Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

William Stanley Merwin's "Odysseus; For George Kirstein" serves as an introspective meditation on the eponymous hero, a figure etched in the collective memory of Western literature as an emblem of journey, heroism, and homecoming. Yet, Merwin's rendition situates Odysseus in an existential quandary, encapsulating the repetitive nature of life's journeys and the complexities of love and betrayal.

The poem commences with a statement on continuity: "Always the setting forth was the same, / Same sea, same dangers waiting for him." These lines imply that Odysseus' journey is not merely a singular quest but a loop, a recurrent cycle of departures and arrivals. Despite the grandeur of his exploits, the protagonist seems to have advanced "nowhere but older," implying that aging is the only unequivocal progress he has made. This observation offers a demythologizing perspective, stripping the veneer of glamor from the archetypal hero's journey to reveal its Sisyphean nature.

This sense of repetition and endless cycle is also found in the people and experiences that populate Odysseus's life. On one hand, there is the "receding shore," presumably Ithaca, characterized by "the identical reproaches." On the other hand, there are "the islands / Each with its woman and twining welcome." These settings are presented as equally constraining, bound by the limitations of familiarity and routine.

At the heart of Odysseus's dilemma is his relationship with Penelope, symbolized as "the unravelling patience / He was wedded to." The phrase alludes to Penelope's act of weaving and unweaving a shroud, a stalling tactic she used to ward off her suitors. However, Merwin expands this into a metaphor for the complexities and imperfections that define long-term commitments. It seems that Odysseus is "wedded" as much to Penelope's patience as to Penelope herself, a patience that is "unravelling" as much as it is enduring.

Merwin captures the haunting idea that "The knowledge of all that he betrayed / Grew till it was the same whether he stayed / Or went. Therefore he went." Odysseus grapples with the realization that betrayal is not solely a function of physical distance from home but an intrinsic part of his existence. This awareness blurs the boundaries between staying and going, between fidelity and betrayal.

In the concluding lines, the poem ponders on the "wonder" of Odysseus's fading memory. It raises the question: Is Odysseus's forgetfulness a betrayal or a survival mechanism? It becomes difficult for him to distinguish between "the one who wished on his departure / Perils that he could never sail through," and the one who is "improbable, remote, and true," the one "he kept sailing home to."

Merwin's Odysseus is a man bound in a complex interplay of loyalty and betrayal, hope and despair. The hero's voyage becomes a metaphor for the human condition, a ceaseless journey through identical risks and repetitive experiences, punctuated by the elusive allure of a home that exists as much in physical space as it does in the emotional and existential dimensions.

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