Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Cleopatra Mathis's "Great Quiet" delves into the profound tension between the competing demands of familial love, the fragility of life, and the pursuit of a creative identity. Through a dreamlike narrative and vivid imagery, the poem conveys the speaker’s yearning for peace amidst her fears and responsibilities, highlighting the precarious balance between artistic ambition and maternal vigilance.

The poem opens with a dreamscape of stillness and serenity. The speaker envisions "eyes closed and snow thick on the skylight," setting a scene of quietude and isolation. This serene image, coupled with "utter silence" in the children’s rooms, evokes an almost sacred calm. The "sweet things laid in their places" and the "brief order" emphasize a world of careful arrangement and fragile equilibrium, where the practical necessities of life—"the body governed by air"—are momentarily in harmony. Yet this tranquil image is underscored by an undercurrent of unease, as the speaker’s awareness of mortality and her role as a protector disrupts the stillness.

The poem’s central conflict emerges as the speaker is "called away from [her] other life," referring to her identity as a writer or thinker, "the defining self that admits nothing but the mind’s endless digging." This internal world, characterized by intellectual pursuit and creative exploration, stands in stark contrast to the physical, immediate demands of motherhood. The phrase "mind’s endless digging" suggests both the depth and futility of this pursuit, as though the speaker’s creative work cannot ultimately shield her from the raw, visceral fears tied to her children’s vulnerability.

The dream becomes a site where these fears are magnified. The speaker wakes "with a start," gripped by the terror that "a child’s breath falters and [she is] not there to shake the body back." This visceral image captures the profound anxiety of parenthood, the constant vigilance required to ensure a child’s survival. It also emphasizes the speaker’s guilt and helplessness, as though her focus on writing—"this hand drags over the page"—risks neglecting her children’s needs. The act of writing, a metaphor for the speaker’s creative identity, becomes both a solace and a source of guilt, highlighting the duality of her existence.

As the poem progresses, the dream’s cold and haunting atmosphere intensifies. The speaker longs to "sleep, to rise before daybreak in the far room," suggesting a desire to retreat into her creative world. However, this retreat comes at a cost. The voice of doubt echoes in her dream: "But what will you pay," questioning the sacrifices she makes to sustain her artistic self. This internal dialogue underscores the weight of her choices and the constant tension between creation and care.

The imagery of decay and fragility culminates in the dream’s chilling finale. Paper piles "against the window," symbolizing the speaker’s creative work, yet it is juxtaposed with the physical deterioration of her "hair and skin... turned to powder." This stark contrast between creation and mortality highlights the impermanence of both artistic endeavors and human life. The speaker’s attempt to "overtake the great quiet" and call back her children is thwarted by her inability to speak, her "throat... a long avenue of ice." The frozen words symbolize the silencing of maternal power, the futility of protecting her children from life’s inevitable dangers.

Ultimately, "Great Quiet" explores the precarious balance between artistic ambition and maternal devotion. Mathis captures the speaker’s simultaneous longing for solitude and her fear of failing those she loves. The tension between creation and care, permanence and fragility, reverberates throughout the poem, revealing the emotional and existential struggles inherent in navigating these dual identities. Through its haunting imagery and meditative tone, the poem affirms the profound weight of love and responsibility, even as it acknowledges the impossibility of absolute safety or resolution.

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