Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Robert Creeley’s poem "There (3)," we encounter a profound internal struggle that parallels Dante’s transition from thought to dream in "Purgatorio", Canto XVIII. Just as Dante, in his journey through Purgatory, moves from conscious thought into dream—a process that allows deeper reflections to emerge—Creeley’s speaker drifts through a series of fragmented thoughts, emotions, and self-reflections that delve into the depths of personal turmoil, identity, and fearful love. The passage from "Purgatorio" sets a contemplative tone that helps us understand the mind’s complex movements as it wrestles with its own barriers and seeks a form of release. In Creeley’s piece, as in Dante’s, there is a transition between different layers of consciousness and self-awareness, revealing the interiority of a speaker caught between self-imposed barriers and a longing for emotional and psychological release.

The poem opens with a cryptic image: "The wall is at / What I never said." Much like Dante’s initial observation of shadows disappearing from view, this line from Creeley suggests a distancing—a barrier that has developed from unexpressed thoughts and unresolved emotions. The “wall” here represents the accumulated weight of things left unsaid, feelings suppressed, and self-perceptions withheld. In "Purgatorio", Dante’s wandering thoughts pull him toward a new state of consciousness; similarly, in "There (3)," the wall of silence and suppression evokes the speaker’s awareness of his own limitations and the obstacles that prevent him from achieving inner clarity. Both passages draw us into a state of internal wandering, exploring what it means to be held back by the barriers of one’s own mind.

As Creeley’s speaker continues, the imagery becomes more intimate and abstract, echoing Dante’s inward journey into thought: "faint what I couldn’t touch / faces between thin / was me in you." This fragmented line suggests a blurred boundary between the self and the other, between what is internal and what is external. The speaker’s sense of self feels thin, even insubstantial, as he reflects on a relationship or connection that has failed to provide clarity. This blurring of self mirrors Dante’s own experience of thought transitioning into dream, where concrete understanding gives way to the abstract workings of the subconscious. In Creeley’s poem, “thin was me in you” suggests a fragile identity, as if the speaker’s sense of self has dissolved within the attempt to understand or relate to another person.

The line “an aching determination / dumb sad pain” captures the intense yet silent suffering that colors the speaker’s introspective journey. In "Purgatorio", Dante’s movement from thought to dream opens him to spiritual insights and symbolic visions; in "There (3)," Creeley’s speaker, however, confronts a darker, more isolated form of introspection. The “aching determination” suggests a relentless need to confront this inner pain, while “dumb sad pain” hints at the difficulty of articulating or even fully understanding it. The speaker’s emotional turmoil remains trapped within, unexpressed, just as Dante’s contemplative wandering ultimately leads him into a deeper realm of subconscious reflection. This silence, this "dumb" quality of the speaker’s suffering, suggests a paralysis, as if the pain has reached a point beyond language.

"Inside and out / wasted blame thought" introduces a theme of regret and self-directed anger, echoing Dante’s complex thoughts that spiral into dream. Here, the speaker grapples with feelings of blame that have consumed him, yet have ultimately proven to be "wasted," accomplishing nothing constructive. This line mirrors Dante’s reflections that lead him into a dream state—thoughts that are diversely branching, unresolved, and ultimately lead to deeper exploration rather than immediate answers. Creeley’s phrase "wasted blame" captures the feeling of energy expended on futile self-critique, while "inside and out" emphasizes the all-encompassing nature of this internalized blame. The speaker, much like Dante, is entangled in a web of thoughts that pulls him further into a state of introspective wandering, as he wrestles with his own sense of inadequacy and pain.

The poem’s final lines—“trying still to get out”—express the speaker’s ongoing struggle for release, a yearning that mirrors Dante’s transition into dream as a form of escape from overwhelming thoughts. In "Purgatorio", Dante’s passage into dream represents a journey inward toward spiritual insight, while in "There (3)," the speaker’s attempt to "get out" is an escape from the confines of self-imposed barriers. This desire for freedom suggests an inner restlessness, a need to transcend the limitations of self-reflection and find solace beyond the confines of his own mind.

The second section of the poem, titled "FEARFUL LOVE," shifts the focus to the complexities of love and the accompanying sense of vulnerability. The line "Love was my heart" reflects a longing for connection, much like Dante’s contemplation of love and virtue in his journey through Purgatory. However, in Creeley’s piece, this love is fraught with fear, as the speaker describes "the evil in the coil" and a self-directed scream. Here, love is both a source of meaning and a source of terror, as if the speaker fears the very thing he desires. This “coil” suggests a constriction, a looping anxiety that prevents the speaker from fully embracing love. Dante, too, must confront his human frailties and fears as he ascends Purgatory, recognizing the impurities that hold him back. In Creeley’s poem, the speaker’s love is entangled with fear, mirroring the tension between desire and apprehension that lies at the heart of both personal and spiritual journeys.

The final lines—“what a gun could say” and “what the white abstract / dead faced one / now would say”—introduce an ominous tone, as if the speaker has reached a point of existential crisis. The mention of "a gun" suggests a dark impulse, a potential desire to silence the pain forcibly. This echoes Dante’s own encounters with mortality and sin, where he confronts the consequences of his earthly actions. However, while Dante’s journey through Purgatory is a movement toward redemption, Creeley’s speaker remains suspended in a state of doubt and turmoil, uncertain of how to move forward. The “white abstract / dead faced one” could symbolize a detached, numbed version of the self, a persona that has developed in response to the speaker’s inner conflict. This figure represents a point of numbness or emptiness, the outcome of prolonged introspection and unresolved fear.

In "There (3)," Creeley, much like Dante in "Purgatorio", explores the tension between conscious thought and subconscious emotion, between the desire for understanding and the barriers that impede it. The speaker’s journey through fragmented thoughts, emotional pain, and fearful love mirrors Dante’s own inward journey through the complexities of the human soul. Both pieces reflect a profound confrontation with the self, where understanding is obscured by layers of fear, regret, and unarticulated desire. However, while Dante finds solace and guidance through his dreams, Creeley’s speaker remains trapped within his own mind, yearning for release but unable to fully grasp it.

Ultimately, "There (3)" offers a meditation on the inner walls we construct, the fears that hold us captive, and the elusive hope for connection and clarity. In the spirit of Dante’s journey from thought to dream, Creeley’s speaker travels through layers of self-awareness, love, and fear, capturing the struggle of a soul seeking escape from itself but finding, in the end, only a reflection of its own internal barriers. The poem leaves us with the sense that true release, whether in love or self-understanding, is both desired and feared, a journey that requires courage to break through the walls we build within.

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