Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Parable of the Hostages" by Louise Gluck unfolds as a reflective narrative on the Greek soldiers sitting on the beach of Troy, contemplating their futures post-war. Gluck takes a moment in time-the aftermath of battle-and transforms it into a meditation on human nature, destiny, and the eternal conflicts that plague the human heart. The Greeks, ostensibly free to return home, find themselves "hostages" to their desires, thoughts, and the unforeseen complications of life. In doing so, the poem becomes not just a story about soldiers but a larger allegory about the human condition.

The men are portrayed as seekers of "life on the edge," of experiences that transcend the mundane. But there's a dilemma: "fighting a war is a plausible / excuse for absence, whereas / exploring one's capacity for diversion / is not." The soldiers understand that their wanderlust may not be easily explained to their families waiting in Ithaca. They are torn between societal expectations and personal desires, encapsulating the eternal struggle between duty and desire, between what we owe to others and what we owe to ourselves.

Importantly, the poem raises questions about the true nature of their experience: "what if war / is just a male version of dressing up, / a game devised to avoid / profound spiritual questions?" This rhetorical query introduces the possibility that their 'heroic' pursuits might just be an escape from deeper, existential questions that they are not prepared to face. The contrast between "men of action" and those who ponder "insight" draws attention to traditional gender roles, implying that societal norms may also serve as 'hostages,' trapping people in certain patterns of behavior.

The Greeks, believing they are on the brink of going home, can't fathom that it might take "ten years to get back to Ithaca." Their naïveté symbolizes our general inability to foresee the complexity and length of our life journeys. The phrase "oh unanswerable / affliction of the human heart: how to divide / the world's beauty into acceptable / and unacceptable loves!" explores the intricate dilemmas that will hold them hostage-choices that cannot be easily made, passions that do not find simple resolutions.

The concept of the soldiers as "hostages already" reveals the existential crux of the poem. The men believe they are free but are already entrapped by their desires, whims, and unforeseen future complications. Some would be "held forever by the dreams of pleasure, / some by sleep, some by music." These lines resonate universally, touching upon the ways we become hostages to our careers, relationships, and aspirations, often without realizing it.

The beauty of Gluck's poem lies in its capacity to use the specifics of a mythological or historical situation as a launching pad for universal questions. She weaves a narrative rich in imagery and psychological insight, offering the readers not just a story but a mirror held up to their own lives and choices. Thus, "Parable of the Hostages" is a potent exploration of the tensions that arise from the struggle between societal obligations and personal aspirations, between living fully and fitting in, conflicts as real today as they were on the mythical shores of Troy.

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...