Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Howard Nemerov's poem "Mousemeal" explores the disturbing violence and hostility present in children's cartoons, contrasting the father's shocked reaction with his son's casual acceptance. Through vivid and unsettling imagery, Nemerov critiques the normalization of violence in entertainment and reflects on the broader implications for childhood and innocence.

The poem begins with the father joining his son to watch a children's program, expecting to share in "his harmless pleasures." Instead, the father is "horrified / by the unbridled violence and hostility / of the imagined world" his son casually consumes. This immediate contrast sets the stage for the father's growing unease and the poem's exploration of generational differences in the perception of media.

Nemerov's descriptions of the cartoon's content are graphic and surreal: "human beings dressed in the skins of mice / are eaten by portcullises and cowcatchers, / digested through the winding corridors / of organs, overshoes, boa constrictors / and locomotive boilers, to be excreted / in waters where shark and squid and abalone / wait to employ their tentacles and jaws." The grotesque and imaginative violence depicted in the cartoons highlights the absurdity and brutality that are normalized within this medium. The relentless transformation of everyday objects into "gullet[s] with great lonely teeth" underscores the omnipresence of danger and consumption in the cartoon world.

The poem delves deeper into the cyclical nature of this violence: "though the mouse / wins in the end, the tail of one cartoon / is spliced into the mouth of the next, where his / rapid and trivial agony repeats itself / in another form." This endless repetition of suffering and escape reflects a kind of Sisyphean torment, where the resolution of one episode only leads to the beginning of another, trapping the characters in a perpetual cycle of violence.

The father reflects on his son's familiarity with these scenarios: "My son has seen these things / a number of times, and knows what to expect; / he does not seem disturbed or anything more / than mildly amused." This observation points to the desensitization that can occur from repeated exposure to violent content. The father's shock contrasts with the son's nonchalance, suggesting a generational shift in the perception of such media. The father wonders if these cartoons "refer to my childhood and not to his," hinting at historical and cultural changes, as indicated by the reference to Mussolini and the racial stereotypes of the past.

The poem reaches its climax with the father's emotional response to particularly disturbing scenes: "I am shaken to see the giant picassoid / parents eating and voiding their little mice / time and again." The father's reaction underscores the grotesque and cyclical nature of the violence, which he finds deeply unsettling. The use of "picassoid" evokes the distorted, fragmented style of Picasso's art, further emphasizing the surreal and disturbing nature of the cartoons.

In the final lines, the father expresses his hope for his son's resilience: "I hope he will ride over this world as well, / and that his crudest and most terrifying dreams / will not return with such wide publicity." This hope reflects the father's desire for his son to navigate and withstand the violent and chaotic aspects of the world, both real and imagined, without being overwhelmed by them.

"Mousemeal" by Howard Nemerov is a powerful reflection on the impact of media violence on children and the changing nature of childhood. Through vivid imagery and emotional depth, the poem critiques the normalization of brutality in entertainment and explores the complex dynamics between generational perspectives on media consumption.

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