Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In the thirteenth poem from Adrienne Cecile Rich's series "Twenty-One Love Poems," the theme of rebellion against traditional systems and norms takes center stage. The poem opens with a powerful image: "The rules break like a thermometer, quicksilver spills across the charted systems." The shattering of the thermometer symbolizes the collapse of established societal systems and conventions, as quicksilver (mercury) spills over, refusing to be contained. The freedom that follows this rupture is akin to venturing into a lawless land: "we're out in a country that has no language / no laws."

The poem describes a journey with a loved one, evoking a sense of wonder and exploration: "we're chasing the raven and the wren / through gorges unexplored since dawn." The act of exploration serves as a metaphor for the relationship between the two women. In this new territory, everything they do is "pure invention," free from the societal maps and compasses that could dictate their love or lives.

This sense of liberation, however, comes with its own anxieties, as expressed in the line, "wondering if the water will hold out." Here, water could symbolize the sustenance of love, the endurance of the self, or even the tolerance of society. The desert, often an archetype for barrenness or solitude, stands in for the loneliness and existential worry that accompany the escape from societal norms.

As the poem progresses, "the hallucinations turn to simple villages," suggesting that the fantasy or ideal of absolute freedom gives way to a more grounded reality. Yet, it is a reality where "the music on the radio comes clear- / neither Rosenkavalier nor Götterdämmerung," which signifies that the traditional, high-cultural products of male-dominated society are replaced by something simpler, more elemental. Instead, they hear "a woman's voice singing old songs / with new words," an embodiment of feminine power and resistance. The new music is a subversion of the old norms, "plucked and fingered by women outside the law."

This poem can be read as both a personal expression of the complexities of a lesbian relationship in a heteronormative society and a broader social commentary on norms and rebellion. The "charted systems" could be the laws and conventions that try to define and contain not just relationships but individuals based on gender, sexuality, or any other social category. In this rejection of societal constraints, the poem celebrates the freedom and complexities of love, but also acknowledges the fears and uncertainties that come with going "outside the law."

Thus, Rich crafts a multi-layered narrative that speaks both to the personal experiences of the two women in love, and to the larger societal structures that aim to restrict them. The poem becomes a hymn to the liberating power of love and rebellion against systemic constraints, capturing the essence of a relationship that exists "outside the law" but is profoundly rich in its emotional and symbolic dimensions.

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