St. Jo h n' s
POETRYOFJOHN NEItLOVE By
seaueI Jalle sCook, B.A., B.A .Ed.
Athesi ssublll1t t edtotheSchoolof Gradu ate St udies inpartial fulfilJlen t
of the requirement s forthe deqr e e of naseer of Ar t s
Depa r tlle n t of English Hellloria l Un ive rsity of Newf ound l an d
Harch 199 0
Ne wf o un dland
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ABSTRACT
John Newlo'Ie, whosemain rec ogniti onas a poet came withthe pUblicat ionof Lie s (191 2) , is ofte nconsideredas the Prairies' first poet. This thesis explores four major the mes of Newlove 'spoetry: man alone, th e failedlover, the searcher, and the poet.
The first chapt erdepicts ind i vi d ua l s who are essentiallyalone.They are isolated from other individua ls andfrom their essential selves. Their isolation appearsto stem fromsociety's indiffere nce totheir plightandfr o m their own ins e curitiesand ina d e qua cies,
The sec o n d chapter exploresthose poems in which the personaefail to find communi c ation, commun ion and comm i t me nt in theirlov e-relati on ship s. The de sir e to find love 1ses pec i a ll y intense, yet the personae ar e unable to effect a mutua lly la s ting relationship.
Inthe thirdchapter,a search motif isprese nted.
Here, the personaelookes p e c i a ll y to the land and its pe o pl e - as the y are portrayedin historyandlegend - to sa t is f y their desire tofind fulfilment, toac c e p t fea r s of death, andto find thei r respective identities.
The fourthand final ch a p t e r con centra te son the poetic pro c e ss andth e poeti c vi s i o n. With respect to the former ,
the poellsde al withHewl o ve'ssuspi cion of language, his di re c t and unad o rn e dspeechthat defie s tradit ional poetic techniques , andthediffi c ul tyof co_posi ng' . Thelatter par t of the ch a p terfoc u se s on the poet's desir e tor perf ec t ion , the need to present the truth , andth e poe t'stask - to warn and to affir.,
i i
I wis h to expres s my sincere t:hanks tomy superviso r, Dr. Donald Bartlett , for his patie nceand suggestio nsduri ng the prepa rat ionof this thesis, and to my fa mil yfo r their encourageme ntand support.
Aswell ,I wish to acknow ledgelie. RonaldWallace for suggesting Newlo ve 'spo e t ryas a subject for this the s i s.
H1
ABBREVIATl(:NKEY
The followingabbreviations have been used:
MIA Hoving In Alone. Toronto: Contact Press, 1965. Nrs
BNW
What They Say. Kitchener: Wee d / fl owe r , 19 67.
BlacktlightWindow. Toron t o: McCle lland and St ewart , 196B.
The Cave.Toronto: McCle llandands eewere ,
~
The Fat Ila n : Selected Poems 196 2-19 7 2. Toronto:
Mc cl ell a n d and Stewart, 1977.
The Ni ghtth e Dog Smiled. Toro nto: EeW Press, 1986.
iv
ABSTRACT
ACKNOWLEDGEHENTS
ABBREVIATI ONKEY
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I: MAN ALONE
CHAPTERI I: THE FAILE D LOVER
CHAPTER III: THESEARCHER
CHAPTE R IV: THEPOET
CONCLUSION
BIBLIO GRAPHY
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INTROOIJCTION
Born in Regina in 1938, John Newlove lived in var iou s smallcommunities inea s t e r n saskatchewan, notably in Verigin and Kamsack,wherehis mother tau ghtschool. This pra irie influence isdeeply embedded in his poetry. In fact, he is
the first import a ntpra i ri e poe t , a poe t inter e st- ed in integratin g th e moralme a n i n g and the history of the la n d into th e Canadianpsyche inanat t e mp t toheal such twe n t i e t h - c e nt u r y diseases as alienation anddespair.'
Beforemov i n gto BritishCo l umb i a, in 1960, whe re he became involved with the Tish poets,he helda numberof jobs, includingte ach i n g and social work. In the late 1960's he moved to Toronto wherehe spentso me time editing and as writer-in-residence at the Universityof Toronto. After spending some timeas writer-in -residence at Regi na in the ea rly 1980's, he movedtoNels o n , British Columbia. His poems, pub l ishedinnumerous magazines,bothnational and international , have been translatedin toseveral 1an q u a g es.
As we ll , they appear in se v e r a l anthologies.
Ne wl o v e's majorrecognitionas a poet came in 1973when he won the Governor Genera l' s Award for~. Befor eLies , heha d publi shedfivesma.U pres s bo oks and threemaj or
(19G8), and TheCave (19 70). In 19 71 heedited Canad ia n POl.'try: 'l'llC lIo d ernEra and pu b l i s h e d The fatuau, a volu me of his ae Ie et.edpoems.TheGreen Plai n, a single
philosophi cal poemappeared in l~al. ' uev ever , ft,wasnot un t il 198 6, aft era four teenyearhiatus, that he pu b lis he d a collec t i on of newpoems , The Night theDog Smilt'd .
Crit i c s have been almost unanimou s in thei r prais e of Ne wl ove 's cr afts ma ns hip.' In fact, some see it ashis bigges t vi r tue as a wri ter. While this appea rs as an over s t a te men t, Newloveisrecognized fu r the precisi on and directne s s of his style
inwhich most of the traditi o n al si g ns of po etry- sim ileand ml'taphor , ov e r t symboli s m, rhyme an d hejqhtene d la ngu a ge · sel do map pea r .ye'~uht ch is int e n s elyrh y t h mic, fu ll of punning turns aud wry modulationsof ton es.'
1\. F. HorLt.z, in an articlethat is la r ge l y apo r t r ait of Ne wlove ' spers on ality, take s th is stat e me n t rurtue r .III.' see s Ne wl o v e's ~s trealll i i n e d z crus" asbeing sign ifican t in"the evolu ti o n of manner that hasreshaped Ca n a di a n poetryduring th e la s t twodeca d e s .d
Howe ver, the critical reviews , especiallytho s ein th e la t e 60'sand early 70's, arenot so gener o us ill the i r ease sa- :.:nt of Newlove's poetic vieicn. Theytendto se e littlepositivein his poet r y andpa i n t a bleakand dismal
ptet; ...ce , One of the mostdispa r a g i n g reviews isbyFr a nk
navev , who feels that Newlove'spoetry"dfep Laya a sel f - lo athingonly sli gh t l y les s st ro n g than his loathing forthe human race an d i ts wretc h ed an d tr each e r o us planet ...• The poems , largely autobi og r aphical, portray Newloveas
"b l e e d i ng, vomi t i n g , lying, despairin g , st umb li ng, fleeing, be t r a y i ng , and being betrayed. ",
Other earlyreviewers, thou g h slightly less disparagingly , look through aevt eve' s "bl a c k windo w", focusingon the pain, des pair , loneliness, ugliness, and guilt that permeate muc h of sevt eve'ework.Al Purdy, co n s i d e re dby Newlove to have been a moti v atin gfor c e behind hi s wri ting, ackn owl ed g es the da rk tenorof thepoetry:
ButNewlo ve' s humanhell is a farworse inferno than Dante's, because he doesnot postulate a heaven ascou n t e r b a l a n c e . Hope there is none, pain is all:
and the modulat ionof pain , lessening and intensifying, are among the few grim consolat ions of beingalive.'
Ano therreviewerde s crib es Hew l ove' s nega t iv i t yth i s way:
(His) vi si on is in d eed dar k. His uni ve rs e is one of solitu de, failure, ugl iness and naus ea . The on l y driving force s of lifeare desire, whi"hisalways thwarted, and dreams whic hare ne verfulfilled. This worl dis a place ofwas t e, despair, and des ol at ion. '
A similar blac ktenoris echoed , forthemos t part, in the firs t 'si g ni fica nt' artic l ewr it t e n be f ore the publication of Lies. In lfargaretAtwood' s asses s ment, se vi cve ha s "a life-and- d e ath ob s e ssi o n" with "th e worldhe
dis like d or fe a r e d" an d where individua lslive "me a n i ngle s s andmutuallydestructivelives.""Ne wl o v e oft en fin ds hims e lf in "e corner (Wh e r e] these lf ex i st s isolated ina revolting body, dwarfed by a th r e a t e n i n g and destr uctiv e unive rse whe reaction is futile, lo v eimp o s s i b l e and words fra udulent ••. ."11She do e s note, however, more posi tive quali tiessuc has the de si r e to sur v iv e "e v enthough difficultand absurd", the desire for"a wa r e n e s s eventhough pain f ul,"" and thede sir e fo r "sa lvat ion •• •tha t mustcome boththro ugh anddespite words and fromfa c ing the tr uth." I I
Some earl y cri ticsalsosee a fragil e hope insome of xe vr cve' s poems. GregoryCook, in a re vi e w of Black Night Window, while stressing the bleakn essof Newlove'spoet ry, feels that it is not "de re etLst" and is ligh t en e d by
"touches of humour."IIAnot her re v i e we r concludesthat "It is the struggle bet wee n id e ntifi c a ti on anddespair that givestension toNe wlov e ' s vision, and love and identificationfinallywi nout .~ll
Th e most positivecrit ic al resp ons e s begin withJan Bartley'sextensivearticle "s o me thing inWhich to Believe for Onc e: The Poetryof Johnaevrcve;"Sh e sees Newlove's po e t r y as comb i nin g both negative an d positivequa lities:
Newlove is , I think, more concern ed withthe process ofse a rc h ing than with the st a gn a nc y of gloom.An overvie wofhi s work rev ealsthe poet's persistence inexaminingatti t u desto society and man's relation ship toth e cosmos. Inthi s constantef f ort
to find a pe r s o nal fa i t h insomethin gor an ything whic h is no t delusive, th e persevera nceof Ne wl o v e at least equalshispessimism. No one candeny the poet ry ' s do mi n a nt shade of blackne s s, but i t is tooea sy to dramatize it ther eby ignoring an y positive tones and even th e occasiona l moods of optimism.II
She goes onto say that Ne wl ov e' s refusal "to roman t i c i zt.
