Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "The Proxy," Boris Leonidovich Pasternak crafts a rich, sensory poem that functions on multiple levels: it is a portrait of a moment, a study in contrasts, and a meditation on the complexities of love and memory. The poem opens with the speaker living with a picture, immediately suggesting a distance, whether physical or emotional, from the subject of the portrait. This distance complicates and enriches the emotional landscape of the poem, adding layers of nostalgia, longing, and perhaps even sorrow to the vivid scenes that follow.

The imagery is detailed and evocative, conjuring a scene of social festivity tinged with an undercurrent of sadness: "Whose guests settle sadly to stay and to stay." The vividness with which the scene is painted-down to the "crystal drops in the guest room, crystal glasses and guests"-serves to heighten the sense of absence, making the picture more poignant. Even in the midst of revelry, symbolized by the sounds of "Rakoczy's bravado" and the clinking of crystal glasses, there is a sense of fleetingness, of something precious that is slipping away.

This theme of contrast-between presence and absence, between the joyful and the melancholy-continues throughout the poem. The woman in the picture is described as running "flaming, escaping, along the piano," as if trying to elude something. What exactly she's running from is left deliberately vague-perhaps the constraints of societal expectation ("the whalebone, the roses, the bones, the rosettes") or perhaps some inner emotional turmoil.

Pasternak also employs physicality to reveal emotion, with the description of the woman's fingers "twisting together" and wrists "near breaking." These powerful images suggest a tension, an emotional or psychological struggle that words cannot fully express. Even when the woman waltzes "playfully into the limelight," her mouth is described as "like a gash," a violent image contrasting sharply with the otherwise elegant scene.

The poem also plays with the theme of duality in the portrayal of the woman. She is at once playful and sad, free and constrained. She's depicted as a "rose-bud, a tea-rose," yet also as someone with a "mouth like a gash." This complexity lends a sense of depth and realism to her character, making her feel multidimensional and relatable.

The closing lines of the poem focus on an act of destruction: "crushing the skin in your hand, you demolish / A cool tangerine." This intense, even violent, act serves as a climactic moment, highlighting once again the complex emotions that pervade the poem. Just as the tangerine is crushed, so too are simple narratives of happiness or sorrow. Life, the poem suggests, is more complicated than that-filled with moments that are at once sweet and bitter, joyous and painful.

Overall, "The Proxy" is a beautifully complex poem that defies easy interpretation. Through its rich imagery and emotional depth, it captures the intricacies of human emotion and the complexities of love and memory. It serves as a poignant reminder that even in moments of joy, there are often undercurrents of something darker, something more complex-a realization that adds depth and richness to our understanding of the human experience.

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