Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Tankas" by Jorge Luis Borges is a set of six short poems that adhere to the tanka form, a traditional Japanese poetry style typically composed of five lIneswith a syllabic structure of 5-7-5-7-7. Each tanka functions like a snapshot, capturing a vivid moment or thought imbued with emotional, philosophical, or existential significance. Borges, a master of brevity and enigma, makes use of this constrained form to distill complex ideas into crystalline verses.

The first tanka captures a romantic moment under the moonlight. While the "whole garden is moon, golden moon," what is more precious to the speaker is "the rub of your mouth in the dark." This introduces a recurring theme of subjective experience taking precedence over objective reality, hinting at how personal emotions can eclipse even the most spectacular natural phenomena.

The second tanka introduces a sense of loss or longing. A bird's voice "the shadows abscond with" becomes a metaphor for something missing, something ineffable that the person walking in the garden seeks but cannot find. The word "hushed" amplifies the weight of silence and the emptiness that pervades the scene.

The third tanka appears to question whether material or external things can satisfy one's quest for meaning. Objects like "the alien goblet," "the sword," and "the street moon" are disconnected or impersonal, eliciting the question, "say, not enough?" This taps into Borges' frequent explorations of existential inadequacy and the insufficiency of the tangible world to fulfill human desires.

The fourth tanka features a "gold-and-dark tiger" reminiscent of William Blake's "The Tyger." The tiger's obliviousness to its own destructive capability, conveyed by "Not knowing at dawn / they destroyed someone," raises questions about nature's indifference and the morality of actions performed without awareness.

The fifth tanka speaks to existential sadness. Rain falling on marble represents the melancholy of existence, a sentiment extended to the earth itself. This tanka speaks to a cosmic form of sadness, perhaps reflecting on the transient nature of life and the perpetual cycle of days and nights that fail to register our human dramas.

The sixth tanka addresses a personal lament, likely the poet's, on his unheroic existence compared to his ancestors who may have died in battle. The act of counting syllables at night suggests a yearning for a more profound engagement with life but also shows a sort of peace or acceptance in the small act of creating art.

In sum, Borges' "Tankas" present a mosaic of human emotions and existential questions. Each tanka is a world unto itself, yet they are interlinked by recurring themes of existentialism, personal loss, and the search for meaning in a world filled with beauty, danger, and ennui. Borges has once again proven his ability to convey an immense depth of thought and feeling within the confInesof the most succinct forms.

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