Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "When," Sharon Olds crafts a poignant and unsettling vision of an inevitable yet unspecified catastrophic event, reflecting on the innocence of perception and the quiet terror of anticipation. The poem is imbued with a sense of foreboding and explores the contrast between a child's innocent awe and an adult's silent dread.

The poem begins with the speaker contemplating the inevitability of an event, focusing on "when it will happen," suggesting a future disaster that is anticipated but not yet realized. The imagery immediately introduces a domestic scene with "the young mother" who will hear "the noise like somebody's pressure cooker / down the block, going off." This simile, using the familiar sound of a pressure cooker, subtly hints at a buildup of pressure and an impending release, symbolizing a larger and more destructive force.

As the mother steps out into the yard holding her daughter, the poem describes a surreal and ominous sight: "there, above the end of the street, in the / air above the line of the trees, / she will see it rising." The ambiguity of "it" initially leaves the nature of the event open to interpretation, but the description of "the upper rim of the / gold ball, large as a giant / planet" lifting over the horizon suggests an explosion or nuclear detonation. This imagery of a "gold ball" rising can evoke both the sun, a symbol of life and warmth, and a nuclear explosion, a symbol of destruction and devastation. The duality of this image emphasizes the tension between beauty and terror.

The mother and child stand in the yard, a symbol of domestic safety and everyday life, juxtaposed against the extraordinary and terrifying event unfolding before them. The child's reaction, opening her arms to the rising ball, underscores her innocence and unawareness of the danger. The description of the event as it "rise[s] and grow[s] and blossom[s]" captures the paradoxical nature of the scene—something potentially lethal appearing mesmerizing and beautiful to an unknowing observer.

The poem captures a moment of pure, unfiltered reaction from the child, who sees the "beautiful" aspect of the rising disaster, in stark contrast to the likely unspoken horror of the mother. This contrast highlights the tragic innocence of the child, who cannot comprehend the potential danger. The mother's silence, and her stillness as she watches with her daughter in her arms, suggests a paralyzing realization of what is to come, a silent witness to an event that is both inevitable and out of her control.

"When" poignantly captures the theme of innocence in the face of impending doom, exploring how different perspectives—those of an innocent child and a knowledgeable adult—can coexist in a moment of crisis. Sharon Olds uses vivid, yet ambiguous imagery to evoke a sense of anticipation and dread, making the reader ponder the nature of the catastrophic event and its implications. The poem serves as a meditation on the fragility of life, the unpredictable nature of disasters, and the way humans react to the beauty and horror of such moments. Through this narrative, Olds subtly critiques the innocence lost in the face of reality and the inevitability of facing the unknown.

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