“Front Lines”
The poem “Front Lines” concerns the destruction and
development of forests. The poem begins by describing the clearing and logging
of trees as a cancer, washing up the hills like an ocean swell. Reality
companies bring potential customers out in vehicles to see the land. A
bulldozer clears the land of the recently felled trees. There is a forest and
desert behind this that leads to the Arctic, and Snyder believes this is where
the destruction must stop. Snyder evokes a strong sense of hatred for the
logging by using the metaphor of cancer, a disease which spreads through the
body and is despised by all. He also shows his disgust for the bulldozer by
describing it as grinding, slobbering and belching over still alive trees. This
poem leads the reader to see the deforestation process as evil ant to stop it
as it is now.
“It Pleases”
“It Pleases” is about the fact that big government does not
control the entire world. While all of the high brass in Washington D.C.
believe they run the entire country, they don’t. The Earth is free to do as it
wishes. The bird is a representation of this, soaring freely over the capitol
without interference from Congress.
“O Waters”
This poem seems to be about a person in a campsite, awake
while their partner slumbers. He is sitting, letting the various aspects of
nature wash over him like water. He sees and hears the activities of nature,
such as the melting of snow and the buildup of soil as a result of the wind. He
embellishes these actions and respects the Earth for it’s complexity.
You showed depth in your analysis of Snyder's poems. I find "Front Lines" to be a very moving poem since it is related to such a destructible disease as cancer. I also read "O Waters" but I interpreted it as the Earth's was slowly disintegrating. If people didn't learn to see the beauty in Earth while it was at its finest they never will respect it enough to properly care for it. It is interesting that we can read the same poem and come out with different meaning that all tie into Snyder's poems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis of It Pleases, you’re spot on. Gary Snyder has some issues with how the government treats nature. O Waters shows how Gary Snyder views nature. He is truly awestruck by the beauty of the landscape in this poem.
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