Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Frederick Louis MacNeice’s poem "Les Sylphides" is a contemplative and poignant reflection on the idealized moments of love and connection, and the inevitable reality of disillusionment and separation that follows. Using the metaphor of a day at the ballet, the poem explores the fleeting nature of romantic idealism, the passage of time, and the complex, often disappointing, realities of marriage and life.

The poem begins with a seemingly idyllic scene: "he took his girl to the ballet." This act of attending the ballet is traditionally associated with romance, culture, and shared beauty. However, the speaker quickly reveals a limitation: "Being shortsighted himself could hardly see it." This detail introduces a subtle irony—though the protagonist is physically present, he is unable to fully perceive the beauty of the performance, symbolizing a broader inability to grasp or sustain the idealized moments in life.

The imagery of the ballet is rich with ethereal and delicate beauty: "The white skirts in the grey / Glade and the swell of the music / Lifting the white sails." The dancers are compared to flowers, "Calyx upon calyx, canterbury bells in the breeze," creating an image of symmetry and perfection. The "naked arms above / The powdered faces moving / Like seaweed in a pool" suggests a fluid, dreamlike quality to the performance, where the dancers seem almost otherworldly, disconnected from the mundane realities of life.

As the protagonist becomes absorbed in the performance, he experiences a sense of timelessness and unity: "Now, he thought, we are floating – ageless, oarless – / Now there is no separation." In this moment, the boundaries between the self and the other dissolve, and he envisions a future where "you will be wearing white / Satin and a red sash / Under the waltzing trees." The imagery here is one of romantic fantasy, where love is eternal and unchanging, symbolized by the purity of white satin and the grace of waltzing beneath trees.

However, the music inevitably stops, and the dancers take their curtain call. The transition from the dreamlike ballet to reality is abrupt: "The river had come to a lock – a shuffle of programmes." This moment symbolizes the end of the idealized experience, where the flow of life is interrupted, and the characters must face the practicalities of moving forward. The metaphor of the river reaching a lock implies a necessary but uncomfortable pause, where progress requires a difficult transition: "And we cannot continue down / Stream unless we are ready / To enter the lock and drop."

The poem then shifts to the aftermath of this idealized beginning: "So they were married – to be the more together – / And found they were never again so much together." This line encapsulates the central irony of the poem: the very act of marriage, intended to solidify and deepen their connection, ultimately leads to greater separation. The everyday realities of life—morning tea, evening papers, children, and bills—become the forces that drive them apart. These mundane elements, though seemingly innocuous, gradually erode the sense of unity that the protagonist once believed would last forever.

The poem’s final stanza captures the quiet disillusionment that settles in over time. Waking in the night, the wife finds "assurance / Due to his regular breathing," yet this comfort is accompanied by doubt and questioning: "but wondered whether / It was really worth it and where / The river had flowed away / And where were the white flowers." The regularity of her husband's breathing symbolizes the stability and predictability of their life together, but it also highlights the monotony and lack of passion that has come to define their relationship. The "white flowers" and the idyllic river of their earlier dreams have vanished, replaced by a reality that is far more complex and less satisfying than the fantasy they once shared.

"Les Sylphides" is a meditation on the fleeting nature of romantic idealism and the inevitable disillusionment that comes with the passage of time. Through the metaphor of the ballet and the river, MacNeice explores how the beauty and unity of love can be so easily disrupted by the realities of life. The poem ultimately suggests that while the dream of perfect love is captivating, it is also transient, and the true challenge lies in navigating the complexities and disappointments that life inevitably brings.

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