Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Pericles", Kenneth Koch crafts a play that subverts traditional narrative and dramatic structure, utilizing surrealist dialogue and imagery to explore themes of leadership, identity, and existential reflection. The work defies conventional linear storytelling, instead creating a fragmented tapestry that challenges the audience to engage with its poetic and abstract elements.

The play opens with a conversation between Pericles and his Friend, establishing a tone of existential contemplation. The Friend’s line, “I stop and go, Pericles,” introduces the idea of indecision and flux, a recurring theme. Pericles’ response, “Because we have come to find this land,” suggests a quest or journey, but one that is undefined and abstract. The mention of “truth, climates, guitars” adds a layer of poetic ambiguity, blending the tangible with the intangible.

Pericles’ statement, “This breeze is smaller than my mouth,” is emblematic of Koch’s surreal style, invoking a sense of disorientation and the absurd. The dialogue between Pericles and his Friend reflects a deep questioning of leadership and purpose, as Pericles muses, “How we have grown, dears, since we’ve been from Greece!” This nostalgic reflection is juxtaposed with a sense of loss and decay, as Pericles laments the music “Lies wasting on the shore.”

The scene transitions are abrupt and disjointed, reinforcing the play’s non-linear structure. Scene 2, featuring “Another Man” simply stating, “Here I sit,” epitomizes the play’s minimalist and fragmented approach. Scene 3 introduces a Woman who delivers a monologue rich with surreal imagery: “Not that the gnat of smallness itself has anything to offer the beach with and through, without our tears as if some tea had raised a blind into the concussion of nonsense, and a coughing death.” This passage exemplifies Koch’s blending of the mundane and the fantastical, creating a dreamlike narrative that resists straightforward interpretation.

The Woman’s mention of Athens and a “new Greece” rising amidst “the fornication of signposts” reflects a complex relationship with history and identity. This is echoed in Pericles’ reflection on the “misery of pebbles” and his desire to return “to the faucets of truth.” The imagery of the “shore’s timeless teeth” suggests an eternal, unchanging reality contrasted with the transient human experience.

The Friend’s soliloquy further explores themes of existential despair and absurdity: “There’s no midnight mystery and no coconuts here to see, nothing but the ocean’s sea / which will wash history’s tattoos from me.” The surreal imagery of a “capon that’s struck by a tree” and the waves’ “orchestra’s business spree” evoke a sense of absurdity and randomness in life’s events.

Pericles’ line, “The air is Chinese! / I felt so strange / the day after tomorrow,” captures the play’s embrace of the bizarre and the disorienting. The mention of “a sparring partner whispers, ‘We grow’” in the forest adds to the surreal and fragmented nature of the narrative. The discovery of “a face in the sand” and the subsequent cry for help from the Face of Another Man introduces a moment of existential crisis and a cry for recognition and assistance.

The play concludes with an epilogue spoken by the conductor of the orchestra, who delivers a cryptic monologue: “And would it not have been too late / The gas goes on the gas goes off.” This final passage, with its rhythmic and disjointed lines, encapsulates the play’s overarching themes of uncertainty, the passage of time, and the elusive nature of meaning.

"Pericles" by Kenneth Koch is a surreal and avant-garde exploration of existential themes, characterized by its fragmented structure, poetic language, and abstract imagery. The play challenges conventional notions of narrative and character, inviting the audience to engage with its rich and enigmatic tapestry of words and ideas.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...