Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Richard Wilbur’s "Icons" is a reflective and nuanced meditation on the enduring allure of cultural icons, their simultaneous intimacy and distance, and their inevitable fading from relevance. Through rich imagery and a measured tone, Wilbur explores how these figures fulfill a human longing for transcendence while remaining tethered to mortality and the passage of time. The poem examines the complexities of fame, memory, and the tension between permanence and impermanence in both human lives and cultural artifacts.

The poem opens with a statement about the function of icons: "They are one answer to the human need / For a second life." Wilbur immediately connects the existence of icons to humanity’s desire for immortality, not for themselves but in the figures they elevate. These icons exist "in the secular heaven of photography," a realm that preserves their images in a state of apparent timelessness. The "emulsion’s cloud" that keeps them "safe" suggests both the technical process of photographic preservation and the ethereal nature of their presence, visible yet intangible. This duality establishes the icons as objects of both reverence and projection, akin to religious figures.

Wilbur deepens this comparison by likening icons to angels, "knowing them as we know / The angels, by report and parched surmise." This simile highlights the distance between icons and their audience, who know them only through mediated images and narratives. The reference to "Milton’s seraphim who veil their gaze / Against the beams of God" underscores the inherent limitations of perception, as even angels are unable to fully comprehend the divine. Similarly, we can never fully know the people behind the images; they remain enigmatic, partially obscured by the light of their fame.

The poem then shifts to describe how icons are captured in their moments of glory: "Often we see them handsomely asquint / When captured by a bursting photoflash." These flashes of brilliance define their public personas, whether they are "dazzling and bedazzled on that beach" or caught in other curated moments of allure. Yet, Wilbur suggests that their most compelling appearances may be in more intimate settings, "In their old clothes at home, with dog and child, / Projecting toward the lens." This shift to domesticity humanizes the icons, making their grandeur relatable and grounding their personas in everyday life. These glimpses reveal a duality: while icons are larger than life, their private moments remind us of their shared humanity.

Wilbur addresses the curious experience of encountering these figures in real life: "They smile, too, when we spot their avatars / Upon the actual street." The icons are aware of their symbolic role, sharing a "little joke" with those who recognize them. Yet, when seen outside their carefully crafted images, they often appear diminished—"Pale, short, a trifle older." This discrepancy between their iconic images and their physical presence highlights the fragility of human form compared to the immortalized versions created by cultural memory.

The poem’s reflective tone deepens as it contemplates the inevitability of decline: "It is hard not to yield them back to dream, / From which their images immutably / Bestow a flourish on our muted lives." This observation underscores the idea that icons, even after death or irrelevance, continue to inhabit the realm of imagination, offering a sense of splendor to the mundane. However, their transcendence in memory is tinged with loss, as death and time erode their presence.

The closing stanzas confront this decline directly, noting "fewer sightings year by year" of once-iconic figures and their distinctive traits—"The trenchcoat carried niftily over the shoulder, / The innocent sultry look, the heaved guitar." These symbols, so integral to their personas, slip into obsolescence alongside the icons themselves. Wilbur poignantly observes that even their admirers, the "dreamers" who sustain their legacy, are fading, leaving behind "archives" and "morgues" where their images remain, but their essence is no longer vital.

Structurally, the poem’s steady quatrains reflect the deliberate and reflective tone of its subject matter. The balanced rhythm mirrors the balance between admiration and mourning, between the permanence of the icon and the impermanence of the person. Wilbur’s precise language and imagery capture both the glamor and the poignancy of these figures, making the poem itself an homage to their enduring, if fragile, legacy.

"Icons" is ultimately a meditation on the cultural and emotional resonance of famous figures, examining how they fulfill human desires for transcendence while remaining subject to the realities of time and mortality. Through its exploration of their paradoxical nature—simultaneously immortal and fleeting—Wilbur offers a poignant reflection on the ways we create, revere, and ultimately lose the figures who define eras and imaginations. The poem invites readers to consider the tension between the images we preserve and the inevitable passage of time that erodes their living counterparts.

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