Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Unreleased Movie" by John Ashbery is a complex, meandering exploration of communication, perception, and the search for meaning amidst the chaos of existence. This poem, reflective of Ashbery's signature style, weaves together disparate images, narratives, and emotions, creating a tapestry of thought that resists easy interpretation yet invites deep engagement.

The poem begins with an invocation to start "in the middle, as usual," immediately setting the stage for a narrative that eschews linear progression in favor of a more circuitous exploration of theme and image. The speaker's admission of speaking "two ways" since burning their mouth—first as a "reluctant explainer," then as someone in a dream—highlights the dual nature of communication, which can be both direct and oblique, clear and obscured.

The imagery of the poem is rich and varied, moving from the personal ("Ever since I burnt my mouth") to the cosmic ("when the universe does turn into a horror movie"). Ashbery employs these shifts to juxtapose the mundane with the fantastical, the individual with the universal, underscoring the inherent complexity and contradiction of the human experience.

The mention of "Japanese undershirts for the kiddies and unusual, invisible / Demerits" alongside the "unnatural peace God predicted for us" captures the oscillation between hope and despair, between the trivial and the profound, that characterizes much of life. These images suggest a world where the apocalyptic and the domestic coexist, where divine prophecy and everyday concerns are intertwined.

Ashbery's exploration of the "ceramic day" and the infinite pauses that can be unsaid within it speaks to the limitations of language and the ineffable nature of certain experiences. The poem contemplates the vastness of knowledge and the inadequacy of any medium, including silence, to fully capture or express it. This acknowledgment of the limits of expression and the burden of carrying unarticulated truths reflects a deep engagement with the existential dilemmas of communication and understanding.

The poem's conclusion, with its evocation of coming "together / To quarrel or make love without any memory of the crabbed ambitions" and the speaker's desire to "turn over a new leaf" as an "extreme last chance," suggests a longing for renewal and transformation. Ashbery touches upon the human desire to transcend past failures and limitations, to find a moment of clarity or unity that eludes the chaos and fragmentation of everyday life.

"Unreleased Movie" is a meditation on the complexities of existence, the challenges of articulation, and the elusive nature of truth and connection. Through its sprawling structure and dense imagery, the poem captures the essence of Ashbery's poetic project: an ongoing inquiry into the nature of reality, perception, and the possibilities of language to both reveal and obscure the truth of our lives.

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