Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Watching Jarrell Almost Read a Poem" by Darren Morris is a poem replete with tension, anticipation, and reflection, as it focuses on a single moment in a Literature class led by Randall Jarrell before his rise to fame. This moment encapsulates the students' complex relationship with their professor and, by extension, the subject matter he represents. However, the emotional crux of the poem isn't confined to the classroom or its occupants; it radiates outward to grapple with ideas of potential, interruption, and the mercurial nature of life itself.

The scene is set at Woman's College in Greensboro. The term is nearing its end, and the students, who "couldn't care less about Literature," are nevertheless attentive to Jarrell, their teacher. The poem carefully constructs the image of Jarrell as a "small man" with a voice "just another lavender / riding the spring breeze," fragile yet captivating. His very being seems susceptible to being swept away by the wind-a wind that interrupts him as it provokes the classroom door into movement, causing it to groan "like the swinging gate of the sin one does not commit, / but thinks of all his life."

This interruption brings us to one of the poem's most compelling moments: "It doesn't matter on which side of the door one stands, / but that one stands, and considers this." The line underscores the power of reflection, of contemplating possibilities, even if they're never realized. Jarrell looks up, "betrayed by the interruption," as if the gusty wind and creaking door stole from him not just the audience's attention, but also the possibility of what could have been-a moment of pure connection through the vehicle of poetry.

The restlessness continues as "the breeze pulls the door / back as if it was cocking a rifle and asking, Who first?" This personification of the wind lends a sense of urgency and even danger to the setting. But, paradoxically, nothing happens. And it's in this void, "the space of emptiness," that the class finds itself united in anticipation. Jarrell thinks of a student who sees every metaphor as "wild horses running along the beach," a banal repetition that stands in stark contrast to the multifaceted metaphors of life unfurling in that classroom.

The tension finally breaks when the door slams shut "like a period ending a sentence." For some, the sound represents the unpredictability of "tornado season in North Carolina." To Jarrell, it signals the melancholy realization that "someone has / decided to quit them, permanently;" a reminder of absences, of endings. But the poet suggests that perhaps "to most / it was simply tornado season in North Carolina"-a line that both diminishes and magnifies the event, anchoring it in a broader, less personal context while also underscoring how shared experiences can mean different things to different people.

In conclusion, Morris's poem serves as a meta-commentary not just on Jarrell or his classroom, but also on the flux of life itself. In its meticulous crafting of a single moment of interruption, it captures the beautiful, bewildering essence of existence-the fragility, the tension, and the myriad interpretations that define our relationship with the world. It invites us to consider the importance of the doors we stand before, the winds that sway us, and the brief, brilliant moments when we find ourselves suspended between possibilities.

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