Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

John Updike’s "Air Show" is a poem that intricately weaves technical admiration with a critical view of military expenditure, using an air show as the platform for this exploration. Through vivid descriptions and metaphorical language, Updike examines the dichotomy between the awe-inspiring achievements of aviation technology and the sobering realities of their purpose in warfare. The setting is Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts, a place that becomes a stage for displaying both human ingenuity and societal contradictions.

The poem begins with a description of the aircraft, which Updike anthropomorphizes with organic, almost alien qualities: "shapes that grow organic and bizarre." The aircraft are "stubby bombers" and "dartlike fighters," but they also take on the forms of "weirder beasts," with "wry truncated wings" and "anteater snouts." This imagery not only captures the strange and varied appearances of military aircraft but also suggests something unnatural and disturbing about their existence and purpose.

As the poem progresses, these machines are described in a manner that underscores their complexity and the meticulous engineering behind them. They possess "caressing curves of wind" and "metal smiles," evoking a sense of grace and technological beauty. The aircraft bed "the pilot down in sheets of dials," enveloping him in a cocoon of control and power. This line highlights the intimate connection between the pilot and his machine, a symbiosis where human and technology are intertwined.

The pilot himself is portrayed in almost heroic terms, "eggheaded, strapped, and sucking gas," as he ascends "to frozen heights all other life abhors." Here, Updike elevates the pilot to a superhuman status, one who transcends earthly bounds and whose "dirty sound" is left behind as he reaches "pure blue" where he becomes "pure will and mind." This transformation underscores the pilot's complete immersion in his role, detached from the earthly and mundane.

However, despite the technological marvel and the pilot’s transcendence, the poem subtly shifts to a more critical tone. Updike compares the aircraft's detailed components to the finery of historical art and wealth: "The rivets as unsparingly displayed / As pearls upon a chasuble's brocade." This comparison to religious and royal extravagance continues as he details the "wiring bundled thick, like chordate brains" and the precise balance of the "posing turbine." The aircraft, while masterpieces of engineering, are also emblems of national pride and power, mirrored against the backdrop of a democratic society’s "wasteful lust."

The concluding lines of the poem reflect a contemplative critique of the costs associated with such military might. The spectators, likened to "muzhiks" (Russian peasants), marvel at the "trappings of a czar," suggesting that the citizens are both in awe and complicit in the grandeur and the extravagance of military display. Updike remarks on the transformation of "sweat into gems and cold faïence," a metaphor for the enormous expenditure of resources and labor that could potentially be directed elsewhere.

In "Air Show," Updike not only captures the spectacle of an air show with its majestic and formidable machines but also prompts a reflection on the implications of such power and expenditure. The poem oscillates between admiration for human ingenuity and a poignant critique of the societal and ethical costs of maintaining such a powerful military presence. The air show, in Updike's view, is not just a display of technological achievement but a complex symbol of modern civilization’s priorities and values.

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