|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained | |||
In Donald Justice's poem "To the Hawks," a poignant and foreboding atmosphere is crafted through the use of vivid imagery and a juxtaposition of innocence and impending disaster. The poem addresses figures like McNamara, Rusk, and Bundy, key players in the U.S. government during the Vietnam War, indicating a broader political commentary and the dark undertones of military and governmental decisions. The poem begins with a farewell, "Farewell is the bell / Beginning to ring," immediately setting a tone of departure and finality. This ringing bell symbolizes an impending doom that the children in the schoolyard are unaware of as they sing innocently. Their song is described as having the sun shining in it, a metaphor for their untouched and naive state of happiness and ignorance of the world’s darker realities. Justice contrasts the bright, sunny imagery associated with the children and their song with a more ominous reality. "The sun / Is in fact shining / Upon the schoölyard," introduces a factual correction, suggesting that while the children's perception is one of warmth and safety, the true situation is more complex and perhaps perilous. The children's swings are compared to "tongues of a bell / Swung out on the long / Arc of a silence," implying that their current joy is part of a larger, unspoken, and growing tension. This silence "will not seem to / Have been a silence / Till it is broken," captures the essence of the impending realization and the loss of innocence that will follow the eventual 'breaking' of this silence. The use of "there is a sun now / Louder than the sun / Of which the children / Are singing," symbolizes a force or event more powerful and ominous than their innocent world can currently comprehend. The poem's turning point is the figure of the young schoolteacher, who is caught in a moment of both participation and realization. "Waving one arm in / Time to the music / Is waving farewell," she straddles the line between the innocent world of the children and the ominous reality she is beginning to sense. Her "mouth is open / To sound the alarm," suggesting an awareness of the impending crisis and a role in warning or protecting the children. The final lines, "The mouth of the world / Grows round with the sound," expand the scope of the poem to a global perspective, suggesting that the coming catastrophe will have wide-reaching implications. This image of the world's mouth growing round with sound conveys a sense of a collective, inevitable realization and response to the events unfolding. Justice's poem is layered with meaning, using the microcosm of a schoolyard to reflect broader themes of political and military actions and their impact on innocence and ignorance. The interplay between light and darkness, innocence and knowledge, creates a powerful commentary on the loss of innocence and the arrival of harsh realities. Through this lens, "To the Hawks" can be seen as a critique of those in power, a lament for the innocent lives affected by their decisions, and a reflection on the inexorable march towards a darker, more informed world.
| Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest... |
| |