Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Lawrence Durrell's poem "Pearls" meditates on the themes of beauty, impermanence, and the incomplete nature of existence through the metaphor of pearls being refreshed by the sea. The poem juxtaposes the cyclical processes of nature with sudden, violent disruptions, ultimately reflecting on the fragility of life and the unfinished nature of many human experiences.

The poem opens with a vivid image: "Now mark, the Lady one fine day / To refresh her pearls she comes / And buries them in the sand here, / Letting the sea feed on them." The Lady’s act of burying her pearls in the sand allows the natural elements—the salt and the sea—to "lick back by salt / The lustre of them and the prize." This process of renewal by nature suggests that even objects of beauty and value, such as pearls, require a connection with the natural world to maintain their allure. The idea that the sea "feeds" on the pearls introduces a symbiotic relationship, where the pearls are temporarily surrendered to the forces of nature in order to be revitalized.

Durrell then introduces the passage of time with "Ten summers, lazy as fishes follow. / Ten winters, nude as thimbles." These lines evoke the slow, steady progression of time, with summers being "lazy" and winters "nude," emphasizing the cyclical nature of seasons. The imagery of time as "curves" suggests a continuous, flowing motion, much like the ocean’s waves. The pearls are described as "drinkers of the darkness," which may symbolize how they absorb the mysteries and depths of the sea, growing in beauty and richness as they do.

However, this process of renewal is suddenly interrupted: "But their lovely Neck / Becomes one day the target for an Axe." The imagery here is jarring, contrasting sharply with the serene and cyclical nature of the earlier stanzas. The "lovely Neck"—possibly referring to the neck that once wore the pearls—is abruptly severed by an axe, "Bows swan-like down / Its unrepenting lovely stump." The image of the swan-like neck bowing down suggests both grace and tragedy, a moment of beauty that is immediately followed by violence and destruction.

The poem then shifts to a more abstract reflection: "Something is incomplete here, / Something in the story is unfinished, / A tale with no beginning, / The fragment of a voice that interrupts." This acknowledgment of incompleteness may refer to the sudden, unresolved nature of the narrative within the poem—the unexplained act of violence and the brokenness it leaves behind. Durrell seems to be pointing to the idea that life, like the story of the pearls, often lacks closure or a clear narrative arc. Instead, it is full of fragments and interruptions, much like the "unbroken coast" or the "half-drawn landscape" he describes.

The poem closes with "Like this broken torso of a poem," drawing attention to its own incomplete form. The metaphor of a "broken torso" suggests something that was once whole but is now only a part of what it was meant to be, echoing the themes of incompleteness and impermanence that run throughout the poem.

"Pearls" is a reflection on the transient nature of beauty and the inevitable disruptions that occur in life. Durrell uses the metaphor of pearls being refreshed by the sea to explore how time and nature can both nourish and destroy. The sudden violence in the poem serves as a reminder of the fragility of existence and the many stories that remain unfinished. Through its fragmented structure and haunting imagery, the poem invites readers to consider the ways in which life’s narratives are often incomplete, leaving us with only pieces of the whole.

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