Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Howard Nemerov's poem "Lines & Circularities" is a profound meditation on the nature of time, memory, and the miraculous aspects of music and existence. Inspired by Pablo Casals' recording of Bach’s Sixth Suite, the poem explores how music transcends time and how physical processes reflect deeper cosmic and existential truths.

The poem begins by situating itself “deep in a time that cannot come again,” immediately setting a tone of nostalgia and reflection. Johann Sebastian Bach's composition is described as a “lonely and immense / Reflexion wherein our sorrows learn to dance,” suggesting that the music embodies a profound understanding of human emotion, transforming sorrow into beauty through its intricate structure. This transformation is timeless, as Bach’s music, created centuries ago, continues to resonate deeply in the present.

Nemerov then shifts to Pablo Casals, whose recording of the suite allows the music to be experienced anew. The act of playing back the recording becomes a metaphor for the reawakening of the past. The “circling stillness of the disc” and the “tracking inward of the tone-arm” are described as enacting “a mystery wherein the music shares: / How time, that comes and goes and vanishes / Never to come again, can come again.” This paradox highlights the power of music and recorded sound to collapse temporal boundaries, allowing something ephemeral to be relived repeatedly.

The poem acknowledges the “many silly miracles” of modern technology, which, though they cannot save us or the world, remain miraculous in their ability to recreate and preserve. The tone-arm’s spiral path on the record, translating the grooves into sound, is an example of such a miracle. This technological process, though mundane and mechanical, is portrayed as almost magical in its precision and its ability to evoke the original performance.

Nemerov delves into the physicality of the record-playing process, describing the needle navigating the “canyons” of the record grooves “by contact with the edges, not the floor.” This meticulous detail emphasizes the delicate nature of the reproduction process and the care required to maintain fidelity to the original music. The “black plastic” of the record, which “has memorized and kept / In its small striations whatever it was told,” serves as a vessel for Bach’s intent, preserving the music’s essence across time.

The poem then expands its scope to cosmic dimensions, drawing parallels between the cycles of music and the celestial movements of the Earth and the Sun. The Earth’s rotation and orbit, creating the cycles of light and dark and the seasons, are likened to the spirals and arcs of the record player. These natural cycles are part of a larger cosmic order, with the Sun and its satellites moving through the galaxy, echoing the music’s journey from creation to playback.

In this cosmic context, Bach’s music is envisioned as part of a divine harmony, where “the great cantor sings his songs to God.” This elevates the music from a mere human creation to a part of the universal order, suggesting that art and beauty are intrinsic to the fabric of existence.

The poem concludes with the cessation of the music: “The music dances to its inner edge / And stops.” The tone-arm’s final movement, as it “lifts and cocks its head / An instant, as if listening for something / That is no longer there but might be,” captures the lingering presence of the music and the silence that follows. This moment of silence is filled with potential, as if the music’s spirit hovers just beyond reach. The poem ends with the “definite click” of the tone-arm returning to rest, marking the end of the musical experience and the return to stillness.

In "Lines & Circularities," Nemerov uses the metaphor of the record player and the cycles of nature to explore themes of time, memory, and the enduring power of art. The poem’s detailed imagery and reflective tone invite readers to contemplate the miraculous interplay between technology and nature, and the ways in which music bridges the temporal gap between past and present, creating moments of profound connection and transcendence.

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