Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Banjo" by Kevin Young explores the interplay between silence and sound, absence and presence, invoking a rich landscape that mirrors inner emotional terrain. Situated after a three-day rainfall, the poem conjures a vivid natural setting that serves as a backdrop to a human story of longing and memory. The poem elicits a palpable tension between what is spoken and unspoken, what is heard and unheard-creating a rhythmic discord that reverberates through its lines.

The first stanza sets up the environment: "And after 3 days rain / the frog songs stops." It's a world of transition, one shifting from the incessant "wimped & bumped" sounds of frogs to the quiet that replaces it. This hush creates an absence, a void that triggers a response from the birds-the mockingbird and wren-and ultimately from the speaker himself.

What strikes the reader is the insertion of the line "O Susanna / don't you cry fo me-" a snippet from a traditional American folk song. This line serves multiple functions. First, it emphasizes the distinctly American setting, linking the poem to the broader tapestry of American folklore and music. Secondly, it introduces the theme of absence and longing inherent in that song, thus deepening the emotional resonance of the poem. Finally, it positions the piece in a tradition of songs about yearning and homesickness, contributing to its overall aura of nostalgia.

As the poem progresses, the speaker admits to finding a few toads "splat in the road" and begins "counting blessings I / never before spoke." Here, Young insinuates that silence has a quality of drawing attention to overlooked blessings. There is an introspective shift as the speaker becomes aware of his previous inattentiveness to the world around him, signaled by things he "never before spoke."

The structure of the poem, in free verse with irregular line breaks and scant punctuation, complements its themes. The disjointed structure replicates the "discord" mentioned in the poem, the lack of harmony both in nature and perhaps in the speaker's inner life. The poem's style captures this dissonance, pushing the reader to engage deeply with its fragmented rhythms.

In the concluding lines, "I plead with you / -the nerve!-to start / again your whispered / name," the poem becomes a direct address to an unidentified 'you,' which can be interpreted either as a plea to nature for the return of the lost sounds or as a personal appeal to a lost loved one. Either way, it's a plea for return, for the filling of an absence, for the resumption of a disrupted harmony.

With "Banjo," Kevin Young crafts a poignant narrative of longing wrapped in the guise of natural observation. The landscape he portrays is not merely a passive backdrop but an active participant in the human emotional drama, a mirror reflecting back the complex chords of sorrow, gratitude, and yearning that form the human experience. The poem invites the reader to consider how even the most commonplace elements of our environment-a frog's croak, a bird's song-can stir deep emotional resonances, evoking a sense of both loss and profound connection.

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