Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

James Merrill's poem "Europa" delves into the interplay of mythology, nature, and the human psyche, using vivid and symbolic imagery to explore themes of desire, transformation, and the tension between the intellectual and the instinctual. The poem is rich with references to classical mythology, particularly the story of Europa and Zeus, which serves as a backdrop for the poet's meditation on the complex and often contradictory forces that shape human experience.

The poem opens with an image of nature's guarded sweetness: "The air is sweetest that a thistle guards." This line introduces the idea that beauty and pleasure are often protected by something sharp or difficult, a theme that will recur throughout the poem. The "lean scholar" who is reading Buffon and Horace—two figures associated with natural history and classical literature—symbolizes the intellectual pursuit of knowledge, a pursuit that is momentarily interrupted when he closes his book and marks his place with a flower. This act of marking his place with a flower suggests a blending of the scholarly and the sensual, as the scholar temporarily sets aside his intellectual endeavors to engage with the natural world.

The scene then shifts to the seashore, where the scholar observes "the young laundress of the shore" as she tends to her linens. The description of her actions—raising "linen virginals / In sprays of gold"—is both mundane and mystical, transforming the simple act of laundry into something almost sacred. The laundress is likened to "any maiden loved by Zeus," evoking the myth of Europa, who was abducted by Zeus in the form of a bull. This comparison introduces the theme of divine intervention and transformation, as the laundress becomes a stand-in for Europa, the innocent girl caught up in the designs of a powerful god.

Merrill then delves into the darker aspects of the human mind, as the scholar's "murkiest deeds, night-thoughts that hammer him / Upon his bed," are brought into the light. These dark thoughts, typically confined to the night, are "charmed into the light" by the sight of the laundress, much like "creatures of the midnight" that "wake and fly / In a fine sport under the lavish sun." The juxtaposition of darkness and light, night and day, reflects the duality of human nature—the coexistence of desire and reason, the conscious and the unconscious.

The poem reaches a pivotal moment with the "ceremony of rape," a phrase that evokes the myth of Europa's abduction by Zeus. However, Merrill clarifies that this "rape" is not of the flesh or mind, but "of the eye, in gauzes negligent." The use of the word "rape" in this context suggests a violation or overpowering of the senses, as the scholar's gaze is overwhelmed by the beauty and sensuality of the scene before him. The "flowering nostrils" that "overstream" further emphasize the intense, almost overpowering, sensory experience.

As the poem moves towards its conclusion, the tone shifts from tension to ease, as the scholar's dark thoughts "fall unconscious" and are replaced by a serene vision of "cloud-whites on porcelain" and "a white bull of cloud." This image recalls the myth of Europa, who was carried away by Zeus in the form of a white bull. However, in this retelling, the abduction is reimagined as a peaceful, almost idyllic journey, with "Innocence" gliding "supinely through high morning" on the back of the white bull. The image of the "full white belle / Smiling, a bridal in the wastes of pearl" suggests a union of purity and sensuality, innocence and experience, as Europa becomes both bride and victim, carried away into a new realm of existence.

In "Europa," Merrill uses the classical myth as a framework to explore the complex interplay between intellect and desire, light and darkness, and the ways in which these forces shape human experience. The poem's rich imagery and symbolic language invite readers to consider the tension between the rational and the instinctual, the conscious and the unconscious, and the ways in which these opposing forces are reconciled—or remain in conflict—within the human psyche. Through his retelling of the Europa myth, Merrill offers a meditation on the nature of transformation, both personal and mythological, and the ways in which beauty, desire, and knowledge are intertwined.

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