Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Vespers" by Louise Gluck, the narrator embarks on a deeply personal spiritual quest to find evidence of a divine entity-embodied through the planting of a fig tree in an unlikely place, Vermont. The poem delves into themes of faith, doubt, and the complexities of human desire in the face of an ostensibly indifferent or absent divinity. It becomes a site for spiritual interrogation, probing the efficacy of belief systems and the notion of justice as it relates to human suffering.

The poem initiates with the line, "Once I believed in you; I planted a fig tree," setting forth the premise that faith is not static; it evolves or even disintegrates over time. The act of planting a fig tree in a climate not conducive to its growth becomes an experiment to test the existence of the divine. If the tree thrives, so does the belief. However, the harsh climate makes survival improbable, causing the narrator to question the very existence of the divine entity they once believed in.

The poem goes on to juxtapose the physical realities of different geographies with the metaphysical questions that plague the narrator. In "fervent Sicily and Mexico and California," the existence of God seems plausible. In these places, "the unimaginable / apricot and fragile peach" grow, perhaps allowing for a more tangible belief in something greater. The idea that divinity might be geographically specific explores the limitations and even absurdities in our notions of God-affirming faith in one place while negating it in another.

As the narrator shares the "tomato crop" with John and Noah, a biblical subtext becomes evident. The reference to Noah, a character whose faith was tested in extreme circumstances, invites the reader to consider the complexities of belief when confronted with adversity. The narrator's own test-planting a fig tree-echoes this tradition of testing faith against the caprices of nature.

The poem culminates in a bitter assessment of spiritual justice: "If there is justice in some other world, those / like myself, whom nature forces / into the lives of abstinence, should get / the lion's share of all things." Here, justice is a matter of balancing the scales, not in this world but in some metaphysical realm. Those who suffer most, according to the narrator, most deserve divine reward. The poem thus questions the fairness of a world where the circumstances of birth-geographical, social, or otherwise-can dictate the limitations of one's experiences and opportunities for belief.

In "Vespers," Gluck grapples with the difficult questions that arise when belief is tested by the realities of the physical world. The poem doesn't provide easy answers but instead serves as an ode to the complexity and fragility of faith. It embodies the human condition in its pursuit of understanding, in the reckoning with doubt, and in the ceaseless interrogation of what might lie beyond the tangible world.

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