Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Déjà Vu" by Frederick Louis MacNeice delves into the eerie experience of living a moment that feels uncannily familiar, as if it has happened before. The poem explores this sensation not just as a fleeting, strange feeling but as a profound commentary on time, love, and the cyclical nature of existence. MacNeice uses the concept of déjà vu to reflect on the inescapable patterns in life, where time seems to loop back on itself, creating a sense of inevitability and repetition.

The poem opens with the assertion that déjà vu "does not come round in hundreds of thousands of years," but rather "in the split of a wink." This emphasizes the suddenness and immediacy of the experience, suggesting that it is not tied to long stretches of time but rather to brief, intense moments. The speaker describes a scene where everything—right down to the smallest details like scratching an elbow and the sound of a train passing by—feels like it has happened before. This repetition is so exact that the train itself seems to be declaring, "It does not come round."

MacNeice's use of the phrase "It does not come round" can be interpreted in multiple ways. On one level, it might imply that such moments are rare, unique occurrences. On another level, the repetition of the phrase throughout the poem hints at the paradox of déjà vu itself: the sense that something extraordinary is happening again, even though it logically shouldn't.

The poem moves from the mundane—scratching an elbow, the passing train—to more abstract reflections on time and love. The speaker acknowledges that they and their partner have "both been through the mill," having experienced the ups and downs of life. This phrase suggests that they have endured challenges and hardships, yet here they are, facing a moment that feels like a return to something familiar.

Despite the weariness that might come from such repetition, the speaker finds something beautiful and transcendent in the experience. The person they are with is "too lovely by half," a phrase that indicates their beauty or the connection they share surpasses mere appearance or superficiality. This love, the speaker suggests, must "extend beyond time" because "time is itself in arrears." Here, MacNeice plays with the idea that time is not a straightforward, linear force; instead, it can be delayed or looped, especially in the context of love, which has the power to transcend temporal boundaries.

The poem's conclusion returns to the image of writing—a self-reflective act that mirrors the repetition and return central to the experience of déjà vu. The speaker takes up a "selfsame pencil" to write down the very words they are thinking, as if to capture the fleeting moment before it slips away. The act of writing becomes a way to both assert control over the moment and to acknowledge the endless cycle in which they find themselves.

In "Déjà Vu," MacNeice uses the experience of reliving a moment as a metaphor for the human condition, where time, memory, and love intertwine in complex, sometimes confounding ways. The poem suggests that while life may often feel like a series of repetitive cycles, these moments also offer the potential for connection and transcendence. Through its exploration of time and memory, "Déjà Vu" reveals the beauty and strangeness of being caught in a loop, where the past, present, and future seem to collide in a single, significant instant.

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