his vision " ha s resultedin the negativit yfor whichhe has been cr iticize d and tha t "h d s tendency to 'affirm the worl d de s p i te i t' is un d e rr a t ed and ofte n cve rLcck edc' ' "
In her th esis "The svve ret treaks ofJohn Newlove" - the mo at expansive tre a t me n t of Newlove'spoetry to dat e - Har y R. Gouldalso refutes those wh o tendto seeue v r c v e as a poetwitha single neg a ti ve vis i on.Ins t e a d , sheargu e sthat hi s poetryreveals a "many-facetedpersonali ty.~Ut-lhi l e admitti ng thathis confes siona l poet ry is full of des p ai r, she feels that even he r e the "eesutiette satisfaction aff o rd ed bya ski lf u l l ycraftedworkof art al l o wsa critica l l y po s i t i ve re a c t i on."It\'/it.h re sp ect tothe other poetr y, sheconcl udes that "[ t) ol er an c e and compre he ns ive un derst an dinq, compassion yet iro n yf!!£.l.,wry humou r and light pLayfuLne a s, af firma tio nandaccep tance comprise the essential attit ude s ofNe wLc v e's express io n ••.."n
The Niqht theDo gSmile d (19 8 6 ) received from th e revi ewe r s a more pos itive respons e th a nxe vr cv e' e other works. The blacknessis still quite pronou nce d, butas one reviewerputi t: ~Tho u g h he wri t es 'In the edg eof a painf u l
horrific, the permanent in the face of the ephemeral.nil
Do u g l a s Barbour sums it up well:
... the poemsin The Night the Dog Smiled display all the craf t, wit, density, and (co mjpa s s i o n we cometo expect fromJoh n Newlove duringthe decade of his rise to the top of his craft.
But ther e is mor e here ... without any diminis hingof his sharpand accurateperception of humancruelty , fr a i li t y, hy p ocri ::y, and SUffering, Newlove offers us a more positivevision in th e s e newpoems than he haseve r manag ed to before •.. neverbefo r e have xewt ove ' s text s so obviously spokenof, and even pr o f f e r e d , lov e and compassi on. "
While i t 15 not myint entio n to pr ove the validit yof the nature of Newlove's poetic vi sion as advancedby the critical reviews, i twi ll notbe ignored. Themainaimof this thesis is to give an overviewof the stancesNewlove takeson se v eral importantconcerns. Th e use of thepersona as a controllingtechnique wi llallowthese concernsto be exploredfrom differentperspe ctives . Four major themes will be examined: the is o l a ti o n of the individualin a seemingly unca ri ng society, the inability to find commit men t in lov e- re latio nships, the search for a sense of identity and fUlfilment , and the nature of the poetic experience andth e poetic vision. Go ul d, in her thesis, differswith respect to the"n a s k " technique. She uses it to stress Newlove's own rolesasst o r y - t el le r, historian, humourist and celebran t and, by sodoing, illustrates the comp le x i t y of Ne vfov ers
persona l ity. "Th esevera l ma sk s of JohnNewl o ve , " she argues, "indicatea comp l e xper s on alit y whic h challe ng El s the"
one-dimensional por t rait of the poe t so ofte ndrawnby critics."OJIfystudy, however, is more concernedwith Newl o v e' s work an d les s withhis pe r s on a li ty .
Newlove's poetrydoes suggesta signif icantmovement fromthe per sona l to a more expans ive and social visionof ma nki nd. Alt hough there seemsto bea process of changin g poetic vision, Go ul d states that her correspondenc e with Newl o ve shows
that poems of a confessional and non- c onf e s s i on a l nature were composed contemporaneous l y. After the firstreallysignifica nt and sizeab l e col lec tio n of poetrywa s published in 1965, that is, tlo vin g In Alone , the th ree subseque ntpub licat ions .-..- - - re pr e se nted mater ia l co mpos ed mor e or less simulue nec uerv."
Wi t h thisin mind, I ha ve made noatt e mp t to arrangethe poems in chr on ol og i c al order. Instead, the y have been groupe d acc o r di n g to themes. I ha vedi sc u s s e dNe wl o ve 's poe t i c techni q ueson lywhere they seemto en hance the the me s under dis cuss ion.
1 DavidO~ Ro urk e, ~,Jo h n Newlove,"TheNew Cana dian An th ol o gy, e d s,RobertLe c ke r andJ. David (sc a r bo r o u g h : Nel s on Canada, 19 8 8 ) , p , 211.
2 The Green Pl ain fir s t appeared in 1971 with Joim Me t c al f' s"Girl in GIngha m"in Dreams Sur rou nd Us .It also appea rs inThe Nigh t the DogSmiled (198 6J. In theoriginal publ i c a ti on , eachstanza is isclate'dona sing le page, the entire poerncovering sornetwen ty- two pages.
3 For fur th er reference to styj e , see Paul Den h a m, Th e Ev o l uti onof Canadian Literature in Eng li sh 1945-10,ed, Pa u l Denham (Toronto: Ho l t, Ri ne hartand winston , 19 7 3 1, s. 24 8; De s mon d Pacey , reviewof TheCa v e , Th e Canadian Forum, No v. -Dec • , 1910 , p, 309, Ric kJohnson, reviewof LIes, Quarry (Spring , 197 3 j, s. 65; and R. G. Colli ns , revI'ewo f T'fi'FNTghtthe Dog Smile d , Journa l ofCanadi anPoetry, No. 3 , 19 88 , p. 88.
4 Douglas Barbour, "J ohn Newlove," The Canadi an Enc y cl ope di a , Second Edition , Vol. 3 (Edmonton: Hurtig PubHshers, 1988 ) , p ,1492.
5 A. F. lIor i t z, "Theuenfrom Vaudeville , Sask."
Books in Canada, Jan. 1S-7 S , p• 10.
6 Frank Davey, "J ohnNe wl o v e , "FromThe r e to He re: Po.
Gui d e to Eng lis h Canadia nLiteraturesi n c e 196 0 (Erin, Ont ari o : porceplc, IH 4), p, 205. In an in t ervie w as quoted in Jo nPe a r c e , "The Dance of Words,"Twe lveVoices:
Int erv i l!ws with Canadian Poets jOt t a wa: Bore a l I s , 19801, PP . 113 -1 4 , Newlove takes stronqobjection to Davey'scomment.
Da v e y, p, 206.
8 A. If. Pu rdy, re v i e w of~, Wascana Review , No. 2 (Fall, 1974), p, 71.
9 Robin Ske lton , "Ne wlo ve's Power, "reviewof TheFa t lIa o : Selected Poems19 62- 1972 , Canadi an Liter a tur e , N~
(dn t e r, 1978), p,102.
10 Uar q a r e t Atwood, "Ho wDoI Get Out of He re: the Poetryof Joh nNewlove,"OpenLetter , ser.2, No." (Sprinq , 1973 ) , pp. 59-60.
11 12 13
!l!i. ,
p , 64.~.,p.66.
~., p. 6B.
14 Gregory Cook, review of Black Night Window, Canadian Literature, No. 39 (Winter, 19 6 9 ), pp, 97-98.
15 John Fe r n s , "A DesolateCountry: JohnNewlove's Black NightWi n do w, " The Fa r Point, No . 2 (Spring-SulIlmer, 1969), p, 70.
16 JanBa r t ley, "Something 1n Which to Believe for Once: The Poetry of JohnNe wl o v e , " Open Lette r, Ser. 2, No.
9 (Fal l , 1974), p ,19.
17
!E.!!"
p • 26.18 Mar y R.Gould, "T he Severa l Mas ks of Joh n Newl o ve, "
Unpublished U. A. Thesis , Queen's University, 1975, p, a. 19 ~••p. 97.
