Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Stanley Kunitz's "Master and Mistress" explores themes of self-identity, existential confrontation, and the spectral nature of inner demons or unresolved aspects of the self. The poem's language and imagery create an eerie, introspective atmosphere as the speaker encounters a ghostly presence that challenges his understanding of self and existence.

The poem opens with a haunting self-reflection: "As if I were composed of dust and air, / The shape confronting me upon the stair." This initial line suggests the speaker's fragile and insubstantial nature, emphasizing a sense of vulnerability. The "shape" on the stair is described as an "Athlete of shadow, lighted by a stain / On its disjunctive breast," which evokes a spectral, almost supernatural entity marked by some undefined imperfection or injury. This confrontation is unsettling, as it "Moved through my middle flesh," indicating a deep, penetrating encounter that affects the core of the speaker's being.

The speaker's reaction to this encounter is one of profound shock: "I turned around, / Shaken and it was marching without sound / Beyond the door." The silent movement of the apparition further enhances the ghostly and otherworldly quality of the experience. The speaker's instinctive physical response, described as "when my hand was taken / From my mouth to beat the standing heart," conveys an intense fear and an attempt to reassure himself of his own physicality and life.

In a moment of existential crisis, the speaker cries out his "distant name," a phrase that implies a dissociation from his own identity: "thinking myself had died." This moment of self-alienation is profound, as the speaker feels a century's worth of pain "Between the twinkling of two thoughts." This line encapsulates the overwhelming nature of the experience, where time seems to expand and compress simultaneously under the weight of this spectral encounter.

The ghost's demand, "Host! Host! / I am diseased with motion. Give me bread / Before I quickly go. Shall I be fed?" introduces a plea for sustenance that is both physical and metaphysical. The ghost's claim of being "diseased with motion" suggests a restless, unfulfilled existence, seeking nourishment or resolution.

In response, the speaker offers himself: "Yielding, I begged of him: 'Partake of me. / Whatever runneth from the artery, / This body and its unfamiliar wine, / Stored in whatever dark of love, are thine.'" This act of self-offering is a desperate attempt to appease or understand the ghostly presence, indicating the speaker's willingness to give of himself entirely to resolve the encounter.

However, the ghost's denial is stark and final: "Every part / of thee is given, yea, thy flesh, thy heart." This refusal underscores a fundamental rejection or impossibility of communion between the speaker and the apparition, highlighting the limits of self-sacrifice and the unbridgeable gap between the living and the spectral.

"Master and Mistress" employs vivid and haunting imagery to delve into themes of identity, the confrontation with inner demons, and the existential struggle for understanding and resolution. Kunitz's use of language creates a powerful atmosphere of tension and introspection, inviting readers to ponder the nature of the self and the often unsettling encounters with the unresolved aspects of our own psyche. Through the speaker's encounter with the ghostly presence, the poem explores the boundaries of self-awareness and the haunting persistence of our inner fears and desires.

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