Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anthony Hecht's "Anthem" is a brief but richly musical poem that uses the metaphor of birds in flight to explore themes of harmony, celebration, and the interplay between nature and human artistry. The poem's structure, with its rhythmic and rhyming quatrains, reinforces its musicality, mirroring the very subject it describes.

The opening lines, "These birds pursue their errands / On curvatures of air," immediately set a tone of lightness and grace. The image of birds navigating the sky suggests freedom and elegance, which is enhanced by the poet's choice of the word "curvatures," evoking the smooth, continuous motion of flight. The comparison to "swift and lyric gerunds / Unfurling everywhere" adds a linguistic dimension, likening the birds' movements to the dynamic, continuous actions that gerunds represent in grammar. This clever analogy suggests a world where nature and language are intertwined in a seamless, poetic dance.

Hecht's birds "lash the sky with ribbons, / With wakes of wrinkled blue," a vivid image that captures the physical traces of their flight. The use of "lash" conveys both the power and precision of their movements, while "ribbons" and "wrinkled blue" add a visual and tactile quality, as if the sky itself is being intricately decorated. The birds' song is described as "Chanting Orlando Gibbons / And Mozart's Non so più," invoking the works of these renowned composers to elevate the birds' natural music to the level of high art. This reference suggests a deep appreciation for the beauty and complexity of both nature and classical music.

In the second stanza, Hecht asks rhetorically, "Shall we not in all conscience / And glittering major keys / Offer them fair responsions / And reciprocities?" Here, he proposes that humans have a duty to respond to the beauty of nature with their own forms of artistic expression. The phrase "glittering major keys" not only refers to a musical scale but also connotes brightness and positivity, suggesting that our response should be joyous and celebratory.

Hecht concludes with a call for "Fanfares and sound fulfillings / Of melodies unheard," urging for a grand, musical reciprocation that matches the birds' contributions to the sky. He mentions "Brave philharmonious Billings / And airs of William Byrd," acknowledging the contributions of American composer William Billings and English Renaissance composer William Byrd. By invoking these historical figures, Hecht ties the poem to a long tradition of musical excellence, implying that our artistic responses should be equally timeless and grand.

"Anthem" is a celebration of the symbiotic relationship between nature and human creativity. Hecht uses the metaphor of birds to illustrate how natural beauty can inspire artistic expression, and how this expression, in turn, honors and elevates the natural world. The poem's lyrical quality and rich imagery invite readers to appreciate the intricate connections between the natural and the artistic, reminding us of the importance of responding to beauty with our own creative acts.

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