Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

“What Work Is” is a poem by Philip Levine, first published in 1991. Levine was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet known for his focus on working-class themes and his ability to capture the struggles and joys of everyday life. “What Work Is” is a meditation on the human condition in the context of a society that often values productivity over people.

Explanation:

The poem opens with the speaker standing in line at the Michigan Unemployment Office, a scene that is stark and bleak. The unemployment line is described as “a dream” and a “nightmare,” evoking both hopelessness and the possibility of a better future. As the poem progresses, the speaker describes the experience of looking for work, from filling out applications to enduring interviews. The speaker expresses frustration with the lack of meaningful employment opportunities, saying that “most days I am unable to speak” due to the “weight of [his] tongue.”

Poetic Elements:

• Form: “What Work Is” is a free-verse poem with no set rhyme or meter.
• Imagery: Levine uses vivid imagery to convey the bleakness of the unemployment line and the desperation of job-seekers. The image of “men in steel mills” recalls the industrial past of Detroit, while the “one bank in a town / the size of a postage stamp” conveys a sense of the limitations and struggles of small-town life.
• Repetition: The phrase “We stand in line” is repeated several times throughout the poem, emphasizing the monotony and frustration of job-seeking.
• Irony: The title “What Work Is” suggests that work is a straightforward concept, but the poem reveals the complexity and difficulty of finding and holding onto meaningful employment.

Conclusion:

“What Work Is” is a powerful poem that speaks to the struggles of everyday people in a society that often values productivity over people. Through vivid imagery and poignant language, Levine captures the desperation and frustration of job-seekers, while also suggesting the possibility of hope and the importance of human connection in the face of hardship.

Poem Snippet:

We stand in line for jobs we'll never have.

Around us, death is going its rounds,

But we're the living, in a land where

The dying live and the dead will never die.

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