20 Ibid.,p • 98.
21 Ann Archer, review of The ltight the Dog Smiled, Queen'sQuarterly, No. 4 (Wi nt er , He71,p , 1043.
22 DcuqLa s Barbour, "WeatherReport: "Stars, rAI n, forests"," reviewof TheNi ght the Dog Smiled , Essays on Canadian Writing, No. 36 (S p ring ,198 8 1, s. 90.- - - -
23 Gould, p, 3.
24 ~., pp. 2-3 .
NANALONE
Everyone is so lone l yin this coun t ry tha t it·snec eeaerv to befa n t.c atLc.
JohnNewlove
On e of theprcbLenefacing contempor aryman 1s an acute sens e of isolat ion. Indiv i du al s , for various rea s o n s, find th emselv esisolat ed frailot he r s andes tran g e dtro mself.A commonIllotif 1nJohn Newlo ve·s po e try is'ma n al o n e ', the individual who fin ds hi ue lf iso lated and al iena te d in a se eain ql y unc a r inq societ y. In aneffort to eabodyand to dramatiz e the se ns e of isolation in Ne wlove· s poetry, this cha p t er willexpl ore seve ralof hispo e.s which deal\lith in d iv id u al s whoare ess entially alone .
In "Veri gin,!lovingInAlo n e,- (lilA , pp . 86- 88) th 'J pers ona is anadult reainiscing about hischil dho od in Verig i n, aSIllallprairie townin Saskatchewan.He reveals theacu t esen se of isolati on he fre que ntly fe ltas achild. Th e ima g es , although onl y acollec ti on of fra glKent s/ sh arpas when theywe refi rst experie nced.
Th e poe mbe gins wi t h a cat a logue offa ct s, encl os edby parenth eses':
10
11
(fatherless , 250 pe ople countingdog s Clod gophers vewould say, Jrnae il ' s grocer ystor e, me1n Grad e 4, moth er
princ ipa l of the 2-bul1 d i nq 3- ro a m 12-gr ad e schoo lJ
Al t hou g h the ca t al ogueis pr e s en t e d obj ect iv e l y, it begi ns an d end s wit h thos e fac t s that appear toha v e greatest si g n i fic a nce. "IF j a t he r l es s" fo cu s e s on the fact that an in t e g ra l part of the boy's for mative years ismi s s ing. Th ere is nofather-f iSlure toact as a mode l or to provide di r e cti o nand affection . The mo t h e ris remembe red onl y as
"p rin ci palof the 2-bu ild i ng; 3- roo m12- gra de sch o o l. " By imp lic a t ion , she 15apro f ess io n a l, perha ps aut ho ritari a n, and unab leto fill the vacu um cr eated by the fa t her's ab se nc e. In es s ence , the n, the per son a fe l t or p hane d.
Sandwichedbe t.veenthe refere ncesto thepar en t s arethe factsneces saryto establi sh a sen se of time (pr i ma r yschoo l years) andpl ace(a prairievil l aq e ). The l istin q of the s e ext ernal real i t i es appears tobe adelibe r a t eatt e mp t by the per s ona toloc a t ehim self object iv e l y in hi s past. The detac hed tone . the laconi c langu age, the parent h etic al steeeaent;-al l at testto tile ad u l t 'satt e mpt at articulating honestlyhi s ch il d hoo dex pe ri e n ce s and at interpretinq.t.hemobj e ctivel yinan at t empt to ide nti f y himself withi n this context .
Whileth e firs t stan za!lives the larger contextof time
andpl ace, th esubseque n t stan zas focusmore on spec i f i c moments. In stan z a twotherec o lle ct i ons are sha rper , non- st atis t ical, andmo r e perso na l :
aboy si tting on thegrass of a small hi ll, the hot fa l l, speaking-no rus si an, an airg un mysiste r gave memak i ngme envie d.
Theus e of the thir dpe r s on, and thecli p ped phras es us ed to ma i n t ain the cata logueef f ec t , fur ther il l us t.ratethe p ersonass at tempt to pl ace his child hood In th e prop e r pe r s pective. I tis no t un til the fina l li n eof the st an za, ho we ve r ,th at the person a adop t sa definit e subjecti ve sta nce.
Newl ove 'sima ges an d ideas cre a te th e impre s s i on of is o la t i o n,The boy Is aloneI a mere speck , it seems , inthe va stne s s of the prai ri e la nd sc ape. Hisin a bil i ty to speak Rus si an and ther eb y communica tewi t hhis pee r s , andtheenv y they haveofhimbecause of hisairgun intensif y hi s of socia landpsyc ho lo g i cal is o lati on.
The fi rs tpartof stanza three isa na t ur al movement fr omthe second:
I tri ed all fall ,all spri ng the next ominousyear, to kill a crowwi t hit, secre t l yglad I couldnot.
While "c e .tnoue"sugge st s tha t the boyfeel s thre aten e d and that hi s pr esent pr e d I c a me n t for e sh a dows thi n gs tocome ,
13 what is of greater significance is hi s persistent eff or t "to kill acr o w . "Th isappears to be anovertattempt to gai n acceptance by beingableto ki ll as men are. Onthe insi de , thoug h, he 1s'sec r e tl y glad " that he 1s unableto kilL Still, his aversionto killingdistances hiXl from others especially frail
... th e men in winter shoo t ingthetown '5 wilddogs, caaueLlytos s i n g the quick-froz enbarely-bleeding bead-shot corpses onto the stree t- s i de snowbanks.
The bl unt, hyphenated adject!ves ..quick-frozen ,""barely - bleedi ng," and"h e a d-s h o t ,' and thevivid details us e dhe r e suggestthat the persona, thoughmu c hyo u nger than th e men who did the killings, had deeper pe r ce p t i o ns andstronger emotions. In short, bis poeticnatureset him apart.
These negativeimages give wa y as the persona briefl y re call s the more pleasantme mo ri e s of his boyhood. Th er e 1s the highway snowb lowe r which he perceivesas "aoae altern a te ofa go l den summe r'si wheat-t hres h ingmachine." As well, ther e arethe boyh ood games "of copsand robbe rs," The images - enriched by suchsuggest i ve termsas "golden,"
"ha rd-c t.es se d,""wild," and "3-dimensional,·andgiven vitalityby the active verbs "runn inq," "pretendin g ,"and
"l eap i n q" - suqgest that the pe r s on a was anexuberant pa r t i c i pan t. However, these br i ef momentsIIf acceptance and
'4
be longi n gserveon lyto ac centu a te th elonelinessheus ually felt.
The cataloguingcontinues, and theae eerte s dar k e n agai n: "cold spring swi_ming." "doome d fis hing l in beastless pon ds," and being "strapp ed! in scho ol .•• coldlyhold i ng ba ck tears." Thelast ima ge su gges ts tha t he will not allow hisellotions to su r fac e. Expos u re of histrue feeling s alllong hispee rswould, likehis airgun,distance him from t.nee• Hi s sensitiv i tyin an in s e nsi t i ve soci ety wouldrende r him hopelessly vu lnera b le.
Th is un wll li n qnesatoallo whis eli otio ns toshowrs mortempha t i cally conveye d as thepers on a recal lshls father'5 dr unkenness.As II boy hesee•• to have been unable. toarticula t ehis lovefor his fath e r:now, asan adult, he' appear s towant toec epe nsa t er
•• •howI lo vedhh',
love dhiM, lo ve hI., dea d, sti ll.
He r e theMo s t drama ti ceoaent; of the poem is re ache d all the persona ope nlydeclares hislo ve. Repeti t ion and the deli ber ate padn; of th e line give extra eapha s La to the contin u ity of the persona'slo ve and his re;re t inha v in g- beenunabl e tosha re i t.
Stanza ei qht give s furth e rinsi9ht Int.othe ineff ec tiven ess of the hcee to pro v ide the co.fo rt , love , anddirecti o ntha t the chil d nee ded.The re is theterror of
living "a lone""In the house wit ha ".ad " ol d er broth e r:
15
By mad oldbrotherchased me alone1n the housewithhi m aro und and az-cund
the smal l liv in groo u , airgun, ri f l ein ha nd , silently, our breat hs comingtoqether.
Thesememor ies, theseimages - "sights and temperatu resl and ren e e ne an e e s''- are as vivid asthe "Icst;gul l (that } screa msnowlouts i de (his) window.M The ima g e of"e lo s t gull" provides aneffect ive compar ison, reinfo rcing the adult'ssenseof loneliness and lack of direction. This senseof is o l a t i o n is in t e n s i fi e d by the tedi um impli e d in the hyperbole of his "year- longl night and day" which is juxtapose d with the"ma q n i f i c en t pra i r i e " setting of wh ic h he feels he should have been a par t.
