Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"El Dorado," a poem by John Ashbery, embarks on a complex meditation on relationships, the human condition, and the elusiveness of happiness. Like much of Ashbery's work, this poem defies easy categorization, taking us on a nonlinear journey through a landscape rich in paradoxes and ambiguities.

The poem opens with the mention of a "retired sophomore," a seemingly contradictory figure who signifies youthful wisdom or perhaps the wisdom that comes from abandoning traditional life trajectories. This character's concern, presumably for the speaker, pertains to the uncertainty and unpredictability of life, captured by the enigmatic phrase "get it like that," set "in the right and righter of a green bush."

Ashbery's usage of language and phraseology remains ambiguous throughout the poem, offering multiple levels of interpretation. Terms like "future considerations" and "ghostly dreams" provoke thoughts about human anxieties and hopes. On the surface, the speaker seems confident in their present and future, reinforced by the notion that "in the ghostly / dreams of others it appears I am all right." Yet, this external validation doesn't quell internal restlessness or questions; it is, after all, how they appear in the "dreams of others," not necessarily in their own estimation.

While engaging with the complexities of individual subjectivity, the poem also explores interpersonal dynamics. The speaker's sentiment-"I disagree / with you completely but couldn't be prouder / and fonder of you"-reflects the paradoxes inherent in love and friendship. Such relationships often entail a blend of conflict and affection, opposition and pride, a complexity that Ashbery captures succinctly.

The poem's latter part shifts focus towards places-"Subfusc El Dorado"-and the lost cities "where we used to live." These could be both literal places and metaphorical landscapes of memory, youth, or past stages of life. El Dorado, the mythical city of gold, stands in for elusive happiness or perfection that everyone seems to be searching for but seldom finds. The speaker admits their knowledge is limited to just "one that I know something about," suggesting a partial understanding of what happiness or fulfillment truly is.

The poem's final lines plunge us into an existential reality. "Living is a meatloaf sandwich," declares the speaker, turning the grand quest for El Dorado into the mundane reality of a meatloaf sandwich-a grounding metaphor that resists romantic or facile notions of life. It's neither feast nor famine but somewhere in between, much like the sentiments expressed throughout the poem. The speaker concludes by admitting, "I had a good time up there," implying a sense of contentment but not necessarily fulfillment.

"El Dorado" remains an evocative study in the complexity of human emotion, thought, and relationships. Ashbery delivers a work that resists closure, much like the elusive city it references, encouraging us to embrace uncertainty and contradiction as inherent aspects of the human experience.

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