Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Sleeping Beauty," Howard Nemerov offers a meditative and introspective take on the classic fairy tale, exploring themes of sleep, dreams, and the blurred lines between reality and fantasy. The poem reflects on the nature of storytelling and the transformative power of imagination, as well as the inevitable awakening that brings a return to the mundane world.

The poem begins with a recollection of a familiar story: "They told me this story a long time ago, / When I was a child, to make me go to sleep." This sets the stage for a personal and reflective retelling of the "Sleeping Beauty" tale, revealing the impact of stories on the listener's mind. The narrator admits, "I never should have been surprised, / But then, being young, I could not know they meant / My eyes to be the ones that closed." This admission highlights the universal nature of sleep and dreams, suggesting that the story serves as a metaphor for the narrator's own life and experiences.

As the narrator listens to the castle sleep, the poem vividly describes the suspended animation of the enchanted world: "the grooms / In the stables, courtiers on the marble floors, / The scratch of dust descending and the rose / Thickets breaking forth flowers and thorns." These images evoke a sense of timelessness and stillness, where life is paused, waiting for the transformative kiss that will awaken it. The mention of both flowers and thorns symbolizes the dual nature of beauty and danger, reinforcing the complexity of the dream world.

The narrator's introspection deepens with the question, "is this my sleep? / Am I the one the wide world cannot find / Nor even the prince in the forest foresee?" This self-reflective query blurs the boundaries between the storyteller and the story, as the narrator identifies with Sleeping Beauty, trapped in a state of waiting and potential. The anticipation of the kiss, "This ends only with a kiss, the story said," becomes a pivotal moment, suggesting the awakening of not just the character but of the entire world that exists in the dream.

Nemerov continues to explore the consequences of this awakening: "Then all the snoring barons will arise / And the dogs begin to bark, the king and queen / Order their coach and four—all on a kiss / The whole world will begin to happen again." The kiss symbolizes a return to life, movement, and the resumption of ordinary activities. The narrative suggests that with awakening comes a forgetting of the dream, as people "yawn, stretch, begin to forget / Whatever they dreamed that was so like a dream." This forgetting underscores the transient nature of dreams and the inevitable return to reality.

The poem's concluding lines delve into the narrator's fear of forgetting: "And shall I also, with the kiss, forget / That I was the one who dreamed them all? / Courtier and king, scullion and cook, / Horse in the stable and fly on the wall?" Here, the narrator contemplates the loss of the imaginative world created in the dream, questioning whether the awakening will erase the rich inner life that the dream represents. The poem ends with a poignant reflection on the power of dreams and the creative mind: "Forget the petal's whisper when they drift / Down where the untold princes die in blood / Because I dreamed the thicket and the thorn?" The "petal's whisper" and "untold princes" dying in the dream's thicket highlight the delicate and often painful beauty of the imagined world.

"Sleeping Beauty" by Howard Nemerov is a contemplative exploration of the intersection between dreams and reality, using the familiar fairy tale as a framework for deeper philosophical reflections. Through vivid imagery and introspective questioning, Nemerov delves into the nature of sleep, the power of stories, and the bittersweet process of awakening and forgetting. The poem invites readers to consider the richness of the inner world and the inevitable return to the ordinary, celebrating the transformative power of imagination even as it acknowledges its impermanence.

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