As thepoem began, the persona movedinto his pastwith, a de libe ra tecauti on. In the last two s t.enaas reco l le cti o ns of pain and pleas ure ,deathand l if e , seem no more than ins i gnific a n t fra gmentsunt il "ever-ythLn q breaksdown.ft The pe rso na , inre cet fmsevents from hi s past, ha s been abl e to articulat e successful lysome of his child hood expe r ie nces exp erLe nces that refle c t hi s rela tionsh ipwit hothers , his isolatio n andhis te mpera ment . Ho wever, the ne gati v it y of many of the re c o l l e c t i on s and the i r fragmente d na tur ehave no t permittedan yne anLn qfuI order to emerge . The per s ona has not fou nd anysense of di r e c ti o n . Hemust, &5heha s been doing, "[mo ve] inalone."As D. G. Jone s obser ves,
the r e Is an afitrllation of Nthe factsof hissingula rfate, tho u g h the var i o usel ellle nt s fai l to res olvet.n ees eLve sinto any lar g e r or finalpattern of lIe a ning.-1
Wh e r eas ·Verl g 1n, Hovi n g In Alone" presen tstnce n ee, but fragJlented imagesof th e persona' s chil d hoo d , "Ka llsack "
(~' pp - 60-61) is a more sus t ain e dsta te.ent of ch il dhood is ola ti on. Thi s is part i c u l ar lytrue of th ese c ond andthird parts of the poe m.
Par t 1, -TheDam" 1s largely a cri t icis m of the double st a nd ard imposed by adults. Adoptin g a more con t in uo us line a r ar g ument in con tras t tothe 'f r ag me nt e d ' memories of
"Verigl n, Hoving In Al one," the person a reca lls how, as a boy, he andot h e r seere told tosto p th ei r 5\111111109near t.he da ll si nce t.netr "bo di esl would pol lute" thetown's drinkin g water.Nowas an adu lt,he se rce rve sthe lncon g r u i tyof the si t u a t i on:
th e farhlers' co ws farther up were not.delica te in thei r droppings.
Howev e r , ofgreatersignifi c a nce are the meeents of belonging to the group that is impliedby the use of ~w e"
and "us." AsWell, the final two sta nz a s sugg es t a ot toget herness.Thisharmony is ccnv eyednot only by the hydro- workerwh o gave thelll "rol l ing sl to rcigarettes"and
·showedItheall theoU e dma c hiner y,· butalso bythe
17 euphonious "oi led" and theend rhy.e inthe final two li nes. 'rne se brief eceents ofon ene s s heighten th e is olati on evident 1n thenextteeparts: "TheHe.orie s·and·Th e Do; . "
"Th e ue ee etee," whi c h is li t tl e llIo re th ana prose statement, so mewha t disjointed1n str uct u rebut unifi e d in its sense,serves as a linkbe tween th e othertwopartsof
"xees eck,"Whilein "The Oalll"an d"T he Dog" the persona r-e ccLjec t.esp eci f icmemorie s, 1n the secondpart heret: lec ts moreon the signifi c anc e of memori e s.
Beginni ng in a utt e r-a f- fa c t ton e, thepersonarecalls hi sinability as a chU d to communicateeffectiv elywith hi s peers:
Ivas aninc onsequent(al person, th ere we re .a ny secrets Idi d n't knOll and th ing s I' l l never know, not speak i ng ru ss ia n, no t sp ~akin9 anyt hing we ll enough to be trus ted,th o ugh the gra lllma r was fi ne.
The se li ne s reveal theboy' slowsel f-es t e ellan d the acut eness of his is olat i on .Th e r ewas ala c k of sharin g and t rust. Hispeers sail him wh ola c ke dan under- standin gof th ei r world. They wo ul d lo ok at him
.••in asudden di sgus t , as i f they would say, '''on' t he
re everunders ta nd
any t h i ng?
The pe r s ona, adult lo ok i n g back , recogn iz e s the truth : his fee l i ng's of fru s tratio n an diso lat ion as a chil dste••ed : frailhi s inabili t y to artic ulatesat is fa c t o r il y his Lnne raost;ee ctrcn e •
In Part 3, -T h e Dog , " th e bo y, alone with hisdog , C'omtemplates lifeandhis perceptions of himself. The sectio n be g ins dth a vividimage:
Lying on my back on th ehot prairie dr e amin g of the nervou s sea , lIy .2 2 rifle by lIy side,lIy dog ra n gi ng aboutand snu f fi ng , contentth atI
shoul ddo nothing, for hewasadalln fool ofa dog, red and cur ly. and always sca red away thecrows or gop h e rs beforeI coul d shoo t.
The pers ona . older tha n theboyin "Ver 19in ,!lovingIn Alone ," seems tohaveha damor•.'sig nific ant awarene ssof lif e andhi s ownins e c ur i t i es . The sens e of tranquilitythat theimage initiallypresents is undercu t by the boy's -dreamingofl the nervous se e ,"Here he co n t en p la te s the un ce r t a i nt i es of lite andseems to ha ve doubt s about his own exis t e nc e.The persona envie s the dog'srel a xati on an d
free do ll wh ile judgi ng'hi m a "d a mntool."
There ill no positiveaction: instead, the boydre ae s
•.. of the sea an d anythi ng todo excep t wh a t wallat ha n d I spent sueeer s, nev e r thin kinganyone would lo ve me .
The boy , th en , cau ghtup insel f, is unable toface what is ex p e c t e d of him. Fe elingunlo ve d, he LnduLqe s in self - pi ty and rec eives ple a sur efr omtha t aberrant emo tio n:
ne ver caring beyon d the delight at lIIa ki ng
lIy s~lffeel sad.
Thi s helps hillto end u r e the in t e nseisolat ion he fe e l s. In re t rosp e c t, the pe rsona see s th e falsi t yof the si t ua tion, Th e refer enc e to "fals e tearslti g h t en i n g [his ) throat"isa recognition tha t his helings of s..dne s s we reself-i nd uc e d and that his "d el ig ht"wa s asartificial as his tears.
The pers ona'5 alonenessis fur the r emphas ize d by an acknowledgemen t of hisnar cissism:
nev e r thinkingan yo ne cou ld love me, no t as I loved my se l f - except,
that re d do g,da mnfo ol runn in gandbarki n g awayto wardth e town.
Th e contr a s t between the boy and the dog1s stro n g.The dog'
is involved,an activeparticipantthat scaresoff gophe r s and \Ioes "runn ingand barkingl. . . towa r dthe town. " lih!I e the dog moves outside of self, the boy, inhis misery.
remains int r o v e rt e d , absorbed in his own importance.The boy'sexperience, then, is an escape fromothers rathertha n a communicatio n with na tu r e whioh the setting inv i t e s . The fofona ! language of thissection gives it an immediacy that al lowsfor an un der s t a nd i n g of the int ensi t y of the isolatio nand theloneli nessthe pers o na, as a chil d, fel t.
While "Verir!n, Ua v in gIn Alone" fwd "Kameack" explo re the lone l i ne s s and isolationoften experiencedin childhood , the other peens to be discussed in this chapterfocus on the isolation experienced by adults whose lives ar e emptyand me a n in g l e s s.These individualsappearas helplessvictims who ar e tra pp e d either in self or in an uncarin gsociety.
"Pub li cLib r a r y" (BNW, pp. 70-73) is a prosa icpoem whose lo n g line s and pauses help to reflectth eboredom and isolation of its characters, mainlysocial rejects, who ha ve foundrefugein thesetting that gives the poemit s t i tle.
Thr o ug h a seriesof viv id ima g e s , the po e m providesan agoniz ingglimpseof the lo nel i n e s s and helplessness of thesevic ti ms. They are toget he r, but 50 desperatelyalone.
Thepersona is nu mb ere d among them, but he is younger than mo s t of them are. An un d e r s t a nd in g and compassio na te onlook er, he has beensitting "d ay after day in the smoking ro o m of the Li. b z-ar y "
21
" .ha lf reading
half in a dreamed trance halfli s t eni n g to the sou n ds aroun d[him) half lo oki n g atthepeoplearound {h im].
The sou nd s , suc has the shuffli ng of feet, the rustli ng of paper , th e snores , the gruntsand the sighs, ar eall irri ta tingexpressions of bor edom. But thereare more intense and painful noi s e s : the "noise of the man who sat al l day •.. going aahhaahh ev er yfo u r eeccnde", and the noise of
theman who talk ed to himself in a strange sound i ng la n g u a g e someth ing slavicor made up
gigglingandt~1itt e ring be t we en th e phrases his laughter risin gas theda y went on to a hig her an d higher more hyster ica l pitch unti l wheni tse emed hewou ldfina ll y ha veto
co l la ps e fr om 91ggl1ng he su d d e n l y flu she d
as ifins u lte d by himse lf
andscreamed in eng l ish the anguis h la n gu a g e Sonof a bi teh son of a bi teh you
pu t onhishat and le f t to go home and make supper fo:c him s el f in some grey room.
The intens ityofthi s image con ve y s the fr igh te n ing isolation of so man yindividua ls inco n temp o rarysocie ty. Yet, despite thest e ril ityof th ei r existenceand th eir feelings of being "a ba J1do ne d l left alone byall the othe r two billion," theystUlhave thei r pride:
old men snorti n gin bewilde r ed hur t derisio nat the newspape rs and trying tosuck up the mucus in theirnoses witho ut ha v i ng tosh o w adir-:.y handk erc hi ef sostrongthe i r pride.
