Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

James Merrill’s poem “Another April” is a haunting and evocative reflection on memory, presence, and the passing of time. The poem’s imagery and tone suggest a deep connection to both the past and the natural world, exploring how these elements intertwine and influence the speaker’s consciousness.

The poem opens with the line, “The panes flash, tremble with your ghostly passage through them,” immediately establishing a sense of ethereal presence. The “panes” here likely refer to windows, traditionally symbols of the boundary between the interior and the exterior, the self and the world. The description of them flashing and trembling suggests that the passage of a ghost or a memory through these panes disturbs the very structure of the house, and by extension, the speaker’s inner world. This ghostly presence is both seen and felt, but remains intangible and elusive.

Merrill’s choice of words, such as “x-ray sheerness billowing,” adds to the sense of something insubstantial yet penetrating, as if this ghostly figure or memory is both transparent and powerful, capable of revealing the hidden depths of the speaker’s thoughts and emotions. The phrase “and I have risen / But cannot speak” captures the paralysis that often accompanies profound experiences or memories—moments when one is compelled to act or respond but finds oneself unable to do so. This inability to speak is tied to the memory that “one was meant / To rise and not to speak,” suggesting a ritual or a deeply ingrained response to this presence that has been triggered by its return.

The poem then addresses the “Young storm” that has taken possession of the house: “this house is yours.” Here, the storm can be interpreted as a metaphor for intense emotions or memories that overwhelm and take control. The storm’s “eye” darkening and the “rain” coming indicate the inevitable arrival of these emotions, which the speaker anticipates but does not resist. The “candle reeling” deep within the house, or perhaps within the speaker, represents a flicker of consciousness or control struggling to remain steady in the face of these overwhelming forces.

Merrill’s use of nature imagery in the poem’s final lines, “Daybreak's great gray rust-veined irises humble and proud / Along your path will have laid their foreheads in the dust,” connects the human experience of memory and emotion to the natural world. The “irises” at daybreak are both “humble and proud,” suggesting a duality of resilience and submission. These flowers, often symbols of hope and renewal, are described as laying “their foreheads in the dust,” an image that evokes humility, surrender, and perhaps mourning. The path of the storm, or the memory, leaves these flowers bowed, indicating the lasting impact of the experience on both the speaker and the world around them.

“Another April” is a meditation on the cyclical nature of time and memory, where each return—each “another April”—brings with it echoes of the past that continue to shape the present. Merrill’s language and imagery evoke a powerful sense of the ways in which we are haunted by what has been, and how these hauntings influence our perceptions and emotions. The poem captures the tension between the desire to hold on to control and the inevitability of surrendering to forces beyond our control, whether they be natural, emotional, or spiritual.

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