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Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained | |||
In "Evil: 1," Charles Olson crafts a meditation on the emergence of something monstrous, a symbol born of human desire or summoning, that grows unchecked and ultimately threatens to obscure light and life itself. The imagery of a man or entity rising from the sea—a place often symbolizing the subconscious or the unknown—evokes the sense of a latent force brought into being through human expectation or challenge. However, this creature or presence turns out to be stone, suggesting an entity devoid of life, static yet overwhelming. As it grows, this dark mass becomes almost oppressive, a looming shadow over the landscape, vast and powerful in its potential to "blot out the sun," symbolizing the threat of darkness or evil overtaking vitality and light. This menacing presence, though physically dominating, is surprisingly rootless. Its lack of attachment to the ground, its freedom from any substantial anchoring, becomes a critical revelation. The stone's "easy" turnover indicates that this colossal threat, however intimidating in appearance, is ultimately superficial and without depth. Olson seems to imply that while evil can appear monumental and insurmountable, its power may be an illusion, contingent on our perception and response rather than its inherent strength. Through this vivid, symbolic episode, Olson invites contemplation of the nature of evil itself. His imagery suggests that evil—like this growing stone—is often a projection, a phenomenon that gains mass and gravity only when acknowledged and allowed to loom over us unchecked. But once challenged or inspected closely, it reveals itself as hollow, without a true hold on reality or permanence. Thus, "Evil: 1" becomes a parable of confronting and dispelling seemingly overwhelming fears, showing that the darkest forces may dissipate when one dares to investigate and overturn them, exposing their lack of substance.
| Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GRANDMOTHER'S STORY OF BUNKER HILL BATTLE by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES THE GRASSHOPPER AND CRICKET by JOHN KEATS A TERRIBLE INFANT by FREDERICK LOCKER-LAMPSON THE COLISEUM by EDGAR ALLAN POE AT THE CEDARS by DUNCAN CAMPBELL SCOTT NEW HEAVEN, NEW WAR by ROBERT SOUTHWELL GREAT FRIEND by HENRY DAVID THOREAU THE KINGS OF THE EAST by KATHARINE LEE BATES OLD SARUM; LINES ON THE CONFERENCE OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH AT SALISBURY by ALICE COLBURN BEAL |
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