Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

John Frederick Nims’ "Midwest" is an ode to the understated beauty of Indiana, a land devoid of grandiose landscapes but rich in subtler charms. The poem contrasts Indiana’s modest geography with the spectacle of more dramatic terrains, rejecting the notion that beauty must be extreme or overwhelming. Instead, Nims celebrates a landscape that is friendly, familiar, and deeply human in scale, offering a quiet, unpretentious counterpoint to the more ostentatious scenery often exalted in poetry.

From the outset, Nims establishes what Indiana lacks: "no blustering summit or coarse gorge; / No flora lurid as disaster-flares; / No great vacuities where tourists gape / Nor mountains hoarding their height like millionaires." These lines suggest an aversion to spectacle—Indiana does not shout its presence with towering peaks, deep canyons, or exotic plant life. The phrase "mountains hoarding their height like millionaires" is particularly striking, casting grandeur as a kind of selfishness, an unnecessary excess that does not serve the people who inhabit the land. The comparison positions Indiana as a place of balance, where the landscape does not loom over its inhabitants but instead integrates seamlessly with daily life.

Nims presents Indiana’s geography as "curio-size," likening it to "landscape in museum cases." This metaphor underscores the state's precise, manageable proportions—it is not overwhelming but carefully contained, an environment that can be observed and appreciated in its entirety. The phrase "tidy as landscape in museum cases" suggests an intimacy with the land, an ability to take it in all at once, unlike vast mountains or deep chasms that can be daunting in their scale. "What is beautiful is friendly and underfoot, / Not flaunted like theater curtains in our faces." Here, beauty is defined not by spectacle but by accessibility—Indiana’s landscape does not demand attention through dramatic displays; rather, it offers quiet companionship. The use of "friendly" gives the land a warm, approachable quality, reinforcing the idea that beauty need not be intimidating or extravagant.

The poem then turns to Indiana’s "ten-foot knolls," which "give flavor of hill to Indiana souls." This phrase gently satirizes the modesty of the land—where other places may boast of towering mountains, Indiana makes do with small elevations that merely suggest hills. Yet, rather than a deficiency, this is presented as an advantage. Indiana does not overwhelm; instead, it offers just enough variation to make life interesting. This restrained, measured beauty mirrors the values of the Midwest itself—practical, steady, and lacking pretension.

Nims extends this theme by asserting that "man is the prominent fauna of our state." While other regions might be defined by their wildlife—"circus creatures stomp and leer / With heads like crags or clumps," evoking the exaggerated forms of exotic animals—Indiana’s defining characteristic is its human presence. Nature here is not wild or unpredictable; it is subdued, domesticated, shaped by and for human life. The phrase "delirious nature / Once in a lucid interval sobering here" humorously suggests that nature, which often indulges in excess elsewhere, took a moment of rational clarity when designing Indiana, opting for moderation over spectacle.

The final lines—"Left (repenting her extravagant plan) / Conspicuous on our fields the shadow of man."—offer a quietly profound conclusion. Nature, having overindulged in chaos and grandeur in other places, seems to have deliberately restrained itself in Indiana, creating a landscape where human beings, rather than mountains or wild creatures, take center stage. The phrase "the shadow of man" carries a dual meaning: it acknowledges human presence as an integral part of the land, yet it also suggests a transience, a reminder that despite shaping the land, people remain ephemeral against the backdrop of nature’s permanence.

Structurally, the poem is composed of controlled, evenly metered lines that reflect the landscape it describes—smooth, consistent, and unembellished. The rhyme scheme is unobtrusive, reinforcing the theme of subtlety and harmony. Unlike poems that revel in sonic excess, "Midwest" maintains a quiet, rhythmic order, mirroring the predictability and steadiness of the land itself.

"Midwest" ultimately serves as a defense of subtle beauty, a rejection of the idea that awe must be provoked by extremity. Indiana’s landscape does not inspire the same breathless wonder as towering peaks or yawning canyons, but it offers a different kind of appeal—one rooted in familiarity, accessibility, and quiet dignity. Nims elevates the everyday, demonstrating that beauty is not solely the domain of the spectacular but can be found in the modest, the orderly, and the human-scaled. By embracing Indiana’s restrained landscape, the poem argues for a broader understanding of beauty—one that values not just the extraordinary but also the quietly enduring.

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