Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

William Stanley Merwin's poem "Writing Lives" is a contemplative exploration of the nature of life, memory, and the act of writing. The poem reflects on how we make sense of life and capture it through words, whether we are narrating our own experiences or those of others. By intertwining themes of memory, identity, and the elusive nature of understanding, Merwin crafts a meditation on the complex relationship between life and the written word.

The dedication of the poem  to Leon Edel is significant and adds a deeper layer of meaning to the poem. Leon Edel was a renowned biographer, best known for his five-volume biography of Henry James, a monumental work that remains a cornerstone in the field of literary biography. Edel's dedication to capturing the intricacies of a writer's life with both scholarly rigor and narrative grace makes him an apt figure to whom Merwin would dedicate a poem that meditates on the nature of life, memory, and the act of writing.

The poem begins with an acknowledgment of the uncertainty inherent in life: "Out of a life it is done / and without ever knowing / how things will turn out." This opening sets the tone for the poem, emphasizing the unpredictability of life and the way we attempt to comprehend it through narrative. The phrase "or what a life is for that matter / any life at all" deepens this sense of existential uncertainty, suggesting that the purpose or meaning of life remains an open question, something that may never be fully understood.

Merwin then shifts to consider the elements of life that we often take for granted—the "leaf in the sunlight," "the voice in the day," and "the author in the words." These images represent the ordinary and the extraordinary, the natural world and the human voice, and the ways in which we try to capture these fleeting moments through language. The "invisible words themselves" are highlighted as the medium through which we attempt to make sense of life, yet they are also elusive, shaping our perception even as they resist complete understanding.

The poem suggests that "one way with the words is to tell / the lives of others / using the distance as a lens." Here, Merwin touches on the act of biography or storytelling, where the writer uses distance—both temporal and emotional—to examine and interpret the lives of others. This distance provides perspective, allowing the writer to see the broader contours of a life and to craft a narrative that makes sense of it.

In contrast, Merwin presents "another way" of writing, "when there is no distance / so that water / is looking at water." This image evokes a sense of reflection, where the writer or the subject is intimately connected with what is being observed, blurring the boundaries between the self and the other. The metaphor of "water looking at water" suggests a deep, self-reflective process, where the act of writing becomes a mirror for the writer's own life and experiences. This kind of writing is introspective, personal, and immediate, without the detachment that comes from writing about others.

Merwin illustrates this idea with a vivid memory: "as when on a winter morning / as early as you can remember / while the plains were whitening / in the light before dawn / you saw your uncle—was it / your uncle?—reach / from the shadow and wash his face." This moment, captured in the pre-dawn light, is a fragment of the past that lingers in memory, yet its details are uncertain—"was it / your uncle?" This uncertainty underscores the theme of how memories, though vivid, can be elusive and incomplete. The act of remembering is akin to writing, where we attempt to reconstruct the past, but it remains fragmented and partial.

The poem closes with a reflection on the nature of time and understanding: "to us it is clear / that if a single moment could be seen / complete it would disclose the whole." This line suggests the idea that each moment, if fully understood, contains within it the entirety of life—the past, present, and future all intertwined. However, the poem acknowledges that such completeness is an ideal that remains just out of reach, as "there is still that light in the water / before sunrise / the untold day." The "light in the water" before sunrise represents the potential, the untold stories and experiences that lie ahead, waiting to be discovered and articulated.

"Writing Lives" is a meditation on the act of capturing life through words, grappling with the challenges of memory, identity, and the limitations of language. Merwin reflects on the dual nature of writing—as both a lens through which we examine others' lives and a mirror for our own—while acknowledging the inherent incompleteness of any attempt to fully grasp the meaning of life. The poem invites readers to consider the delicate interplay between memory and writing, and the ways in which we seek to understand the world and ourselves through the stories we tell.

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