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Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained | |||
"Sunday Rain" by John Updike is a short and evocative poem that captures a moment of introspective leisure, typical of a rainy Sunday. Through this brief work, Updike skillfully uses the imagery of raindrops on a window as a metaphor for crossword puzzles, emphasizing the tranquil and sometimes monotonous rhythm of a rainy day. The poem opens by personifying the rain, saying it "plays crossword puzzles / on my window pane." This metaphor beautifully transforms the random pattern of raindrops sliding down the glass into an intellectual game, suggesting a merging of the external natural world with the internal world of thought and reflection. The image conjures a sense of coziness and indoor activity, typical of a rainy day, when outdoor pursuits are replaced by more contemplative indoor activities like reading, puzzle-solving, or watching the rain itself. Updike adds a touch of humor and perhaps a hint of frustration with the line, "But seems to know / only the words / across." This personification of the rain as playing only the horizontal (across) clues of a crossword puzzle implies a limitation or incompleteness in the rain's "knowledge" or pattern as it streaks the window. The raindrops, unconcerned with solving the entire puzzle (i.e., they don't form vertical patterns that might correspond to the 'down' clues in a crossword), reflect a natural randomness that contrasts with the human desire for order and completeness. This playful observation highlights a kind of existential resignation or amusement at the nature of things—raindrops will randomly trace patterns that only coincidentally align with human interpretations or desires for pattern and meaning. It also underscores the idle, contemplative mood that often accompanies such days, where one might find themselves observing and pondering over simple, everyday phenomena. "Sunday Rain" is thus a meditation on tranquility, the rhythms of nature, and the human inclination to find order and meaning even in randomness. Updike's poem, through its minimalist imagery and contemplative tone, encapsulates a universal moment of pause and reflection, inviting readers to find depth and significance in the simple, quiet corners of life.
| Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FILLING IN THE BLANKS; FOR CONSTANCE MERRITT by ELEANOR WILNER EARLY MORNING CROSSWORD POEM by ERICKA PAZCOGUIN POSSUM SONG (A WARNING) by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: JAMES GARBER by EDGAR LEE MASTERS ALL THAT'S PAST by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE A SMILE AS SMALL AS MINE by EMILY DICKINSON CAELICA: 100 by FULKE GREVILLE A DEDICATION by ALFRED TENNYSON EPISTLES ON THE CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF WOMEN: 3 by LUCY AIKEN |
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