Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Albert Goldbarth's poem "Sentimental" deftly navigates the complex terrain of sentimentality and authenticity in human emotions and artistic expressions. The poem begins with a vivid scene of a country wedding in Wisconsin, where the light, having traveled thousands of miles, illuminates a Bible held by a parson as a couple recites their vows. This scene is rich with sensory details: the July sap, the buzzing flies, and the sweetness of the moment, evoking an almost idyllic, pastoral image that could easily be dismissed as overly sentimental.

Goldbarth immediately acknowledges this potential critique with the line, "Is it sentimental? Oops." This self-awareness sets the stage for a deeper exploration of sentimentality. He compares the earnestness of the wedding vows to the potential cloying sweetness of a cooling piecrust and questions whether the craving for irony, likened to the sharp taste of Greek olives, is a necessary defense against such sincerity.

The poem transitions to a classroom discussion about sentimentality and context, where Goldbarth challenges his students to consider whether certain events or descriptions inherently invoke sentimentality or if it is shaped by context and tone. He presents a series of scenarios: a fidget of snakes dying in a freeze, a litter of cocker spaniels, and the burial of his father in a cemetery where the snow is like "sheet tin." Each scenario is loaded with different emotional weights and cultural connotations, prompting a discussion about what makes something sentimental and whether sentimentality is inherently "wrong."

Goldbarth explores the impact of tone and history on our perception of sentimentality. He mentions Hollywood violinists who manipulate emotions, and questions whether their music is exploitative or genuine. He juxtaposes this with the authenticity of a "wise old (toothless) Black blues singer," whose life experiences and emotional expressions are seen as valid and authentic. The poem oscillates between these extremes, asking whether the context of lived experience and cultural history can validate sentimental expressions.

The poem's climax occurs when Goldbarth contemplates the hypothetical reactions to overtly sentimental scenarios, like a crippled girl and her only friend, a foal, evoking pity through her "woeful pennywhistle musics." He considers how a cynical storyteller might present the story of orphans in a storm with icy-blue quotation marks of cynicism, and then turns inward, asking, "What if I wept?" This introspective moment leads to a powerful image of Goldbarth visiting his father's grave, where the cold, brittle air brings forth an authentic emotional release.

The final lines reveal a poignant truth: amidst the struggle to balance sincerity and sentimentality, there lies an undeniable human need to connect deeply with our emotions. Goldbarth steps into the light of the page, "a burnished and uncompromising light," and finds his childhood's "heartwormed puppydogs" finally finding their natural voice. This metaphor captures the raw, unfiltered essence of sentimentality that is often buried under layers of shame and sophistication but remains an integral part of our human experience.

In "Sentimental," Goldbarth invites readers to reconsider the value of sentimentality, urging us to embrace the authenticity of our emotions despite the fear of appearing maudlin. By weaving together personal anecdotes, classroom discussions, and hypothetical scenarios, he illustrates that sentimentality, when genuine and contextually grounded, can be a profound and necessary aspect of human expression.

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