguous afterlife.

The following line, "the vagueness, the question, goes in, discovers only emptiness—as if the place itself had been erased," reveals the speaker’s confrontation with the emptiness behind these imagined afterlife scenarios. The "vagueness" suggests that these concepts of the afterlife are fundamentally insubstantial, and "the question"—likely the existential inquiry about what lies beyond—leads to an unsettling conclusion: "only emptiness." The speaker';s exploration of these ideas ultimately results in the realization that these visions may be mere fabrications, "as if the place itself had been erased." The idea of erasure suggests that there was never anything concrete there to begin with, implying that these constructs of paradise or afterlife may be illusions created by the human mind to cope with the unknown.

The line "was only forever an idea and could never be found nor had it been" underscores the elusive nature of the afterlife. It suggests that the idea of a beyond, a paradise or place of rest, is fundamentally unattainable—a mere "idea" that was never grounded in reality. This realization casts a shadow of skepticism over the concept of an afterlife, implying that the search for such a place is futile because it "could never be found nor had it been." This evokes a sense of disillusionment, as if the pursuit of something greater beyond life is ultimately an exercise in futility.

The final line, "And there was nothing ever beyond," delivers a stark and definitive conclusion to the poem. This line negates the notion of an afterlife entirely, leaving the reader with the idea that there is no grand reward, no final resting place, and no transcendent destination awaiting us. It is a direct confrontation with the idea of emptiness—that there is, in fact, nothing beyond life itself. The bluntness of this line captures the existential void that follows the realization that the hopes and promises of an afterlife may be nothing more than comforting illusions.

"Beyond" by Robert Creeley is an exploration of existential uncertainty, confronting the idea of what might exist after death. Through references to classical imagery and a progression from expectation to realization, the poem reflects on the nature of belief, judgment, and the often elusive search for meaning. The speaker’s journey through the imagined landscapes of the afterlife ends in disillusionment, revealing that these visions are, in the end, empty and unattainable. The stark conclusion that "there was nothing ever beyond" underscores the existential weight of the poem, confronting readers with the possibility that all we have is the present life, with no grand or divine ending waiting for us.

Creeley';s language, with its conditional phrases and introspective questioning, invites the reader to ponder the validity and value of belief in the afterlife. By ultimately dismissing the existence of anything "beyond," the poem suggests that it is the present, tangible reality that must be faced, without the solace of a promised hereafter. This unsettling reflection on the emptiness of such promises challenges readers to reconsider the constructs we use to cope with mortality and the unknown.

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