Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Louis Zukofsky’s “A -- 3” is a fragmentary, deeply evocative meditation on mortality, memory, and the passage of time. Through its disjointed imagery, shifting voices, and subtle biblical allusions, the poem explores themes of loss, longing, and the intersections of the personal and the historical. Like much of A, this section resists linear interpretation, instead inviting readers to engage with its associative logic and layered symbolism.

The opening lines, “At eventide, cool hour / Your dead mouth singing,” set a tone of melancholy and reflection. The phrase “dead mouth singing” encapsulates the paradox of memory: voices and presences lost to death can still resonate in the mind, haunting and shaping the living. The coolness of the evening evokes both physical stillness and an emotional calm tinged with sadness, as if the speaker is contemplating life’s transience in the fading light of day.

The repeated name “Ricky” functions as an anchor in the poem, though the figure it refers to remains ambiguous. Is Ricky a person, a memory, or a symbolic stand-in for a lost presence? The juxtaposition of automobiles speeding past a cemetery introduces a stark contrast between the relentless pace of modern life and the stillness of death. The detail “No meter turns” reinforces the idea of time’s suspension in the realm of death, as if the ordinary measures of life—speed, distance, progress—lose their meaning in the face of mortality.

The poem’s imagery becomes more surreal and fragmented with the introduction of the gas range and the cat, described with almost tender attention: “The cat, paw brought back / Over her seat, velvet.” The tactile detail of the cat’s velvet paw contrasts with the ominous suggestion of gas, creating a tension between comfort and danger. The interjection “Who smelt gas?” shifts the tone toward anxiety, hinting at a sense of suffocation or poisoning, both literal and metaphorical.

Biblical and chivalric allusions weave through the poem, deepening its thematic resonance. The invocation of “Coeur de Lion” (Lion-heart) and the image of a “horse bridled” connect Ricky to figures of nobility and sacrifice, suggesting a connection between personal loss and historical or mythic archetypes. The "princelet out of history" evokes a sense of fragility and fleeting power, as if even the grandeur of history is ultimately subject to decay and forgetting.

The mention of “Arimathaea,” likely referencing Joseph of Arimathea, adds a Christian layer to the poem’s meditation on death and redemption. Joseph, the figure who begged for Christ’s body after the crucifixion, becomes a lens through which the speaker examines their own role as witness to or participant in grief. The plea, “Go, Beg His corpse — Wish I had been broken!” is both a cry of anguish and a longing for deeper connection or sacrifice, as if the speaker feels inadequate in the face of death’s enormity.

The description of the "beautiful / Almost sexual / Brothers" introduces an element of intimacy and ambiguity, blurring the boundaries between familial love, eroticism, and loss. The image of “Two dark heads, / Dead, straight foreheads” is stark and haunting, suggesting the finality and physicality of death while also evoking a sense of unity or mirroring. This duality reflects Zukofsky’s broader thematic concern with interconnectedness and the ways in which relationships persist beyond death.

The poem’s closing lines, fragmented and elliptical, reinforce its focus on transition and dissolution: “In another world / We will not motor. / Dead mouth (Cemetery rounded.” The phrase “we will not motor” suggests an existence beyond the physical, where the movement and mechanics of life no longer apply. The image of the “rounded” cemetery evokes a sense of enclosure and wholeness, as if the dead are contained within a cyclical, eternal realm that contrasts with the linear progressions of life.

In “A -- 3”, Zukofsky employs a fragmented, imagistic style to grapple with the ineffable qualities of loss and memory. The poem resists easy interpretation, instead offering readers a mosaic of emotions and reflections that coalesce into a meditation on mortality and the ways in which the past continues to shape the present. Through its shifting tones, evocative imagery, and intertextual allusions, the poem captures the complexity of human grief and the enduring search for meaning in the face of death.

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