Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Tony Hoagland’s "Paradise" is a meditation on modern ambition, urban illusions, and the small, fleeting moments of intimacy that persist in a world driven by corporate success. The poem juxtaposes the personal and the impersonal, the warmth of love against the cool efficiency of the professional world, and the grandeur of the city against the quiet anxieties that lie beneath its dazzling surface. Through imagery that blends the natural with the artificial, Hoagland explores how desire—both personal and professional—shapes the landscape of contemporary life.

The poem begins with departure: “When my dear zooms off / In her smart grey tweed, / All shoulderpads and scimitar lapels / For a thoroughly executive evening / At the office.” The phrase “zooms off” suggests speed, ambition, and the relentless movement of modern work culture. The details of her attire—“smart grey tweed” and “scimitar lapels”—emphasize both professionalism and sharpness, giving her an almost armored appearance, as if preparing for battle in the corporate world. The juxtaposition of “thoroughly executive evening” with the intimate term “my dear” highlights the tension between personal relationships and professional aspirations.

Despite her departure, the speaker is left with a trace of intimacy: “The kiss she leaves imprinted on my lips / Glows with exactly the smudged glow / Of the smouldering peach clouds / Above the bay.” The comparison between the kiss and the sunset connects human affection to natural beauty, suggesting that even in a world of structured ambition, moments of tenderness remain. The phrase “smudged glow” conveys both warmth and impermanence—like the sunset, the kiss lingers briefly before fading.

The poem then expands outward, moving from the personal to the panoramic: “It’s a late-model Sunset, slung low / On the corporate skyline / In a turn-of-the-century city / Thriving on illusions—see how they wink & advertise themselves.” The “late-model Sunset” turns nature into a consumer product, as if even the sky has been shaped by modern aesthetics. The “corporate skyline” situates the poem in a world dominated by business, where even the horizon is framed by buildings rather than open space. The city “thriving on illusions” suggests an environment built on appearances, on spectacle rather than substance. The phrase “see how they wink & advertise themselves” reinforces this idea, turning the city into a self-promoting entity, seducing its inhabitants with the promise of excitement and success.

The next lines heighten the sense of aspiration and desire: “A million thrills / Rising in thin air, / A million rooms at the top / Of the carpeted stairs.” The repetition of “a million” emphasizes abundance, but the “thin air” hints at the emptiness behind the spectacle. The “rooms at the top” evoke the dream of upward mobility, the allure of power and privilege, yet they remain distant, unreachable. The “carpeted stairs” suggest luxury, but also a pathway that demands continuous ascent—there is no stopping, only climbing.

The poem then turns its gaze to those who occupy these spaces: “Where the high-boned priests and priestesses work late / While the night, expresso-black, encamps / Upon the town.” The “high-boned priests and priestesses” elevate business professionals to a near-religious status, as if they are figures of ritual and devotion. Yet their work, framed as sacred, occurs against a backdrop of darkness—the “expresso-black” night settling over the city suggests both sophistication and exhaustion, the way ambition consumes time and energy.

The final lines shift to the ordinary citizens of the city, who react to the night’s encroachment: “And all the neighbors blink, and arm themselves / With frequencies and charms / To carry off all thinking, / All dark forebodings / That pleasure forbids.” The neighbors “blink” as if awakening to the realities of the world around them, yet instead of engaging, they “arm themselves” with distractions. The “frequencies and charms” suggest television, radio, entertainment—things designed to occupy the mind without demanding deep thought. The phrase “to carry off all thinking” suggests a deliberate avoidance of self-reflection, an attempt to ward off anxieties that might disrupt the illusion of contentment. The closing line, “all dark forebodings that pleasure forbids,” implies that the pursuit of pleasure—whether through work, success, or distraction—requires the suppression of doubt and unease. The city thrives on its illusions because to question them would mean confronting the emptiness beneath them.

"Paradise" is an ironic title for a poem that explores a world built on ambition and surface-level fulfillment. Hoagland presents a modern city where business is a religion, where success is measured in status and spectacle, and where both professionals and ordinary citizens must suppress their doubts in order to participate in the dream. Yet amid this landscape, the moment of a lingering kiss—compared to a sunset—suggests that real connection, however fleeting, still exists. The poem leaves the reader questioning what true paradise is: the glamorous ascent toward power, or the brief but genuine moments of intimacy that remain in its shadow.

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