Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"The Stranger; After a Guarani Legend Recorded by Ernesto Morales" by William Stanley Merwin offers an intricate exploration of the paradoxes inherent in the act of doing good. This narrative poem, laden with folklore and symbolism, starts with a stranger, human-like yet different, who saves a snake from a ring of fire. The snake, instead of thanking him, tries to crush him, stating that evil is the natural return for good deeds. The snake takes the stranger on a journey to validate his philosophy, ultimately finding that his own malevolent views result in his downfall.

The stranger, unlike anyone who had been in the forest before, hears a cry for help from a snake. The snake is engulfed in fire and can't find a way out. The stranger selflessly extends a branch to save the snake, yet immediately finds himself being constricted by the snake he just saved. The snake argues that it is a natural law for good to be repaid with evil, a perspective that echoes a deep-seated cynicism towards the nature of existence itself. The stranger, however, disputes this fatalistic interpretation of "the law."

As the snake takes the stranger on a journey to validate his dark worldview, they encounter a river, a palm tree, and finally a wounded dog, each lamenting how their good deeds have been met with harm or neglect. With each encounter, the snake exclaims a count, as if he is gathering evidence for his bleak philosophy. However, when they meet the dog, who is the third and final proof of the snake's argument, the tables turn. The snake, driven by selfishness, loosens its grip on the stranger to reach for a calabash of milk. The dog seizes the opportunity to kill the snake, thereby saving the stranger.

This twist at the end of the poem undermines the snake's philosophy in a profound way. Here, good is not repaid with evil but is instead met with another act of goodness. The dog, though initially a victim of ungratefulness, ends up saving the stranger and is treated well in return. This overturning of the snake's ideology also serves as a lesson about the complexity and unpredictability of moral outcomes. The poem implies that while suffering may often be an unintended consequence of good deeds, it is not a universal law. Our actions echo in ways that we cannot always predict, but that does not mean we should cease to do good.

Merwin's poem challenges the reader to think critically about the nature of good and evil, reciprocity, and the moral complexities of life. Its folkloric elements add an archetypal depth to the story, enhancing its universality. Through the fable-like narrative and the interplay of the characters, the poem demonstrates that goodness, though fraught with challenges and complexities, has the potential to subvert the cycles of suffering and harm.

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