Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In the second part of Robert Pinsky's "Essay on Psychiatrists," subtitled "Their Philistinism Dismissed," the speaker reevaluates the claim of philistinism made against psychiatrists. Philistinism refers to a lack of cultural values, intellectual interests, and aesthetic sensitivity, and it serves as a critique of the limited emotional and intellectual scope often associated with certain professions. In this poem, however, the speaker moderates this criticism, offering a nuanced look at the constraints that psychiatrists-and by extension, all of us-operate under.

The poem's form-free verse-echoes the complexities it explores. Just as psychiatrists have to navigate a range of human experiences, the poem does not confine itself to a strict metrical or rhyming structure. It adopts a tone that reflects the intricate balance psychiatrists must maintain, between professional detachment and human empathy, between art and science.

Opening with "But after all," the speaker acknowledges that psychiatrists operate under unique pressures. What "cultural life" or "set of the face" could possibly be "adequate / For those who supply medicine for misery?" This question resonates as a challenge, not only to the reader but also to the societal norms that might unfairly judge these professionals. It suggests that perhaps what seems like philistinism is actually a complex form of emotional labor.

The poem then extends this form of critique to artists, arguing that like psychiatrists, artists too can offer "hoked-up, dutiful, vulgar" views on their art forms. Here, the word 'vulgar' is crucial: it signals that this lack of depth is not exclusive to psychiatrists but is instead a broader human failing. The psychiatrists "are not gods or heroes," but rather "experts dependent on their own wisdom, their own arts." They are described as "Pilgrims in the world, journeymen, bourgeois savants," which underscores their humanity and their struggle.

The poem concludes with a comparison of the psychiatrist Rex Morgan to the figure of Pentheus from Greek mythology, a king punished by the god Dionysus for failing to honor him. Rex, like Pentheus, might seem flawed, but the poem argues that such figures are simply humans "doing their best." It cautions against expecting too much from them: "we must not / Complain both that they are inhuman and too human."

Pinsky's poem operates on the premise that psychiatrists are professionals trying to navigate the convoluted emotional landscapes of the human condition, much like artists. It asks the reader to reconsider initial judgments and to see psychiatrists as multifaceted individuals, shaped by the limitations and imperfections that make us all human. The poem, through its form and content, serves as a nuanced meditation on the complexities of human roles, particularly those that engage deeply with the spectrum of human emotion and intellect. It prompts us to question how we perceive professionals in emotionally demanding fields, urging a more compassionate and understanding view.

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