Leonel Robles-Rodriguez
O harp and
altar, of the fury fused,
(How could mere
toil align thy choiring strings!)
Terrific
threshold of the prophet’s pledge,
Prayer of
pariah, and the lover’s cry
-from “To
Brooklyn Bridge”
Two takes on Las Meninas. Pablo Picasso (top) Diego Velázquez (bottom)
Hart Crane’s poetry stands at the
confluence of several traditions, both poetic and ideological at a time in the
early 20th century when artists were struggling to find meaning
behind modern industrialized life. In this poem Crane incorporates traditional
formal features of poetry tinged with Modernist adaptations in order to express
a similar (relatively optimistic) thematic project with respect to the Brooklyn
Bridge.
Briefly for the sake of Crane’s
poem, “Make it New” was a Modernist poetic idiom championed primarily by the expatriate
poet Ezra Pound which seeks to take thematic and formal elements from a poetic
tradition (see “The Seafarer” by Pound) and use them to express something original
(36). This section of Crane’s long poem The
Bridge is an ode, a traditionally very elevated (both in language and
meter) kind of poem in praise of an idea, person, or thing. In Crane’s case
however, one can see that there is sometimes no rhyme scheme and, as more
easily evident in other parts of the poem such as “Shedding white rings of
tumult, building high,” there is a fair deal of variety in the rhythm of the
lines. Pound describes the project of such poetry in the following terms: “As
regarding rhythm: to compose in the sequence of the musical phrase, not in
sequence of a metronome” (3).
The import of the scansion is
revealed in this stanza when considering Crane’s object and the metaphors he
uses to describe it. In the second line of the stanza one notices the spondee
in “mere toil” and the fact that though the sentence is begun as if it were a
question, “How,” the sentence ends with an exclamation point, giving a strong
indication of the incredulity with which this line should be read. Furthermore,
the rhetorical force with which this line distinguishes itself serves as an
admonition to the reader not to view the bridge simply in physical terms as a
collection of steel or as strictly utilitarian since it could easily be supposed
that “mere toil” could fashion those things. This is indicated by the
description Crane gives of the suspension cables holding the bridge in place as
“choiring strings.” In the following line, we are given what Crane believes was
at work in the conception of the bridge beside toil: prophesy. The “threshold
of the prophet’s pledge” in the poem is not, as one might expect, a church or
temple, but rather a modern suspension bridge; it is the answered prayer, the
object of the lover’s lament. As with the ode and all of its associations,
Crane utilizes familiar religious language and uses it as an effective
representative of interpretation. In turn, the bridge as a symbol of modernity
and industrial city life take on all the optimism and hope that once existed in
religious institutions.
This poem is interesting because it both
illustrates the Modernist proclivity for experimentation but, more importantly,
because it treats modernity in radically different terms than Crane’s
contemporaries. In primarily responding to Eliot’s “The Waste Land,” Crane
offers an optimism not found in much of Modernist writing; he offers hope and
describes the fulfillment of prophecy in modernity, though as described in
these lines, there is always the danger of viewing technology in simply material terms.
“Hart
Crane: Biographical Sketch.” Modern
American Poetry, 12 Sept. 2016 http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/crane/bio.htm
Pound,
Ezra. “A Retrospect.” Literary Essays of
Ezra Pound, edited by T.S. Eliot, Faber, 1968, 3-15.
Pound,
Ezra. “Make it New.” Literary Essays of
Ezra Pound, edited by T.S. Eliot, Faber, 1968, 55-68.
Photos
http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/l54j4lkj.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Spiderweb_BB_jeh.jpg
This is an interesting analysis of what seems like a very interesting Modernist poem. I find especially interesting how Crane sets himself apart from other Modernist poets (especially Eliot) through an optimist perspective of what seems like a very unsettling and insecure time. The bridge, which seems to symbolize stability through its suspension cables, and the association with religion which is found in the poem grounds the reader. On the other hand, poets like Eliot in The Wasteland lose their readers through distorted times and spaces. Crane sets himself apart from the rest of the Modernist movement, thus giving us yet another approach to the way artists apprehended the beginning of the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteIt is striking to me too that Crane can take advantage of new forms of construction while at the same time being able to maintain a mood of optimism. I appreciate the fact that you pointed out specifically the words and phrases in his stanzas that were particularly remarkable. The symbol you introduced was quite amazing that it could actually interrelate so many different themes at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you talked about scansion and its importance in enhancing the metaphor of the bridge. I find it interesting that the poem takes on a seemingly traditional structure and form, but the content is a comment on modernity. I like the images that were posted, especially the comparison of the two art pieces at the top, and I wonder what their significance to the poem is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Claire about how you included the importance of scansion in the poem's overall effect on the reader. It's those minute details that give a poem meaning. Things like, as you mentioned, how starting the second line with "How" and ending with an exclamation mark lets the reader experience the poem much more intensely.
ReplyDeleteActually have heard of this poem before, but find Ezra's expatriate status concerning. Based on his status as an expatriate, he might be biased more towards Modernism's ideologies than most - although some of his critiques are perfectly legitimate. The description of the bridge as "strings" and more than "mere toil' sounds very Modernist - neglecting the old tradition of appreciating hard work, and more towards the aesthetic value of the bridge.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of the poem before now, so I really appreciate that you did a very thorough close reading of the text. You definitely pointed out features that I wouldn't have noticed or thought very much about on my own. Your analysis of the metaphor of the bridge is very lucid and compelling. I also like how you chose a topic that contrasted and complemented my topic, which was T.S. Eliot and the Waste Land.
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you compared and contrasted Crane's poem with the works of his contemporaries, especially because I thought it was interesting that he utilized some of the same hallmarks of modernist literature and yet offered an entirely different perspective of the era than someone like Eliot for example. I also really liked your comment about religious language, and how Crane utilizes it to describe the bridge in a way that is reminiscent of the faith people once reserved only for religion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emma about how the bridge symbolizes stability. The perceived density of the poem could also relate to the strength of the Brooklyn Bridge and its ability to sustain the large crowds of people in a modern world. I really liked your analysis of Crane's perception of this bridge as a work of art as it deals with the issue of how art changed during the modernization of American culture.
ReplyDeleteI found what Crane says about the way he constructs the cadence of his poetry very interesting--"in the sequence of the musical phrase, not in sequence of a metronome.” It's a good example of the modernist rejection of traditional forms which constrict what you can say and when (like a metronome constricts what notes you can play and when) in favor of using a wider range of means to represent a feeling or snapshot that makes sense when looked at on the whole (like a musical phrase).
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your detailed literary analysis of the poem because it brought out the brilliance of the poet in the use of his language and diction. I also appreciated that you found a modernist artist who expressed a more optimistic view of the world. I also really liked how you pointed out Crane's use of religious language to provide a different perspective on a symbol of industrial life. Crane's description of the Brooklyn Bridge almost seems a bit romantic compared to the way other modernist movement artists interpreted technology and generally symbols of modernity and industrialization like a bridge.
ReplyDelete