Their poverty and the spiritual isolati on engenderedbyi t are emphasized bygraphic ima ge s of their physica l appearances :
" .years old oxfords with great cavities mocassins thick grey woollenso ck s knee high old armyis sue from two wars at least
. . . . . .
mismat cheddoulJleb rea s tedfa nta s ti c al l y wide Lap eLjed old poi nted blue pinstripesuitcoats
relics of ot h e r generatio ns the wea re rs outsi de all generations.
"[O] ut s i d e/ all generations " isa pa r t i cul arl y sign ific a n t phrasesincei tplaces these ind ividuals apart from the rest of humanit y. Their isolatio nis total. The few youngermen whofrequent the libra ry areon l y "alittle nee te rv , their
~breathlngand spit a little less obvious. "
Into this bleak scene ent.e rs "t h e well-dre s sed ! tightly -girdle -assedpointy- wire-breasted and well-stroked ! youngwoma n."She provides for the men a momen t ar y release from their patheticpredicamentas theysh i f t
..• aroundintheir ch airs
to ease the strai non thecrotc hesof their greasy pants as fo rgo t t e n juices stirred.
Fe el i ng uncomfortable, she leaves. lIer appearance and he r choiceof "asafer floor " emphasi ze, bycontrast, theplig h t"
of the others. Th e poem conc ludes with aSUb tle
ide ntifica tion of the speaker with these rejects , sinc e he ref uses to commen t on the well -fed andwel l-dre s s e d bus i n essme n who occasio na l l ybl un de r in and ou t of the library: ~oftheml I will not spea kfor I·do not know .M
While "Pub licLi b r a r yMprov id e s a generaliz. ed view of the "cutoasta" of mod ern so ciety, "Co mp a ny" (Lies, pp, 20- 25) focuse s more sp ec if ic a ll yon the individua l "derelict"
who can be viewe das aty pi cal representa tiv e of hiskind. By being referr e dthro u ghou t the po em as "i t , " th e indlv!l;1ual becomes a mere object, something that 1s non- human.Newlo ve ' s us e of the impersonalpronoun , and an unc ompas siona t e th i r d person narra t or areapparently intended toempha size the ind i v i d u a l 's is ola t i on and th e inhumanityof hissituatio n .
In thesim p l e, una d orned langu a ge th atis preval ent throughou t thepoe m, Pa rt 1 presents a pi c t u r e of the hopelessn essof the indivi dual 'ssituation. This is partly revealedby th e neqative att itudeof the women he st r on gl y desires , yet fears :
Theyse ns e i t ha s been withou t a woman a longtime andth e y lo a th it.
Theysmell the worstkind of celibacy on it, involuntary.
There isa rancidnes s, a sme ll of ha ving given up , of havin gbeengiven up on.
Theirloathing has nothing to do withhi s ph ysic a l ap p e a ra n ce orhis ina bil ity to payI inste ad,
23
I t is the smel l of ho p el e s s n e s s,
it is fear's emanat ion, th a t ulce rat es the stomac h . Wo men edgeaway fr om it, feeli ng somet h ing unhuman.
InPart 1, th e diction - in pa rt i c u l a r "it, " "coveti ng ,·
"loa t h,""rancid nes s ," and "hope le ss ness" - ef fect ive l y conve ys th eexten t of theman' 5 al iena t ionandhis "havi n g been gi v en up on."
Pa rt 2 illu s t ra tes not onlytheindi v i dua l 's desperate need forhuman con tact.but also the sadistic and masoc h istic nature of man:
I tlov e s company and companyis disgusted byitl compan yenjoy s being diguste dby i t:
i tenjoy s dis g u s t i n g company.
Desperate lysearching for some recognit ion, "it "
del ibe rate lyacts
as compan yexpects it to act:
cadging, begging, groping, in s ol e n t subse rvie nce, arro ga nt whi nin g.
Howev e r , thi nkin g he "k nows all ab ou t people," the ma nfe el s that he is the manipulator . The y, ne edin g someone to re a f ff irmthei r owncomfort andse ns eof sup eriori t y, mani p u la tinghim. This parasitic relatio nshi pcont i nues un t i lthe socia l l yacc epte d ones fe el th ei rsec u r i t y threat ene d. Whe n this hap pe ns , the indiv idua l isalone agai n. The futil i ty of his situ ati onis re inf o r c ed in th e
25 fin al st a n z a which indicates thecy c li c nature of the re l ati on s h i p .
In Part 3 the ind i v i d u al attemptsto find comfort among others who are lo n e ly. Sitting in "SalvationArmy and welfare barracks," hetr r e s to lessenhi s lonel iness and, simultaneo usly , give himself a semblanceof respectabi l i t y as he tells"the othe rbums what [he)migh t have beenlor done." The others te llhim"wh a t theymigh t have been or done." Hi s experience is not un i que : "al l ofth e be ds in all of the citiesthe same."Yet there isli t t l e escapism since theydo not admit awa reness of the basic truthsof their position.
Th e setti ng forPar ts4-9 is a public beach.Th e imme d i a t e reali tyof the beach wit h its "washed-uplo g s " and
"dark:green-blackvegetable sludge fr o m the ·se;\" is s ysihoLd c of the ind iv id ua l 'spredicament and serves to accen t uate his lon e l i n e s s. He is the flotsam and jetsam of society. In an effort to find solace , he re a c h e s outwardbe y on d the and allo.... s hims e lfthe lux u r y of romantic izi ng. The pol y syll a b i c place names add to the romance of far-away places: "impossiblemilesacross thereare the islan ds of th e Pa c i fi c , ! imagined decoratio ns in aro ma n t i c at las, ali e n histor ies,!Poly nesi a, Ue l an e s i a , t1i c ro n e s i a.•.an atlas! ful l at:lif e. "The r e is an awareness th a t suc ha ro manti c visio nis false.' Butin his nee d for recognition and acceptance, he is wi llin g to deceivehimse lf into
thin ki ng tha t any place is bett.e r th a n the present on e. Br o u g ht back frolll fantasyto reality , the 'l os er ' ironi ca lly res orts tolIeaor yto alleviate hislIiser yand give hilla sense of vi t ality. But "(lI l e lllor i e s drif t pastIl theycann o t be grasped. "As well, there isthe pain f u l recognitionthat ti medistorts eeec eres , lIak in g t.hea lit t l e
thanhalf tru t hs :
To rememberwithoutly ing isdifficult. Wi t h friend s ,drinking beer, ther e is a set of
ru Lea, acod e of telli n g-
that cov ers the er rors, the cowardices andstupid i t ies,
turnin g theminto weak alllusl n gvi rtues , ane cdo tes inwhic hno one reallywinsor loses.
Fin al l y , in Part 9, he lea ves thebeachandhis eeeorree and ae xe ehisway, "headdo\m," to"t h e slIoking rooa of the pUblic libra r y.~
Thingscan no t be wo r s e. Ir o n ic a ll y, ho we v er, i t is the hopeles snes sof th e ind ividua l 's tscf etronthatgives hilll hope. Thishope fin d s itsfullest express ion inthe conc l u d in g se cti o n . Th e re , in the librar y,
Perhaps some t h ing goodwil l ha p p en.
Perhap s it wil l meetsomeone i t knows or so meonewhoknows i t.
That r ee ct.e poss i b ili t y allo ws hilll tothin k of "analmost Illyth i ca l fri e nd . ~· As this happ e n s the illp erson al "it"giv es wa y to ~H illl . "The poe e conc lud es with th e possib ili tyof a
.,
27 strong se n s e ofcOllllllu ni o n:
The ywou ld talk to g e ther about the past.
They wouldag r e e witheach other .
The ywoulddri nk beer and secke and talk confidently
aboutwOllen .
until closingtill e.
Here, the urgency of. the ind ivi dua l'sdesire for ac cep ta nce andtogethern e s s is rei nf orced by the rep e titi on and pa r allelstru c tur e that beg i n eac h sen te nce. Howe ver , hop e fo r apo s i ti v e relationship se e ms illus ory. The t i tle
"Co mpa n yMis painfUllyironic.
In ava lia nt effor t toease the pain of hi s isol ati on , th e indi v id ua l has ee ve e th r o ugha seriesof experie n ces, While ne ith er has provided an y rea l or la sti ng co. fort , eac h has, in i tsown way, providedhill withthe impe tus to conttnue that elusi ve search.
In"Ha r r y19 6 7" (~ . pp. 73-761, ho wever , Ha r r yha s lo s t tou c h withthe .re alit y of his pitif u l exist en c e. Heis not only alie na t ed fro llsoci ety, but also estranged fro ll self. Un lik ethe ind i v idual inMCOlipanyMwho ha s be en able 'roll withthe pu nches' toso me extent, Har r y has been defe ated.
