Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "There Came a Soul," Rita Dove engages with Ivan Albright's painting "Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida," delving deep into the psychological and visual narrative constructed by the artwork. Dove's poem offers a rich exploration of the subject, Ida, depicted in the painting, exploring themes of vulnerability, objectification, and the artist's manipulation of reality through his medium.

The poem opens by introducing Ida, who arrives "as near to virginal as girls got in those days," immediately setting a tone of innocence and naiveté. This description is promptly qualified with the assertion that she possesses "the requisite dewy cheek flushed at its own daring," suggesting a blend of innocence with a hint of self-awareness or burgeoning self-awareness. The image of Ida holding the newspaper "rolled like a scepter" while presenting the advertisement suggests her agency and purpose in coming to the artist, yet this is quickly juxtaposed with signs of her domestic life, such as the "gold band" and photographs indicating she is a mother.

The setting transitions to the artist's studio, likened to a medical tent with harsh lighting and an atmosphere of tension and pain. The comparison of the artist's environment to a battlefield medic’s tent filled with "swaddled shapes that moaned" is vivid and unsettling, casting the act of painting in a stark, almost violent light. This analogy deepens as the artist's creative process is described in terms of surgery or triage, capturing his intense and perhaps morbid focus on capturing Ida's essence.

As the poem unfolds, the psychological distance between the artist and his subject becomes apparent. Dove explores the artist’s manipulative control over the representation of Ida, contemplating alterations like changing a newspaper into a letter and then concealing it, symbolizing the artist's power to reshape and even distort reality. The mention of the "red comb snarled with a few pale hairs" further emphasizes the artist's invasive gaze and the objectification of Ida, reducing her to mere physical details that can be captured and controlled.

The artist's internal monologue reveals his conflicted feelings about his power over Ida and his artistic process, reflecting on the ethics of his manipulations and the objectification inherent in his work. He applies paint "like a bandage to the open wound," suggesting an attempt to heal or cover the damage he perceives or inflicts through his art.

As the poem concludes, Dove paints a portrait of Ida not just as a model but as a complex individual caught in a moment of financial necessity ("out to earn a penny / for her tiny brood"). Despite the artist's efforts to control and frame her, the poem acknowledges Ida's own fears and vulnerabilities, "shone through her hesitant eyes." The erasure of the room around her until she is "seated as he had been, dropped bleak and thick, onto the last chair in the world" underscores the isolation and transformation imposed upon her by the artist and by extension, by society.

Rita Dove's "There Came a Soul" is a profound meditation on the act of artistic creation, exploring the dynamics of power, objectification, and empathy between the artist and his subject. It challenges the viewer to consider the ethical implications of artistic representation and the often invisible stories behind the subjects of art.

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