Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Ships Are Made Ready in Silence" by William Stanley Merwin is a poignant exploration of the complexities of longing, memory, and the inevitability of change. The title itself conveys the weight of hidden preparations for journeys-both literal and emotional-that are often undertaken in private contemplation or sorrow.

The poem opens with the image of "the hour, the darkness and I" being "Moored to the same ring," an immediate encapsulation of the speaker's stagnant emotional state, where time, obscurity, and self are locked in a sort of stasis. This status quo is then contrasted with the "compasses hooded like falcons," suggesting potential energy or future directions that are, for the moment, restrained or unexplored.

Then comes the resurgence of memory, brought on by a series of fragmented images described as "broken bits which never left port." These memories are tinged with a melancholy sense of what could have been, of "voyages" never undertaken. The memories "come knocking like hearts asking: / What departures on this tide?" This line brilliantly juxtaposes the past's persistent influence on the present and questions what possibilities still exist for the future.

The mention of "Breath of land, warm breath" is a sensory insertion that stands in contrast to the speaker's earlier cold, stagnant situation. But this warmth only serves to "tighten the cold around the navel," emphasizing that all journeys from "all shores but the first have been foreign," pointing to an inherent sense of displacement in the act of moving or changing.

Merwin introduces a paradox in the lines, "Our choice is ours but we have not made it," reflecting the tenuous line between fate and free will. The choices we think we make are often illusions, circumscribed by "our destination / Circled with loss as with coral."

The speaker leaves behind hope for the addressee to "remember me by," but notes that "now there is little resemblance." This speaks to the ever-changing nature of relationships and self, where even the tokens or emblems of past experiences can lose their initial meaning over time.

The sense of existential stasis culminates in the lines, "At this moment I could believe in no change," and "The mast perpetually / Vacillating between the same constellations." However, the poem doesn't end here. It concludes with a realization of "Emptiness," framed within the metaphor of a "harbor shaped as a heart," the "sea pulsing as a heart," and "the sky vaulted as a heart." This revelation isn't just a declaration of absence but could be a sober acknowledgement of the space that makes growth or new journeys possible.

Ultimately, "Ships Are Made Ready in Silence" navigates through the intricate emotions tied to the past, the uncertainties of the future, and the often paradoxical nature of choice and destiny. Its layered language and metaphors serve as buoys in the challenging waters of human experience, making it a compelling read for anyone who has ever faced the complexities of memory, longing, and the inevitable passage of time.

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