Th e third person omn is cient point of viewisus e d to pr ese n t a seri e s of pros e statements whi c h give a graphi c and comp ass ionate pi ct u r e of Har r y . Al t houghhe is on l y thi rt y -si x,he is portrayedas an ol d lIan who nolon g er sees the aridi tyof his existen ce: "Old Harry justsits on the
'B
por c h all daystar i ngat hims e lf! and not se e i ng' ad amn thing . " Hi s perc eption of himsel f isremo v ed fromth e re ali tyof whathe is, forHa rr yima gin e shi ms elf as Msitt i ng on theporch of a hous e he never/ had. "The
"rea li ty " of hisillusion is 50 in te n s e that he can feel
"the sunlight almost."Even though Harryli v e s in a "ten - dol la r a ae ek light-ho usekeep i ng room,"he has create d, throughhis self-de lusion, a deg r ee of normalcy .
Harry'5acut e is ol a tionseems to ha vebe en cause d bya fail ur e to ac hieveany th ingsi g n ific an t 1n his life. t1a ybe hi s drea ms we r e unreali s ti c or his educa t i oninadequate for he left sc hoo l "atsix t e e n be fo r e he finish e d Gra del Nine to get 1nonthe big money." what. e v er the reason, Ha rr yhas
"mis s ed cut;" on lifeand his sp i ri t has been destroyed.
Ju x ta pos e dag a inst the ster i li t yof Har r y' s presen t exi s t e nc e are his forme r dre a ms in wh i c h he saw hi mse l f in heroic bu t unr ea lis tic circu mstan ces':
Harr ywent toEthiop iaand was a general ina revolution And he kill e d theEmper o r wi th hisownhan d .
And hisgall anttribe smen swept downup on the lines of khaki ma chin e gunmen an d sabr ed ev eryon e of them .
Har r y was nic kedby afragment of slle ll tha t left an inch- l ong cut like onea knife wou l dmake on his for e arm.
29 Thi s excerptillustratesthat the fan t a s y had an "eqoLs t.Le
nature"1its ft[s Jtr uc tu re and grammar indi ca t ethatt.he
vi s i o n is a little-bo ydream ... as breathless, repetitive sente nc es £0 11 0 \1insistentlyupon one anc th erv: " lih ! le the dreams might he lpto account for Harry 's failure, thereis no doub t that de s pit e theirunat tainabilitythey do provide for hima sense of impo rt a nce and of inv ol ve me nt . They compensa tefor hi s fail uresan dgivehi s lon e ly lif e a lllodicUIilof comfor t. Howe ve r , "Tha t wa s along time ago " ; and the po e m conclude s by reiterating, throu gha seri es of negat ives , the extentof Har ry'sisola tion. Unable to change the direction of his life, he finds himself irrep arabl y alone.
Then th e re is theunforge ttab l e "She " (Li es ,p, 37), which il lus tratetha t isolation isnot confine dto a particula r gender. Th i spo e m presentsan anonymous indiVidual, a p reduet;of an anon ymoussocie ty, alone and trapped because of the treac he ryofher bodyand th e phy si c a l realitiesthat surro un dher.She is alo ne likehe r tears, those "c n ee r c ai beast(s]1 shut in a darkro om with the walls closingl behind he r eyelids."There isno commun io n wi t h otherindividual sor evenwi t hna t u re :
...all touc hes hateful, the white sweepof clea nsnow death to her, the gre y nak ed trees death to her.
Theima ge s of thesnow and the tre e s aresad remi n d e r s of
.hermortali ty.In spiteof he r de sp err, she att emp t s to hol d backthe tee rs : toput on a bravefront. But it is too much :
renee
slide like qlycerinedown the rou nd chee ks andshi mmer on herchi n.Nomotio n escape s herre c er sadnessgathers inhe rbo ne s ; her finger s curl, an ulce r pinsherdown, rotting in he r bo dy .
The con t r a st insta nza three serves tore i n f o r c e her isola tion. Onthe televisionscr e enthe re are refl e ct io n s of activit y :
The quiet shadowson the screen
dance, gesti culate, thene ws comes on and goes, ca r s are sold, womensing andsmile, butshe doe s not.
Altho ugh th e se imagescan be seen as symbolicof the sha do wy na tu r e of human existence, there is atle a s t the semblance of actio nan dco mmunio n. She, ncve v e r, is alon eandbarely ab l e to move her body "as if she ha d fo rgo tt en ho w. -
Nor wil l sp ring, the seasonof rebirt h, change con d i t i ons fo r her.Sh esees it as a season ofdece i t, pre tense, anddeath. fo r her ,
.••the tre e s wi t htheir sticky sh iny leave s will on ly be in co st u me, mo c k in g, the fre shai r will lie; ani malsstretch ingin their skins stre tch to die.
Fo r he r, there is no conso lat io n.
Yet, desp itethe nega t iv ityof her pe rc e ptio n s, she
31 best i rs herse lf in what seemsa desperateeffort to res is t her overwhelm ingagonyandto fre e he r s e l f:
Sh e mo v e s. He r shouldersache. Sh e feels the ha rn e s s e s she li ve s in, shefeels the jelly onher skele ton, she feels the tears upon her fa c e anddri e s them with he r han d s , touc hesherhair , si ts up an d tr i es to smile.
Homenta ril y, the moo d of despair andde p r e s s ion is re pl a c e d by one of ho pe.The re pe ti ti on of "shefee Ls"empha s i z e s this Bu r goeof hope as she "makes a positiveefforttofr e e hersel f fr omt.hehe a vi n e s s of flesh and bone."l Ho wever , her hop e is sho rt-live d. Th e final two line s of th epoem reveal the insi gn ificanceof her ac ti o n s :
Itis a bra veattempt, saying: Seehow brave I ami Her breasts hangheavyonher, and the roomis dark.
Al tho ughshe is av a re of he r own responses to the wor ld aro un d her, sh e is trapped in the aridity ofher exfscen c e • Any hope of escape isfutile.
Whil e i t i ttrue that isolatio nand social and psy c ho log ica l alien a tioncompr isethe more obvious them a t i c threads con n ec ti n g thes epoe ms , there seemsto be a subt l e r suggestionco mmon1n them. It 1s not openly stated, and shou ld, perhaps, be posed as a quest ion. Are thes e in di vi d ua lsisolat ed an dalienated by anun appr o a c ha bl ean d unc aringsociety, or aretheyvict ims of th eir ownse lf- concep ts? It seems that He wl ove himse lf ha s been una ble to
satis fac toril y decidethi s issue. Wh a te v erthe cause , there is no do ub t th a t the vi s io n is darkand the iso latio n stron g.
NOT ES
1 In Newlove'scollectionThe rat lIa ~ (1977'. the paren theses have been r ee cvedfrolll the initial stanza.
2. D. C.Jones. Butter f lyon Roc k: A Stud yof The.es and IIII3 g e s in Canadian LI t e r atur e (Tor o n t o : Un Ive rsItyof TorontoPr ess, 19 7 0 1. p• 173.
3 See T. S. Cliot 's"TheLoveSong ofJ. Alfr e d Pr ufr o ck," wher e Prufr o ck 1s und ec e ived.
Pearce, Twe lve Voices, p. 114. Se e C. A. Robi nso n' s "Hini verCheey v, "
Gould, p , 61.
Bar tle y , p,43.
33
THEFAILED LOVE R
I havedesi::edman y
but I wonderi f I have lovedone?
Jo h nNe wlo v e
Please don't look in my fa ce wi t h your lon e s o me ey es for somet hingthat 's be en us e d up a lo n g timeago. that I lo o k for myself in anoth e rmirror.
John xe vr cve
The idea that is ol ati o n results fro m the in a b il it y to love others and to establishany lastingor in t im a t e relationships is a recurri ng theme in Newlo v ets poetry. The poems that ex p lor e failed love"a r e particu la rlyintense and sometimes almost tragic si nce it appears th atlove and close personal rel a ti on s h i p s are crucial to lhi m].,,'
To whatextent, one ma y ask, is the speakeror the perso na Newl ov ehi ms e lf ? When told in an inte r v i e wwit h Jon Pearcetha t his poetryis se enas basically
autobiograp h ica l, Newl ov e offere d this respo nse :
Any writi ng 1s autobiographical in the sense that it' s mad e by ahuman beinq wh opre suma bLy draws in par t fromhisexperi e nc e, his respo nse, hi s viewof thewor l d.Butsurel yShakespeare isn'tres p on s i ble for the vi e ws of Ha ml e t orIlac beth . As far as I
34
35 know, Shakespearedidn ' tmu rderanyone.I ha vene v e r in my lif e, ex c ep t for the occasional ly r i c - I might as well admit it, lovelyri c - been auto- biogra ph ical. Nev e r. In iiT'Ove lyric youha ve to be, butoth e r wi s e , ne ver .'
