Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Versailles," by Adrienne Cecile Rich, invites readers into an exploration of both the physical and metaphorical landscapes of human whims and wishes. The poem opens with an observation about the landscape being "merely" the remnant of a "vanished whim," a vestige of human intention that has long outlived its original purpose. Immediately, the language Rich uses draws us into a space that is both real and reflective of deeper emotional or psychological states. The grotto, the pond, the fish, and the creamery-all serve as outward manifestations of something more elusive, perhaps the complexities of human desire or the temporality of human endeavors.

Rich's descriptive lines, "The grotto by the pond, the gulping fish / That round and round pretended islands swim," capture the way in which our wishes can seem to swim in circles, stuck in self-imposed limitations. Yet, these artificial creations endure, "abandoned to its doves," highlighting the tension between transience and permanence. That these spaces were constructed to serve fleeting whims and yet outlast those desires brings into sharp relief the paradox of human ambition and the marks it leaves upon the world.

The second stanza continues this meditation on the permanence of what was once fleeting, questioning what force could "bleaken" or "chasten" these remaining structures. Here, the language shifts toward the mythological, as a "fountain triton idly soaks his tail / In the last puddle of a drying basin." It's a symbol of decay, a marker of the limits of grandiosity, and yet even in its decline, it resists human intervention: "A leisure that no human will can hasten / Drips from the hollow of his lifted shell."

The final stanza broadens the focus from architectural remains to the individuals who inhabit or visit such places, urging children and lovers to seize their present moments. Here, Rich warns that the whims of today can lead to restrictions tomorrow: "O children, next year, children, you will play / With only half your hearts: be wild today." Likewise, she advises lovers to take "one long and fast embrace / Before the sun that tarnished queens goes down," hinting at how time degrades not just physical structures, but also romantic ideals and youthful passions.

The setting of Versailles, with its opulent history and architectural grandeur, stands as an allegory for the human condition itself, pointing to the temporal nature of our desires and the enduring consequences of our actions. In the poem's closing lines, Rich warns that time, that "restless town," has a way of returning us to "his old restricted face," suggesting that the grand schemes and fantasies we construct can, in the end, leave us more confined than ever.

In "Versailles," Rich crafts a multifaceted meditation on the lasting impact of fleeting human desires, employing architectural metaphor and mythological imagery to dissect the complexities of temporal existence. The poem becomes a mirror reflecting our own ambitions, whims, and the lasting marks-both grand and decaying-they leave on the landscapes of our lives.

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