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Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

UNBORN SONG, by             Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography

Muriel Rukeyser’s poem "Unborn Song" is a poignant exploration of themes such as loss, fertility, hope, and the cyclical nature of life. Through vivid imagery and a deeply emotional tone, the poem reflects on the tension between despair and renewal, individual sorrow, and the universal drive for creation and continuity.

The opening lines, "But I / Cannot find my fulness where they rise, / My many children, their burning mouths and eyes," establish a personal and introspective tone. The speaker expresses a sense of incompleteness despite the presence of "many children." This line suggests a disconnection or a loss, as the speaker struggles to find fulfillment in the tangible outcomes of creation. The "burning mouths and eyes" evoke intense vitality and demand, symbolizing the relentless and consuming nature of life and its needs.

The mention of "their bodies that have other fathers made" introduces a theme of estrangement and infertility. The speaker is distanced from the progeny and their origins, indicating a separation from the traditional role of creation. This is further emphasized by the line, "The wife gone sterile in her weeping said," which brings in the figure of a grieving, infertile woman. Her weeping and sterility underline the deep sorrow and the failure of natural processes of reproduction and continuity.

The refrain "Flies breed, rabbits breed" serves as a stark reminder of the fecundity of nature contrasted against human sterility and despair. This juxtaposition highlights the natural world's relentless cycle of life and death, which continues irrespective of human suffering. The phrase "Faith of our time falls hissing on the sand, / Hard sand, is the hand of man set against hope?" captures the broader societal disillusionment and the harsh, unyielding reality that stifles hope. The "hissing on the sand" evokes an image of something vital dissipating into nothingness, mirroring the futility felt by the speaker.

The speaker’s bed becomes a symbol of unfulfilled potential and lingering hope: "My bed / Whispers to me all year my love my hope my land." The bed, typically a place of rest, intimacy, and potential creation, whispers of love and hope, emphasizing the speaker’s yearning for fulfillment and renewal. Despite the sterility and despair, there remains an undercurrent of longing and the possibility of regeneration.

The infinite hearts of the unborn cry out, "Rabbits breed, flies breed," in "shady leafy places, underseas and in dim rooms, in the prodigal / dark." This imagery of potential life in hidden, fertile places contrasts sharply with the speaker's barren reality. The phrase "all things are made again" reinforces the cyclical nature of life, suggesting that creation continues even in the darkest and most obscure places. Yet, the speaker questions, "but here / Among the new dreams and new nightmares, who listens, who / believes?" This reflects the doubt and skepticism that accompany contemporary existence, where dreams and nightmares coexist, and faith in renewal is hard to sustain.

The poem transitions to a broader, almost prophetic vision: "While change emerges like / another power from power, no longer the old good and evil, / but a blessing that fares in the world, among the cities torn down." This indicates a shift from traditional dichotomies of good and evil to a new paradigm where change itself is a transformative power. The image of "cities torn down" evokes destruction and renewal, suggesting that out of chaos and ruin, new forms of life and blessings arise.

The concluding lines, "Crying awake, among the clouds who move calling do. / The mouth saying nothing. The air saying live and die. / The womb saying welcome, the sun saying Dare," encapsulate the essence of the poem's message. The imperative "calling do" from the moving clouds implies action and engagement with life. The juxtaposition of silence ("The mouth saying nothing") and the existential commands of the air ("live and die") highlight the fundamental, unavoidable truths of existence. The womb's welcoming gesture and the sun's challenge to "Dare" encapsulate the duality of life's promise and its inherent risks.

In "Unborn Song," Muriel Rukeyser weaves together personal grief, societal despair, and the relentless cycles of nature to create a rich tapestry that reflects on the complexity of creation, the pain of unfulfilled potential, and the enduring hope for renewal. Through her evocative language and vivid imagery, Rukeyser offers a meditation on the nature of existence, the struggle between despair and hope, and the persistent call to engage with life in all its forms.


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