Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Mary Kinzie’s "The Advance of Summer" captures the oppressive and transformative atmosphere of an encroaching summer morning, blending vivid imagery with introspective meditations on perception, time, and memory. The poem?s structure weaves between concrete observations of light and more abstract reflections on the sensory and psychological impact of summer?s approach.

The opening lines establish an unsettling tone with "The unwelcome and self-conscious sheen of morning," suggesting an almost invasive quality to the light. This personification of morning, creeping "closer, across roofs," evokes a sense of inevitability, as if time itself is an inexorable force imposing itself upon the waking world. The description of roofs as "silvery composition in fake but neat brick braids" adds a layer of artificiality, hinting at the constructed nature of the urban environment. The "papered tar" absorbs the light, described as taking "the thumb of something else" and glowing as though from within, a metaphor for the oppressive heat and suffocating atmosphere of summer.

Kinzie’s portrayal of the roofs, which "shine like fireflies" but with a "more constant" glow, juxtaposes fleeting, organic imagery with the permanence of the man-made. This tension between the natural and the artificial underscores the psychological weight of the season. The roofs are likened to "a stuff meek under pressure, psychologically glum, unwilled," suggesting a passive resistance to the inevitability of summer?s advance. The personification extends to the day itself, which carries an ominous "menace more."

In a shift of scene, the poem transports the reader to "the tropics," offering a contrast to the present setting. Here, storms are "timely, formal," and their passage resembles the rhythm of "civic bells or prayers," imbuing the environment with a sense of order and predictability. Yet, even in this idyllic memory, the sky is described as "so blank and substanceless it stole one?s breath," transforming an image of tranquility into one of disorientation and vulnerability. The dreamlike quality of the tropical sky, "through which one fell dangerously and wildly," captures the unsettling paradox of beauty that is simultaneously exhilarating and threatening.

The poem delves deeper into the psychology of perception, examining the interplay between light, reflection, and the mind?s interpretation. The "secret sheet of mercury" behind the "blind which stuttered vision back" evokes the layers of experience and memory that distort reality. This interplay between the seen and the unseen, the real and the imagined, is heightened by the description of doubled islands "rippled at their edges in the oily glass," blending physical landscapes with the fluidity of thought.

Kinzie’s reflections on the tropics bring forth images of perpetual activity and timelessness: "One woke into an hour never dark but lifting, live." The description of shacks, roosters, and cafes immersed in a continuous cycle of movement and light contrasts sharply with the earlier depiction of summer?s oppressive advance. Yet, even here, there is a sense of disquiet, as the relentless rhythm of life denies the solace of twilight or stillness.

The poem concludes with a profound meditation on the nature of perception and existence. Referencing Magritte, Kinzie suggests that the true threat lies not in external objects like "mirrors, lozenges, or sinister rhomboids of stained glass," but in the all-encompassing "sky and air" that frame and define our physical and mental landscapes. The final assertion that this vastness "makes us shudder and fall back into the self" encapsulates the poem’s central tension: the simultaneous awe and alienation elicited by the natural world.

"The Advance of Summer" is a richly textured exploration of light, heat, and the psychological impact of seasonal change. Kinzie’s interplay of vivid imagery and introspective musings creates a layered and resonant meditation on the ways in which external forces shape our inner lives. The poem?s shifting perspectives—from the oppressive rooftops to the timeless tropics and back to the individual psyche—invite readers to reflect on their own perceptions of time, memory, and the inexorable rhythms of nature.

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