Newlove , withsome rel uct anc e, admitsthat there is an element of confession inhi s love poems. conre sstoneI poet s, on the othe r ha nd, focus on "th eSelf as primar ysubject, the self tr ea t e dwit h theut lllo s t frank n e s s and lackof re stra i n t ."I Th e i rpo e t ry
••• springs from the needto con fes s. Eachpoem is in somewaya decla rationof independence. Or of quil t. Or of anguish and suf fe r in g. Thusthe writing of each poem is an ego-centred, tho u gh not an ego- centri c, ect , it s goa l is self- t he rapy and a certain purgation.'
Th er e appea rs tobe l it tle dou b t, asGou l dconv inci n g ly arguesin "The Several lIasks of John Ne wl o v e , " thatNewl o v e doesadopt a conf e s si o n a l stance in those poems that deal with love- re la t io nsh ips.' She is, however, at pains to cautio n
..• that no tota llyobjective or comp le te ren d e r in g of the poet in the poem is possib le andtha t the poem canno t wi t h va liditybe equate d wit hthe poet.
It is als o us ef u l to bear in mi nd thatthe poet as confesso r is sometimes the poet as tricks te r or pretender."
Since one ha s no way of isolatingwith certai nt y factfrom fiction in a particu lar lyr i c, it ispr u den t to assume that ae wr c v e has adopteda persona. Thi s chapt e rwillexa minea
numberof poems in which thepersona fail s to establish a senseof communication, communion , andcomrr,ltment inhis Iov ecr eLa tions hi ps.
In"Allfly Fri e n d s "(~,pp. 19- 2 0 1, the persona, in contrast to hi s frie ndswho "a r e getting nar.r Led inlvarious places ," has be en unab leto accept anddevelopan inti mate commit men t to ano t he r indiv i dual. Aware ofhi s fai l ure , he Ln d ul ge s ineerr- e na f v sie.
Initi all y , adopti nga tone of wry humour, th e persona in di c a t e s that his fai lure to commit hims e lf to th eopposite sexisca u si ng'hi mto "rapidly lturn ]1 homosexua l."However, caugh t between these twoforms of sexu a l attracti o n, he 1s unable to commit hi mse lf to eit her . f1omose x u ality does not offer the kind of fulfil mentthepe r s on a seeks:
All I can do istoadmire circumspect l y the beautif ul young boy s on the streets and touc hthe hands of fly fr i en d s occasionally.
Thetone sh i fts to one of despair as th e persona re c ogni z e s tha t , "tu rnedl bot hwa ys ," he is locked in self: "every - thingl turnsontome andl I can do no t hi n g."He isso immobi lized by his sense of inadeq uac ythat he cannotacce p t tha t an yon e els ecan love hi m. If the ysaid so, i t would be a lie: if the y believe dit , it wou l d bean error in judgemen t :
37
•.•do not believewh a t soraekin d person says: I love you.
Andcan never say, I love you,can notal lowecaecne to con fuse in thems e l vesthing s theydo notfe elof me.As i f they wou ldI
Althoughun abl e to ac t , he isqui t e awar e that his desi re s are strong. Ini t i ally. he se esth em tiSsex ually.ot i va t ed:
Too eany desi r es, ge nita l-born desire said the Gree ks: the ven e real lIountai nI
The Classicalal l us i on andtheisolati on of "mountai n- giv e eaphas Lsto the enoe- l t y of hisdesires wh i c h , though-n otl whol ly eexuaI"ar e·str ong l y" so. Ac knowle dqeme nt of his sexua l longingbr ie fly allowshill toden yhis needfor real love. Buthe ca n onlyholdhis lie for a eceent.. Al l of his explo rations return to his singl e pe rsonaltrut h: his knowledge of his ownina dequac yin love-r e la t i o ns h ips .
At thispoint he rec ogn i zes thathe lie s fo rself- pres e rv a t io n.He feels that if he states his problem,he will eventually get rid of i t:
It is thatthe conf e s s i on hopesto be th e cur e, the li e to engen de r the tr u t h.
3.
In Will to Powe rlfietzsch\e states:
There 111 onlyon e world , an d t.hatworldis fal se, cruel. contra dictory, mi s lead i ng.sens eles s .• •.
We ne e dour lie s to van q uis h thi sr e alLt y, this
"t rut h" ,we need lin in ordert.olive....'
Newlove 'spe r s o na, to o,mustli e.
It is myfashion. My old fashi on, to whi ch I lIlus t cOllpl y,
Li e s are ine vita ble , he needs the lll to survi ve.
·Se e ingtieDazed"(~,pp. 21-2 2 ). a POtlllwhi ch imme diate l y follows "All lIy Fr iends , " provid esan intense fee ling ofself-p ity Ind isolati o n ,' He re, the persona is trapped inwhat Atwo od calls a "amo r cata tonic trance.-I He desperat elywan ts a carin g relati on s hip wi t hhis fe.ale companion.He knOlls , hevevee, thathisdes i re 1s futile, not bec a useof thewounbutbecausehe Is unabl e togive affec t i o n in re t ur n .
Asthe poe ll be gins , the pe rsona, filled wit h se ll- p ity that he mistake s tor despair, wants "t;cbe co.for ted." The wom anignor e s hi man dgoes abou t her ho us eh ol dchores. The perso na seesheras acol d and impe r s on a l ind ividu al , but it is obvi o us that heha s madeher !mllune tohis sel fish demands. Later, he twi c e ac knowl e dges as muc h: ~Iput you away ."
In st anza thr ee. the persona ad opts a Whiningand ac cusa t o r y toneas he at t ellpts to el ici tpi ty:
"
Iwasuna w are i t was so much: to be comfort e d when not h ing will mov e for me, wheneve rythi ngtur nson t o me, when the redtabl e isje alous an d fold s over me, the claycup is usel e s s in my cl ums y hand.
Personif ie d,me.nraate objects su c has the "red tab le"and the "clay cup"become eith erhos t i l e ~r ind i f feren t.In esse n ce , physic alreality merges withthe emo t iona l rea l i ty of the moment. As he tur ns inwar d thing s tur n in on hie, uk! nghim impot ent,l. Stanzafour. whichpresent s a sud d en shif t to theou tside , pro videsa contrasti ng image:
Outside th erai n goes; at bus-s tops drygrassis to s sed ongr een by work men to pro t e c t from win ter.
Her e . the idea of the wor kmen working tOf,/e th e r - and even the "mech a n ica l " comf or t th e yprovide- help to in tens i f y the self-pityandself-cen t r edness the persona feelsand to isola tehi mfurt h e r.
As hisperceptio n shar pens, heimagesth e wor ldas "a sil v e r pin",awinte r worl d of ph ysica l pain in wh ic hhe is so vulner ab l e .Na t ur e off er s no solace ; ins te a di t seems rea ff iu theIli s ery of hi s existe nce. Incont r as t to the peopl e on the pra iries who can endu re "t hewind! and the numbi ng snow five months lon g, "hecann ot endurethepai n of his emotions.He brief lyack nowle dges hi s stu pidit yand unfa irness -
r am the stupid one, I am the one who cannotendure. I am the one who alwayssteals wha t is not given, from a dif f i c ul t place, an in n o c e n t person.
- and attemp tsto force himself to graspthe trut h that he has be e n exploiti ng others; "stealliny] what isno t qiven"
and giving nothing in return.Veryquickly, howe v er , he lap s e s intoself~pityand takes on th e whini ng to n e again.
Woulditbe difficu l t , heasks ,
To put; a han d onme? To give comfort,
a little dry gr a s s , is nothing;
i tcan be mechanica l,i tcan be invente dI
Whi le"Anythinq~1i11do, · the person a knows that no t evena
"ne chentcaI" gesture of love 1'111 1be forthcoming , since hl s selfish actions have been responsib le for ne r indifference.
There is, then, no hope for communio n. As a lo ver , the per sonahasfail e d. He has not •• allowedlanything" ~any meaning f u l relat ions h ip- to grow between them . In c.... ntrast to the wo man "who ta lk s on the t.e l e ph o n e gai ly,- he fin ds himselflo c ke d rigidl}' in a worldof hostil e or unans we ring objects:
... I sit s t.a rLn q , unable to shiftfrom table or cup or11f t my eyes from thebla n kwhite wall.
Unl i ke in -All tty Friends" where the persona hopes "the
"
con fes si o n .•. !will] be the eur e"and where , in a limited way . conf essio nofferssolace ,her e th epersona i s emotional l ytrapped, unabl e to fre e himse lf. Heha s "not;
al lowe dl anythi n9~ 1 anyme a n i ngfu l cnmmunicationha s been lacking. Helo ok s for "some litt lecomfo rt, hunan contac t, but [he] 1s inaccess ib leand no comf or t, evennechanj e aL,
ispOBs i ble.·1l
In"S ee in gtieDazed~ thoughtssh u ff l e through the persona' s min d as he sits iml!obil i z.ed. As~.::1l, th ewoma n1s refe rre d toin the th i rdpe r son. But 1n"Away, Or Far" (!£., p , 2!lJ, the womanis referredto in the secondperson. The emo t i onal di s t a nce betvee n the persona and the womanwith whom heha s beenunab le to estab lisha fulfi lling love- re l atio nshipdo esnotseemquit e sogreat. Adoptin g a to n e of resignatio n , he admits tha t hi snee d for love is intense, but heis incapable of reciprocatingwith genui ne understa nding andcaring:
I l ive to be loved, but lo veI canno t give.
