Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Robert Penn Warren's "Mexico Is a Foreign Country: 4. Small Soldiers with Drum in Large Landscape" presents a scene of small soldiers marching through a grand, indifferent landscape. The poem juxtaposes the modest and unremarkable nature of the soldiers with the overwhelming majesty of the natural world, suggesting themes of insignificance, purpose, and the tension between the personal and the universal. Warren reflects on the role of these "small soldiers" as they march across the hills, ultimately contemplating their larger symbolic meaning within the vast and indifferent universe.

The poem opens with an image of "little soldiers" threading through the hills, while the "white Sierra nods" in the background. The Sierra, compared to "somnolent ice cream piled up / To tempt a tourist's taste, or God's," introduces a playful and surreal tone. The grandeur of the mountain, both monumental and serene, contrasts with the smallness of the soldiers who are described almost dismissively, their presence seemingly insignificant against the vast backdrop. Warren's comparison of the Sierra to ice cream reflects both its beauty and its detachment from human concerns, as though it is merely a spectacle for tourists or deities, remote from the soldiers’ everyday struggles.

The speaker’s initial encounter with the soldiers in the Plaza reveals their ordinariness. They are described as "huddled there like hens, at dawn," a simile that evokes their vulnerability and lack of ferocity. The soldiers take their time preparing for their march, "gouging / Sleep from their eyes, and spit[ting], and yawn[ing]." These actions, far from the discipline and precision often associated with soldiers, present them as ordinary men, unremarkable in their appearance and demeanor. Their "soft" eyes, "splayed" feet, and unwashed ears further diminish any sense of grandeur or heroism. They are humanized and relatable, though not particularly impressive.

Warren highlights the absurdity of their mission by acknowledging that the soldiers do not explain why they march. The possibilities he offers—scaring off a cattle thief, pleasing their captain, or simply enjoying the mountain air—suggest a kind of purposelessness or futility in their endeavor. Their actions lack clear motivation or higher significance, reinforcing the sense that they are merely going through the motions, driven by forces beyond their control or understanding.

As the soldiers march off, they become part of the landscape, providing "interest, and focus for / The composition’s majesty." Warren subtly shifts the tone here, as the soldiers, despite their insignificance, contribute to the scene's overall beauty and balance. Their smallness and movement give meaning to the otherwise vast and static environment, suggesting that even the most inconsequential figures can play a role in the larger picture. The drum’s repetitive "rum-tum-tum" and the soldiers' hearts' "rat-tat-tat" emphasize the rhythmic, mechanical nature of their march, as though they are merely parts of a larger, indifferent machine.

The speaker reflects on the simplicity of existence: "I am I, and they are they, / And this is this, and that is that." This statement of basic truths underscores the poem’s theme of the separation between the individual and the world. The soldiers march on, and the world continues—"the single pine is black upon / The crag; and the buzzard, absolute / In the sun's great gold eye, hangs." These natural elements remain untouched by the soldiers’ presence, symbolizing the indifference of nature to human affairs. The "wind has neither home nor hope," and cause and effect play out mechanically, without any deeper meaning or purpose.

Warren introduces the concept of "Nature's jocund atoms," which "bounce / In tune to keep the world intact." This image of bouncing atoms reflects the idea that the world is held together by fundamental forces that operate regardless of human intention or action. The soldiers, described as "shrouded in the coats and buttons," become part of this atomic dance, their march reduced to the "gallant little formulae" that maintain the world’s order. Their efforts are ultimately futile, as they march "on errands which I have not guessed," moving through the landscape with no clear destination or purpose.

As the soldiers disappear over the ridge, Warren introduces a sense of mystery and longing. The "unprinted dust" of the valleys "yearns for the foot it does not know," suggesting a sense of incompletion or unfulfilled potential in the soldiers’ journey. They march "under the same sun" and "across the high waste of the mind," moving through both physical and mental landscapes. Their destination is uncertain, as they proceed "to a bivouac in a farther West," a metaphorical space that remains beyond the speaker’s comprehension.

The poem’s closing lines return to the speaker’s personal reflection. The soldiers, with their "unwashed" necks and "manners rude," are not the romanticized figures of poetry, like Wordsworth’s daffodils. Yet, when the speaker lies in bed and reflects on his life—the "done, and the undone"—his heart may "seize its hint of pleasure" and "march beside them in the sun." This final statement suggests that, despite their ordinariness and lack of grandeur, the soldiers represent something deeply human and relatable. Their persistence, their simple march through the landscape, mirrors the speaker’s own journey through life, with all its uncertainties and frustrations.

In "Mexico Is a Foreign Country: 4. Small Soldiers with Drum in Large Landscape," Robert Penn Warren uses the image of small, unimpressive soldiers marching through a vast and indifferent landscape to explore themes of purpose, insignificance, and the relationship between individuals and the larger forces that govern the world. The soldiers, though ordinary and lacking in clear motivation, become symbols of persistence and the human condition, their smallness both a reflection of their insignificance and a key part of the larger, incomprehensible whole. Through this blend of the mundane and the majestic, Warren reflects on the ways in which humans navigate the vast and indifferent world, finding meaning even in the smallest of actions.

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