Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

William Stanley Merwin’s poem "Web" is a powerful exploration of entanglement, pain, and the inescapable nature of life's struggles. The imagery of a web serves as a central metaphor for the interconnectedness of experiences, the unavoidable pain that threads through existence, and the lingering hope for beauty or meaning despite suffering. The poem delves into the complex relationships between the self, memory, and the world, weaving together images of capture, blood, and music to create a meditation on the human condition.

The poem begins with a stark, almost resigned statement: "So it's mine / this leg of a thin gray travelling animal caught in the web again tearing." The speaker immediately identifies with the creature trapped in the web, suggesting a personal entanglement with something that is both inevitable and painful. The imagery of the leg "tearing / in a stocking of blood" evokes a visceral sense of injury and struggle, where old wounds are reopened, indicating a cycle of recurring pain or trauma. The phrase "the old scars waking" suggests that these are not new injuries but rather the reopening of past wounds, which have never fully healed and are now being aggravated once more by the web's grip.

The web itself is described as "seamless fabric" that is "bleeding where it clings," indicating that the web is both a trap and a source of pain in its own right. This seamlessness suggests that the web is pervasive, covering and connecting everything without interruption, much like the inevitability of life's hardships that touch every aspect of existence. The fabric's bleeding signifies that the pain is inherent in the very structure of this web, inseparable from the experiences it ensnares.

The poem then expands its focus, describing the web as being woven over various elements of the natural world: "over the sand... over the water... over the snow... over the grass... over the mountains... over the heads of the lambs... over the fish... over the faces... over the clouds." This repetition emphasizes the omnipresence of the web, suggesting that no part of the world is untouched by it. The web is not just a personal experience but a universal one, binding and affecting all things, living and inanimate alike.

Merwin also highlights the web's relationship with pain: "over pain itself you are woven." Here, the web is directly associated with suffering, suggesting that pain is an intrinsic part of the fabric of life. The image of "tears glint[ing] on you like dew" further humanizes the web, giving it a sense of fragility and beauty, despite its association with pain and entrapment. The tears, likened to dew, suggest a natural, almost inevitable response to the web’s presence, and perhaps a sense of renewal or cleansing, as dew often symbolizes morning or new beginnings.

The poem shifts to a reflection on the speaker's past experiences with the web: "the blood is spreading wherever you have held me / the days and the nights keep their distance without a sound." This line conveys a sense of isolation and quiet endurance, where the passage of time (days and nights) becomes distant and muted, perhaps because the speaker is so consumed by the struggle within the web. Yet, despite the pain and entrapment, there is also a memory of something transcendent: "I remember also the ringing spaces when I have crossed you like a hand on a harp." This image of crossing the web "like a hand on a harp" introduces a note of beauty and music, suggesting that even within the entanglement and pain, there are moments of harmony, of creating something meaningful or beautiful from the struggle.

The poem concludes with the image of "the birds pursue[ing] our music hoping to hear it again," which adds a layer of hope and continuity to the otherwise somber tone. The birds, symbols of freedom and the soul, are drawn to the music created from the speaker’s interaction with the web. This pursuit suggests that the music—the beauty or meaning derived from pain and struggle—is something that resonates beyond the immediate experience, lingering in the world and calling others to it.

"Web" is a profound meditation on the inescapable nature of pain and the complex interplay between suffering, memory, and beauty. Through the metaphor of the web, Merwin explores how pain is woven into the very fabric of existence, touching everything and everyone, yet also allowing for moments of transcendence and creation. The poem invites readers to reflect on their own entanglements and the possibility of finding or creating meaning within them, even as they navigate the difficult and often painful threads of life.

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