I write, trying to economize
These lines, tingling. The very earth's
A pension. My life story
I am toying with the idea.
I'm perfectly capable (signature)
The kerosene white branches the stadium
This short stanza follows a longer one which also makes mention of certain branches and, I believe, describes the earth through personification as if it were a man. These are the meanings that we can draw from a work such as Ashbery's-- single significances and minute themes that seem to underly poems. These are little victories, however, and provide no insight into any sort of greater meaning when pieced together. Ashbery's sheer disregard for linear and typically vernacular poetry mirrors the state of human consciousness. In our minds, understanding flows from sense to nonsense, and back again. Thoughts crest the surface of our consciousness and dive again back into the murky realm of the subconscious. The progression and process of sense in Ashbery's poetry reminds me of these thought waves that I often experience. Like when one awakes from a dream, a glimpse of full awareness is available only for a flash, then is soon whisked away to the depths of the mind. Any sense that I can draw from Ashbery's work rests upon my mind momentarily before being washed away by the next baffling and seemingly unrelated idea. His work truly is an exercise for the mind.
I really enjoyed this post a lot. I thought that this poem “Measles” was really interesting as well, mostly because it touched on so many different topics. One of my favorite parts of this poem are the lines:
ReplyDelete“There was no longer any need for the world to be divided
Into bunny, when he had chased the hare.”
These lines struck me as almost sort of comical because the first line completely parallels the idea of “Measles” and isolation and then the second line goes on to completely throw away any sort of comparison that was there before. There could be a hidden comparison in that second line, and in other parts of Ashbery’s work but I just haven’t found it yet.
I think that it is fascinating how sometimes Ashbery has lines that thoroughly connect and then sometimes he has these lines that one cannot even read in a way to sound like a proper sentence. I think your descriptions of this poem are really very true and your thoughts on Ashbery’s work as a whole really resonated with me. I had a lot of trouble deciphering his poems when I read them too and it was definitely a challenge to try to draw certain meanings from his text. I think, if anything, this made the continuity hard to find in his poems compared to some of the other works we have read this semester. This is because I feel like every other line is saying something or touching on something completely different.
Thanks Michelle! It really is quite a daunting task, attempting to draw meaning from works such as these. When you mentioned how Ashbery creates "lines that one cannot even read in a way to sound like a proper sentence," I was reminded of the lessons learned from Edward Lear. Namely, I recalled the potential for an artist to make use of a certain form of writing/prose/poetry and adhere to the guidelines of this discipline, yet stray from the norm in content. Unlike Lear, however, Ashbery does not simply work within one succinct form of poetry, but actually blends prose and poetic language into a uniquely crafted mix. This poetic jumble, unlike a limerick for example, has no inherent rules or guidelines for the author to obey or disobey. Instead, Ashbery plays with formal concerns and content in much the way that Lear did with the Limerick form, with the "form" of standard language.
DeleteYou mentioned a unique passage from "Measles" that is as follows:
"There was no longer any need for the world to be divided
Into bunny, when he had chased the hare."
From both our discussions in class and contextual clues, I can reasonably infer that these two, sequential, lines actually originate in separate sources. Ashbery, however, places these two lines in particular together, in a way which reads as if it were always meant to be. The lines follow a conventional proverb pattern, and to the average english speaker sound something like a moral anecdote or quaint expression. We see examples of this throughout the Tennis Court Oath, as Ashbery takes the found snippets of language and compiles a (semi-) legible and cohesive poetic journey. It really is pretty amazing when you look closely. thanks for your comment!