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Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained | |||
John Hollander's "Broken Column" is a striking visual and thematic poem that explores themes of pride, resilience, and the passage of time. The poem's structure, shaped like a broken column, enhances its meditation on the struggle to maintain what has been lost and the acceptance of inevitable decay. The poem opens with a direct question: "Are you too proud to give up what you can no longer possess." This question sets the tone for a contemplation of pride and the futility of holding onto something that can no longer be sustained. The imagery of "piling up stone on baser stone" to create "a high impediment to windiness" captures the Sisyphean effort to build and maintain against natural forces destined to erode and dismantle. As the poem continues, it describes the inevitable downfall: "is bound to be blown down." The repetition of "down" emphasizes the force of gravity and the futility of resistance. The "airy will" must become "serious," suggesting that even the most whimsical or stubborn desires must confront reality. The imagery of "brick falls to extractions" and "carious rocky druns go smash" evokes the violent disintegration of the once-strong structure, painting a vivid picture of ruin and decay. Despite the collapse, there is a sense of persistence and resilience: "an assertive spike of white / comes bearing no capital / no unbroken shaft." This image of the broken column still standing, though incomplete and damaged, symbolizes enduring strength amidst ruin. The column, now without its highest and most visionary part, may seem like a burden "not worth maintaining," yet it still casts "a cold shadow" across the meadow, affecting its surroundings. The poem shifts to a scene of new life and continuity: "across our own daughters tiny / and blonde playing in and out of light." This image juxtaposes the old, broken column with the vitality and innocence of children, suggesting a cycle of life and renewal. The daughters, playing in the light, represent hope and the future, contrasting with the column's past glory and current ruin. The final lines of the poem turn contemplative, questioning the desire to look beyond the present: "why gaze at blue beyond / perhaps then green." The speaker reflects on the urge to seek "further shores" and "ever-unbroken marble," questioning what drives this continual striving for perfection and the unreachable. The poem suggests a reconciliation with the present, with the beauty and reality of what is, rather than what could be. "Broken Column" is a poignant reflection on the themes of ambition, decay, and acceptance. Hollander's use of the column as a metaphor for human endeavors and resilience is powerful, and the poem's visual shape reinforces its thematic content. The interplay of light and shadow, ruin and renewal, invites readers to consider the balance between holding on and letting go, and the importance of embracing the present amidst the remnants of the past.
| Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ROCK AND HAWK by ROBINSON JEFFERS GODOLPHIN HORNE, WHO WAS CURSED WITH THE SIN OF PRIDE, AND BECAME A BOOT-BLACK by HILAIRE BELLOC PRIDE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE THIN EDGE OF YOUR PRIDE: 1 by KENNETH REXROTH PRIMER LESSON by CARL SANDBURG HAEC FABULA DOCET by ROBERT FROST VICTIM OF HIMSELF by MARVIN BELL TO THOSE OF MY SISTERS WHO KEPT THEIR NATURALS by GWENDOLYN BROOKS SENT ON A SHEET OF PAPER WITH A HEART SHAPE CUT OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF IT by JOHN HOLLANDER |
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