Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Frederick Louis MacNeice’s poem "This Is the Life" takes a satirical look at the human desire for comfort, permanence, and a sanitized experience of life, particularly through the lens of affluent tourists engaging with ancient history. The poem depicts "elderly ladies in slacks" visiting the tombs of the kings, but rather than confronting the deeper, more profound meanings of death and history, they grasp at "hieroglyphics" with superficial ease, their red nails indicating a preoccupation with outward appearances rather than substance. MacNeice critiques the modern consumerist attitude, one that reduces profound historical or cultural experiences into a checklist of conveniences.

The opening lines immediately set the scene with a sense of absurdity: these tourists "grope" their way down the "rock chute" into the tombs, where history and death reside, but their behavior—hurried, with nails clutching at hieroglyphics—suggests they are more interested in the spectacle than in reflection. Their interaction with the ancient world is shallow, as though they are passing through without truly engaging with the depth of what they see.

The phrase "deep peace of the shelter" is ironic, as MacNeice presents this historical site—meant to invoke awe or contemplation—as a mere "shelter," a place of temporary respite offering "cuisine and service" to tourists. The poem’s tone is biting as it highlights how "everything found" and "all the small ochred menials and livestock" are provided for these visitors, who desire an experience that is both comfortable and unchallenging. The reduction of an ancient, sacred space to a "service" with "convenience laid on free" captures how modern tourists often consume cultural heritage as a product, with no need for intellectual or emotional engagement.

The poem takes a turn into dark humor as it portrays these tourists as being "gracious in granite," suggesting that they are as rigid and unyielding as the monuments they visit. Their "minds made up forever" reflects not only their fixed attitudes toward life and death but also the superficiality of their understanding. In their comfort, they are prepared for the "black sarcophagus" and can "hide their heads under the graveclothes," avoiding any real confrontation with mortality. MacNeice mocks the idea that one can avoid the uncertainties of life and death by retreating into a cocoon of wealth and convenience.

The lines "every day in the dark below the desert will be one of both independence and thanksgiving" are laced with irony. The "independence" these tourists believe they have achieved is hollow; it comes not from a deep understanding or confrontation with life’s big questions, but from the sterile security of wealth and privilege. Their "thanksgiving" is equally shallow, as it is less about genuine gratitude and more about the assurance that they can avoid life’s unpredictability.

The poem’s final lines deliver a satirical punch: the tourists need not worry about "what may fall out of the sky"—a nod to the chaos and unpredictability of life—but can instead enjoy "a Pharaoh’s portion of turkey and pumpkin pie." This closing image juxtaposes the grandeur of ancient Egyptian royalty with the banality of modern indulgence, underscoring how these tourists are more concerned with material comforts than with any deeper engagement with history, death, or their own mortality. The contrast between the Pharaoh’s portion and the familiar Thanksgiving dish of "turkey and pumpkin pie" reinforces the idea that these visitors trivialize the profound, reducing it to something palatable and familiar.

In "This Is the Life", MacNeice offers a sharp critique of consumerism and the human tendency to seek comfort and security at the expense of deeper meaning. The poem’s tone, though playful, underscores a serious concern about the way modern society interacts with history and mortality, transforming profound experiences into mere commodities.

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