Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Audre Lorde's "When the Saints Come Marching In," penned in the year 1968, encapsulates the turmoil and the fervor of an era marked by social upheaval, from civil rights movements to anti-war protests. The poem uses religious symbolism to discuss the volatile atmosphere of change and the desperate search for a savior. However, the savior anticipated here is not the traditional kind; it emerges "like tear gas from the streets of New York," making it clear that this is a deity born from struggle and suffering rather than celestial grace.

The opening line, "Plentiful sacrifice and believers in redemption," captures the sense of collective longing for change. Yet, the line also reveals an irony-these sacrifices have yet to yield the desired transformation. The poem then shifts to suggest that a "new religion" will soon rise, not from sanctified halls, but from the urban unrest. The lines, "to rise up like tear gas" and "erupting like the rank pavement smell," use strong, even noxious, imagery to convey the emergence of a religion that is far from divine. It's a religion born from crisis.

The garbage truck's "baptismal drizzle" mocks traditional religious rituals, suggesting that in this new world order, even the profane has sacred undertones. The holy and the unholy are indistinguishable in a setting of systemic corruption and despair. This mockery extends to the "High priests," who are "ready and waiting," indicating a sense of anticipation for this transformation, albeit tinged with the chaos that births it. The "incense pans full of fire" point to rituals that are volatile and dangerous, far removed from the calming aura generally associated with incense in religious ceremonies.

The poem's closing lines bring forth a figure: an unnamed god that "will be terrible and very busy and very old." This deity, presumably female as indicated by "she," represents a divinity that is not benevolent but rather a force of reckoning. She is "busy," implying a deity engaged in endless duties, perhaps righting the numerous wrongs of society. And yet, she is "very old," suggesting that this force, this desperate desire for change and justice, has been long-standing, even eternal.

Lorde often incorporates elements of her social context into her work, and here the context is palpable. Written in 1968, the poem can be seen as a direct response to the social transformations of the era, including the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the feminist movement, among others. New York, known for its role as a hub for activism and social change, becomes the epicenter of this looming new religion, a spiritual reawakening that is both chaotic and cathartic.

"When the Saints Come Marching In" brilliantly melds religious imagery with sociopolitical commentary to depict a world on the brink of irrevocable change. It captures the essence of a society that has sacrificed much but gained little, a society that longs for a savior while grappling with the realities of who-or what-that savior might be. The poem serves as both a prophecy and a reflection, casting its gaze on an imperfect world desperately in search of a redeemer that befits its complex realities.

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