Ev er ythi ngmu s t be faked .
Fre e l y revea l i ng his willingness toli ein order toaeke her ha p p y,he plea dsthat she allow him to fake affect ion, to fabricate something that wi llfillthevacu u mcr ea t edbyhis inabi lit y to love- an irlab ili t y that is emp hadze dby isolating the stateme nt"E v e r yth ingmus t be fake d."lle asks,
"
Is therenothing, no rhythm, ima ge , is the re nothi n g I can conjurefor you?
He re ,repetit ionempb as Lz ea the he LpLe eaneaa the persona feels andhis gropingfor a soluti on.
The personarealizes that unlike hi ms e l f , the woman is capable of givinglo ve and affection: ~E v e r y t h inqthat movesI movesinyou."His awareness of her re s po n s i ve and fre e nat ure and his inabi l ity tores p on dma ke hissi tuation more pai nful: 61see, and wish thatI did not.ft Hi s feeli n gs aretrappedin s i de hi m, expressedonlyina kind of in ternal mono log ue. The vitality of her position as opposed to the sterilityof hisown is too much tobea r: "Pl e a seI lose me i f i tpleases you. I live too." Inhi s isolat ion and loneliness, the persona de s i r e s to be rel e a s e d from a relatio ns hi pthatucreent.s rathe r thanfu lfills.
In "WithoutCereAlony" (BN~I, p, 261, ho we ve r , t.he woman is rec e ptive to the perso na's nee d s. Sheprovides comfort an daf fect io nwithouthis having to give anything of hims e lf :
Where are you?
Nowth a tI need you you're rig h t bes ideme, your armbe n t , anx i o u sl y waiting, aroundmy back, comforting.
Although warned of his "unreasonableness" and of hi s
"i n a bil i t y l to change" hiseg o tist i c al nature. sheha s not belie v edhim. The I..arm and loving person is nOI.. "hal£- be wil d e r e d " byhi s unresponsiveness to her expressio ns of lo ve .
Wh il e the persona indicatesa di s lik e for his sel f- centred attitude, th e r e 15no hatred. "Het.e myself?", he wonders. Instead, he attempts tomal\:.~avirtueof his de f e c t s :
There's pride even in my despising, myin a bi l i t y to chan ge, which I cal l stubborn ness and praise inmyse lf .
Alt h o u g hhe mLqht,be attelllpti ngto ra ti o n a li z e and mytho logize the negative aspectsof his character, thefina l stanza atteststhatthe persona is fullyaware of th e ne ga t i v i t y ofhi s attitude, Ina striking metap hor. he compareshi mselfandhisactions to one who strums
like a dirty old one-string guitar: pla ying the un l ov e l y eons over ski l fu lly , withceremo ny.
Cle a r ly . he re c o gni z e s the cheap n ess and theugl in e s s ofhi s behaviour." Howe ver . he seems contentto wallowin masochismrather than change hi s ways.
"These Are Yours"
(1:£.
pp. 12-13), a more satisfyin<]po e m th a n the pre vi o us one,presents the ac ute fee lin g of 15013 t 1 0 nan d ali e n a t io n th at oft en re s ul ts whe n a relati ons hi p fail s. The p oaa, wri t t e n in a series of fr a gment s , ima ge s the sha t ter e d rel a t ions h i p thatisits subje ct. Nowth at the womanhas gon e , the pe rs on a is leftin utter des pair.Th e imag e s , prese nted inshort st acca to li nes, expr es s thede pth of emot i on the person a fe el s for the on e whohasleft him. Hehas on l yrelic sof their rela t i on s hip to cl i ng to: "t h e sheet Is hel lay cn ,"their
"polish ed words ," the "corner [where the y) kiss ed,H and her
"tea r s ...
l'lh iI e Par t s 1and 2 focu s on the per s on a ' 5 los s. Pa rt 3 shift s toth eouts ide wor l d. It s fi r s t two imag e s of fe r a vivi d ccn t.ras tjt.cthe pers ona's pred ic amen t. Th e initial image - "The sncv si n gs1toth e swayi ng t.reea" - createsa
of joy and harm ony innature , a harmony which is rei nforc e dby the sof t alli tera t i ve sou ndsof thesib i la nt s . Ne xt , the ima g e of children doing "t hei r In di a n imit a t ionsl indoors " evok e s a fe e lin g of nc ra atcv that is remot e from thelonelin e s s the personaex pe r iences. Th e thir dimage, howe ver, sh i f ts th e foc u s to hi s emotio na l real i ty : "Dr y yello wtob acc o l drops to the floor .... .
The alienati on the per sonafeelsas a res u l tof his fail ure inlov eis furt h er de vel oped in Part 4 where he dire c t. l y ack now l e dges hi s plig h t:
45
Haven't qot much left
Her e ,theintensi t y ofhis eaot ion1s nph a s iz e d by the slo wi n g downof the rhyt h m.Pa rt 5presen t s aslight change 1n tone ashe envisions some hop e.Despite his emotiona l di ffic u lties, there issomethi ng left tooffera de gr e e of solace. Ne wlov e'spe rson a, like the spe akerinThe Waste
~, must shorefragmentsagainst hisruin. La ng u a ge and fra'llllentsof meao rLes can providea fo rll of antidote:
Butst i ll, polishedwords.... Sh iny re. nants ofou r futu redre aas.
As the per s ona at tempts to cat.a Le que ilion posit ive det a i ls froahi s past in ord er to fabricatea conne c t io n with his fo raer lo ve , he re alizes th at he.ust acce pt the bla.e :
"I t ' sas ifl I had a talent for beinghurt."only nowdoes he elllpathize with her: "T hese areyour tears. 1ru bbedoff on me.~ Th e poemconcludes on ato neof res iqn a ti on. The pe rso n a doe s no t appear toha ve the st renq t hor th evoli ti on to accep t the end of the re l a ti o n s hi p: ~tly the ispa stIl butsti l l I must con tinu e.·
Another pon that explore s the needfor love and th e fail ure to ful f il that needis "The Fu nnyGre yttan I!£. . pp.
18 -1 9 ) . Here the thi rdperso nnarrative allows for amore uni ve r sal sta t e men t tha n in thos e poems alread yexami ne d. The man, whois shown to have a ne ga ti ve self -conce pt, as sug ge s t ed by the title, fin ds whathe thi n k s isa la s t in g love-relationship, But beingtotally subjec tive, he sees onlythe woma n's ext e rn al beauty:
Oh, she was be aut iful - withbrown hai r and browneye sthat promi s e d mo r e than they cou l dbe ar.
Hefails to realiz e tha t hi semotionaltrans portand tran scendence ar e bas ed on se l f- dece p t ion or atleas t on his failu r e to understa ndthat "the mind doe snot al ways sayl wha t the eyes do." Bli nd ly heac c e p t s a relatio ns hip that seemi ng l y wil l pr o vi de an es capefr omhis ins ecuriti es: "t he funn y grey manwas inlo v e l ag ainandforgo t what he va s,"
But the rel ati on s hip is not a mutu all ycarin g on e. The
"f u nn y gre yman "fail s to realizethathe is bei ng manipUlate d : "He sawnot h i n g funn yin bein g fun nyI an d amus ing he r." The sardon ic humou r crea ted byth ediffer e nt nua nces of"funny" inte nsifies the ambiva le ntnat ureof theirrela ti onship . She takes, but give sno thin g in re t u r n:
She le t hilll touch her br e ast s and touc h her hair and tol d himof her otherlo v e s, at whic h hetel t a pl easurab le despai r. Oh ,sh e l~a5beau tif u ll
47 The oxymoron "pleasurable despair" underscores his masochism as heli s t e ns to her tales of previous loves.
Stanzas five and six provide an abrupt awakening.
Becoming more objective as the first flushes of love fade, he begins to understand the reali ty of their relationship.
Now, he sees that they are mirrorimag~sof one anot.her."
Both are self-centredand self-pitying creatu res:
An d then one day he came to life again and watched himself pe r form and saw thatshe lias just11ke him (butnot so funny or so grey) and thinking of herself and her despair.
Thus, he is caught in a vicious circle. Escapefrom his own despair and her beauty is impossible. Neither can they help each othersince each is caught. in personal insecu rities.
There can be no tr ue relationship as mutuallycaring lovers;
Ln s t.e ad , only a parasitic one can exist. Now,
'rhe fun nygreyman feels depressed sometimes and sometimes needs a drink.Oh, she was t.eautiful.
The shift in the inflection of the refrain, "ob, she was beau tif ulI " from exube ra nce 1n the firststanzas to a despondentacceptancein the final stanzaun d e r s c o r.e s the tragic nature of the relationship. As Bartley observes, the poem conc ludes "withan effective understatementof resignation as Newlovepoints out the fol lyof [expectingJ
