Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Robert Penn Warren’s "Images on the Tomb: 2. Day: Lazarus" evokes a profound sense of existential alienation and the haunting presence of death amidst the everyday. The poem follows the thematic arc of the "Images on the Tomb" series, exploring human life through the lens of mortality. In this poem, Warren conjures an invisible figure, walking beside the speaker or the reader, an ominous presence that remains silent but is destined to speak in time. This figure, possibly representing death or some forgotten truth, waits for the right moment to confront the speaker with its message.

The first line, "Ever in the hot street one walks unseen," introduces the idea of an unseen companion, suggesting that death or the memory of the dead always lingers close, even when unnoticed. The street, a symbol of modern life and human activity, contrasts with the invisible presence, hinting at the idea that while we live our lives, we remain unaware of death’s constant shadow. The clacking of heels in the second line grounds the reader in the mundane, juxtaposed with the foreboding figure, described as "oracular and lean." The term "oracular" suggests that this figure holds wisdom or truth, perhaps about life’s fragility, but its silence adds to the tension, as if this truth is not yet ready to be revealed.

Warren then moves to the future, when this figure will speak: "Who has not spoken but who will speak some day." The figure’s silence is temporary, and its message, when it comes, will be tied to decay and ruin: "When the adder coils beneath the shrivelling fern, / And the obscene wheat rots in the bearded head." These lines present a grim vision of natural decay, where the snake (adder) and rotting wheat symbolize corruption and death. The rotting wheat, described as "obscene," reflects a distortion of natural growth, suggesting that the inevitable outcome of life is decay.

In the next lines, the figure promises to return only in such a time of decay, bringing "remembrance to you from the dead." This implies that death, or the forgotten past, will come back to haunt the living when they least expect it. The poem is steeped in imagery of returning and memory, as if the dead or death itself carries a message that must eventually confront the living. The "remembrance" from the dead suggests a burden of memory, perhaps of past lives or losses, that will resurface with devastating impact.

Warren intensifies the sense of dread with the description of the body’s reaction to this return: "And then within the flesh will creep the bone / Mortally cold." The coldness invading the body symbolizes the chilling realization of death, not just as a distant concept, but as something that directly infiltrates the living. The speaker imagines themselves waiting "forever / In a shattered street for the viper, the bearded grain," a powerful image of eternal waiting in a desolate, broken world. The shattered street is a symbol of the collapse of structure, both physical and psychological, as the speaker is left to confront decay and death.

The final lines draw on the biblical figure of Lazarus, who, in Christian tradition, was raised from the dead by Jesus. However, in this poem, Warren subverts the image of Lazarus. The speaker will "wander at noon in a chill daylight and never, / Like Lazarus, be warmed in the sun again." Here, daylight—normally associated with life and warmth—offers no comfort. Instead, it is a "chill daylight," emphasizing that the speaker will not experience resurrection or warmth, unlike Lazarus. The image suggests that for the speaker, there is no return to life after the confrontation with death; the cold realization of mortality offers no salvation or reprieve.

Structurally, the poem is written in free verse, its lack of rhyme and meter mirroring the disorienting and fragmented experience it describes. Warren’s use of dense, layered imagery—filled with serpents, rotting wheat, and cold flesh—creates a rich tapestry of death’s omnipresence. The poem’s tone is bleak, filled with a sense of inevitability and inescapability, underscored by the figure of death who walks silently alongside the living, waiting to speak its truth.

In "Images on the Tomb: 2. Day: Lazarus," Warren presents a vision of life marked by an ever-present death, waiting to be revealed. The poem suggests that death is not something distant but walks unseen beside us in our daily lives, ready to confront us with decay and the irreversible passage of time. The use of Lazarus as a symbol further deepens the sense of hopelessness, as the speaker knows that, unlike Lazarus, they will not be "warmed in the sun again." Warren's exploration of mortality is not just about death itself, but about the cold, lingering presence of death that casts a shadow over life, leaving the speaker trapped in a state of perpetual waiting and alienation.

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