Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Stephen Dobyns’ "How Sweet and Proper It Is" offers a compelling meditation on the allure of heroic quests and the often unanticipated consequences of pursuing ideals without reflection. This narrative poem employs a rich tapestry of imagery and allegory to explore themes of ambition, sacrifice, and the cyclic nature of human endeavors, particularly as they relate to notions of glory and societal expectations. Through the journey of the young man and the subsequent adventurers drawn to the tower, Dobyns critiques the romanticization of heroism and the pursuit of personal glory at the expense of self-awareness and genuine understanding.

The poem opens with a stark, arresting image: a tower, likened to a thumb emerging from a fist, which immediately imbues the scene with a sense of challenge and defiance. The tower's isolation, surrounded by barbed wire and rising from a hill, symbolizes both a physical and metaphorical obstacle that demands to be overcome. The young man's decision to crawl through the wire, despite the damage to his skin and clothing, introduces the reader to the theme of self-sacrifice in the quest for achievement or recognition. This initial act of penetration sets the tone for the poem, suggesting that the pursuit of glory is inherently tied to suffering and self-inflicted wounds.

Dobyns meticulously crafts the ascent and the discovery at the tower's summit as a metaphor for the journey toward enlightenment or achievement. The unexpected presence of bats and the sleeping men on the floor hint at the darker, unforeseen aspects of this journey, suggesting that the path to glory is fraught with overlooked challenges and companions. The woman, described in terms that evoke stone and the impersonal beauty of public statues, represents an idealized goal—justice, virtue, or perhaps fame itself—that is as cold and unyielding as the materials that symbolize her.

The young man’s impulsive kiss, expecting warmth and receiving only the coldness of stone, serves as a powerful allegory for the disillusionment that often follows the blind pursuit of ideals. His realization comes too late, as he finds himself drained of warmth and vitality, taking his place among the others who have come before him, now merely a part of the cycle of pursuit and exhaustion. This moment of recognition—that the quest ends not in glory but in a joining of the ranks of the disillusioned—underscores the poem's critique of unexamined ambitions.

The cyclical nature of this pursuit is emphasized by the arrival of another man, equally eager and oblivious to the fate that awaits him, and the mention of others who are drawn to the tower from afar. This repetition suggests a broader commentary on the human condition: the continuous draw of the unknown and the allure of making a name for oneself, despite the lessons that could be learned from those who have already made the journey.

"How Sweet and Proper It Is" thus emerges as a nuanced reflection on the costs of heroism and the pursuit of ideals divorced from reality. Dobyns invites the reader to question the value of quests undertaken for glory or recognition, pointing to the inherent emptiness of achievements that do not bring true understanding or fulfillment. The poem, through its vivid imagery and allegorical depth, offers a cautionary tale about the dangers of following societal expectations of heroism without self-reflection or awareness of the potential for personal loss and disillusionment.

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