Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Richard Wilbur's poem "Ceremony," the tension between artifice and authenticity is brilliantly explored through the lens of a painting by Bazille that depicts a woman in a striped blouse standing in a forest clearing. Wilbur uses this image to ruminate on the complex relationship between human beings and nature, as well as the rituals and ceremonies we employ to navigate that relationship.

The poem opens with a description of the woman as a "patroness of boughs," implying an aloofness, a sort of regal distance between her and the nature that surrounds her. She is "Too queenly kind toward nature to be kin," signifying that her kind posture may be at odds with truly becoming one with her surroundings. The first stanza then closes with a profound statement: "But ceremony never did conceal, / Save to the silly eye, which all allows, / How much we are the woods we wander in." Here, Wilbur suggests that no amount of ceremony or artifice can hide the essential connection we have with nature. Only those who do not look deeply ("the silly eye") would fail to see this connection.

The second stanza imagines the woman transformed into a mythical figure, "some Sabrina fresh from stream." In this vision, nature itself seems to adapt to her, as "nymph and wood must nod and strive to dream / That she is airy earth, the trees, undone, / Must ape her languor natural and pure." Wilbur points out the reciprocal relationship between nature and humans, emphasizing how each can mirror and adapt to the other.

However, the final stanza marks a shift in tone and perspective. The speaker declares, "Ho-hum. I am for wit and wakefulness, / And love this feigning lady by Bazille." While appreciating nature's purity, the speaker also finds value in artifice, in the "social smile and formal dress" that teach even the leaves to perform intricate dances ("curtsey and quadrille"). The speaker argues that what is "lightly hid" is often what's "deepest understood," celebrating the idea that the outward rituals we perform often contain profound truths.

The concluding line, "I think there are most tigers in the wood," serves as a haunting reminder that beneath the serene surface of the forest lies a complex, perhaps even dangerous, reality. This line encapsulates the poem's essential idea that appearances, whether of a serene forest or a woman in formal attire, are often deceptive.

"Ceremony" thus serves as a complex meditation on the intricate relationships between human culture and the natural world. It suggests that our rituals and ceremonies are not mere artifices that separate us from nature, but rather lenses through which we can better understand our deep and abiding connection to the world around us. The poem invites us to see the beauty in both the natural and the artificial, and to recognize that each has its own set of "tigers"-hidden complexities that defy simple categorization.

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