Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Wrestling Match," Robert Penn Warren presents a visceral and intense scene of two wrestlers locked in combat, using the event as a metaphor for deeper existential struggles. The poem’s description of the match is not just about the physicality of the fight, but it also delves into the themes of mortality, violence, and the absurdity of human existence. Through the vivid and almost grotesque portrayal of the wrestlers, Warren captures the raw, primal nature of life and the inevitable decline of the human body.

The poem begins with the introduction of the two wrestlers, "Mug" Hill and the "Battling Pole," Boruff. These figures are presented in a larger-than-life manner, described as "two engines of flesh and bone" and "great and bronze automaton[s]," invoking a sense of mechanical, almost dehumanized power. This language suggests that the wrestlers, in their battle, have been reduced to mere machines, performing with a "machine's intensity" as they fight. The notion of black magic moving these wrestlers emphasizes the unnatural, almost demonic quality of the fight, transforming it into something more sinister than a simple physical contest.

Warren's choice to describe the wrestlers as automatons reflects the mechanical, predetermined nature of their struggle, hinting at the futility and inevitability of human conflict. This connects to the broader theme of existentialism, where individuals are often seen as trapped in a world of predetermined outcomes, fighting against forces beyond their control.

The phrase "to some obscure and terrible conclusion" suggests that the match is not just about winning or losing, but rather a metaphor for the ultimate fate of all living things—death. This "obscure conclusion" implicates the audience in the wrestlers' plight, as they are not just watching the spectacle, but are part of the larger human condition that the match represents. The fight becomes a symbol of life's struggles, which inevitably end in death, a fate from which no one can escape.

The barker's voice, which dominates the poem’s opening, takes on an almost surreal quality as it begins to merge with the speaker’s thoughts: "The voice here sank in some obscene intent." This shift in tone adds to the sense of absurdity, as the barker’s loud proclamations about the wrestlers’ bodies and strength transform into a meditation on the fragility of life. The barker says, “thews that through the tortured years have striven / To breach the flesh so sure to spill when broken,” which evokes the inevitability of the body breaking down, despite years of physical effort. The wrestlers, once powerful and seemingly invincible, are reduced to their basic components—"bone and blood and sweat and agony"—emphasizing the temporary nature of their strength.

In the poem's final lines, the idea of mortality becomes even more explicit: "The only breath, a cry, and the dark blood / That forever we would keep if we but could." Here, Warren captures the human desire to cling to life, to "keep" the breath and blood that sustain us. However, the poem suggests that no matter how hard we fight, death is inevitable. The wrestling match, then, becomes a microcosm of the human condition, where individuals struggle and contend with forces beyond their control, only to be defeated in the end by mortality.

Ultimately, "Wrestling Match" uses the brutal imagery of a wrestling match to explore themes of existentialism, violence, and mortality. Warren presents the wrestlers not as individuals, but as representations of humanity's collective struggle against the forces of life and death. The match is a spectacle, both for the audience in the poem and for the reader, but beneath the surface lies a deep meditation on the human condition and the inevitability of death.

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