W.S. Merwin’s The Shadow of Sirius is definitely broken down into three distinct parts. The first is composed of poems written from the aspect of an aged man looking back on forming the memories which made up his life and made him into the man he is. For example, in the poem Still Morning, he writes, “It appears now that there is only one/age and it knows/nothing of age/…/and I am a child before there are words” (7). From these lines it is obvious that this speaker is looking back on their childhood and the fragility of age as it feels to us through time. In other words, it is hard to pin down age when we look back on it because we are the same person now as we were back then. Sure, things change and we can mark time but in a general way it seems as if our childhood was just a few short months ago when in actuality it was several years ago. He goes on to write, “in a building/gone long ago and all the voices/silent and each word they said in that time/silent now” (7). He has memories of people speaking in this building when he was in his childhood. But now, the building is gone and with it are gone the sounds not only in the present but also in the past as if the nonexistence of the building voids the memories he once made there.
The second part is composed of poems dealing with memory itself. For example, the poem Calling a Distant Animal, refers to a bird the poet once listened to but can hear no more for the bird has long since died. “tone torn out of one birdsong/though that bird/by now may be/where a call cannot/follow it” (44). This bird is long gone, but the memory of it and its birdsong is what the poet is referring to. He then continues in the same fashion, “the same note goes on calling/across space/ and is heard now/ in the old night and known there”. In other words, he can still hear the bird’s song in his memory even in his old age and he knows exactly what it is. Again, “a silence recognized/by the silence it calls to” refers to the idea that he recognizes the silence because he can’t physically hear the bird anymore except for in the silence of his memories.
And the third part is composed of poems dealing with the loss of memory and the acknowledgement that inevitable death is on its way. For example, the poem Going is all about saying goodbye which I believe is a tribute to the loss of memory as well as life. “It is made out of greeting/but they are going away/the raised hand waving/the face the person the place/the animal the day/leaving the word behind” (58). That word being “goodbye” represents our human need to give an end to something by saying this to people or anything, really, that is lost. It is an interesting view on saying goodbye to so many things in our lives.
All of the poems, though vastly different in length, content, and rhythm, have the unique quality of showing a glimpse of a scene or memory. But these are mere glimpses; they are not full thoughts or memories. I really enjoyed this aspect because it leaves some things up to my imagination which is based on my own experiences and memories. I believe that W.S. Merwin does this on purpose.
I really enjoyed Merwin’s poems and his very unique outlook on so many things from playing the piano, to remembering a dog to watching the seasons change.
I really enjoyed reading about the way in which you thought about the three sections of the book. I myself didn't spend a lot of time thinking about the different parts until we brought it up in class. I think we did a fair job of talking about the memory theme in class, but I hadn't fully considered how those memories evolve over the three parts. I totally agree with how you broke them up, especially what you said about the third part, that it deals with the fact that "death is on its way." I found the last third of the book to be, in a sense, made up of the most beautiful of his poems. I connected to the whole book in ways, but I think Merwin really lets his wisdom shine through as he faces death and, as you point out, really starts to say goodbye.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that Merwin, while presenting us with this colorful array of his own memories, also very much allows us to project our own experiences upon his words. Although these words are clearly constructed out of Merwin's personal struggles and successes, the reader can't help but commiserate and find points with which to relate. I think you do a really nice job of summarizing Merwin's use of memory as a theme.