Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Gwen Head’s "Linguistic Commission Reports from the Interior" is a brilliant and sardonic allegory that imagines language as a harsh, untamed landscape where words become creatures to be captured, subdued, or endured. Through inventive metaphors and dark humor, the poem critiques the complexities and challenges of communication, the cultural differences in linguistic expression, and the limits of language as a tool for understanding and connection. Head’s use of an extended metaphor transforms the act of using language into an expedition fraught with peril and absurdity, where the survival of meaning and expression is at stake.

The poem begins by contrasting "our country," where words are "small, succulent and docile," with the imagined "interior," where words are "wiry and mean." This dichotomy immediately establishes the interior as an alien and hostile linguistic environment. The description of words needing to be "cornered and battered with rocks" paints them as feral creatures, resistant to domestication. This metaphor highlights the difficulty of extracting meaning or coherence from language in this setting, as well as the violent effort required to do so. The imagery of words "snapping and foaming" suggests not only their untamable nature but also their potential to harm, implying that language here is fraught with danger and unpredictability.

Head draws attention to the peculiarities of different parts of speech, anthropomorphizing them to emphasize their roles and challenges. The adverbs are described as "especially menacing," their nocturnal circling of tents creating an atmosphere of unease and sleeplessness. This portrayal of adverbs as predatory creatures underscores their capacity to modify and destabilize meaning, making communication fraught with ambiguity. By contrast, the nouns are "nocturnal and clumsy" and "sluggish by day," making them easier to capture but less dynamic. In captivity, nouns "breed copiously," producing endless variations of concepts like "want" and "hunger." This overabundance of linguistic expressions, rendered "stringy, foul-tasting," critiques the tendency of language to proliferate meanings without necessarily clarifying or enriching communication.

The poem’s depiction of the natives’ relationship with language is both grotesque and poignant. The image of natives "chew[ing] air constantly to numb the pain" suggests a desperate attempt to cope with the harshness of their linguistic environment. This act, coupled with washing it down with a nettle brew, evokes both physical suffering and resilience, as the natives adapt to their inhospitable linguistic reality. The cultural practice of abandoning "old orations, epigrams, homilies" to die reflects a rejection of tradition and permanence, suggesting that the language of the interior resists the preservation of meaning across time. Even "small-beer mutterings and yelps of love" are discarded, highlighting the futility of attempting to maintain intimacy or connection through such fragile expressions.

At the heart of this linguistic world lies a paradoxical reverence for silence and emptiness. The "most sacred object is a blank piece of paper," and their "epic poem [is] seventeen hours of silence." These elements suggest that in the interior, language is so burdensome and fraught that its highest ideal is its absence. The blank paper symbolizes potential and purity, unmarred by the complications of expression, while the silent epic elevates inaction and restraint to a form of virtue. The natives’ "highest virtue" is "panic in the face of hyperbole," a wry commentary on the overuse of exaggerated language in other cultures, suggesting that the interior values authenticity and subtlety over excess.

Structurally, the poem’s free verse form allows the imaginative narrative to flow naturally, mimicking the report-like tone suggested by the title. The lack of formal constraints mirrors the chaotic and untamed nature of the linguistic interior, while the vivid, unexpected imagery keeps the reader engaged and disoriented, reflecting the complexity of the subject matter. The detached, observational tone lends the poem an anthropological quality, as though the speaker is a researcher documenting an alien culture, adding a layer of satire to the depiction of language.

"Linguistic Commission Reports from the Interior" is ultimately a meditation on the nature of language and its limitations. By imagining words as living, often hostile entities, Head critiques the ways in which language can obscure, distort, or fail to convey meaning. At the same time, the poem highlights the resilience and creativity required to navigate this fraught terrain, celebrating the adaptability of those who inhabit the linguistic interior. Through its inventive metaphors and sharp wit, the poem challenges readers to reconsider their relationship with language, reminding us that words are not just tools but living forces, capable of both harm and beauty.

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