Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Charles Olson’s "Grinning Monster Out Side the System" wrestles with the unsettling notion of death as an isolated, predatory force that exists outside any nurturing cycle or cosmic system of care. The poem’s title and opening lines position death as a "grinning monster," suggesting a malevolent or at least indifferent figure that exists “outside the system,” beyond human comprehension or comfort. Olson’s language and imagery strip death of the metaphorical, often reassuring symbols—such as a mother or a natural transition—and instead depict it as a stark, terrifying intrusion.

The poem opens with the assertion that "Death is not a mother because we are born," immediately dispelling any comforting illusion that death might mirror birth, as a kind of passage or cycle. By negating this association, Olson emphasizes that death does not possess the nurturing attributes we might wishfully attribute to it. He states that death is instead "its own business," isolating it as a uniquely autonomous force, one devoid of the comforting reciprocities associated with life and birth.

Olson’s recurring image of the “fallen egg” underscores the alien nature of death. While eggs usually signify potential and rebirth, here the "fallen egg" represents a kind of ruined or interrupted life—an egg that has not hatched in the ordinary, life-giving way but has fallen, broken, and failed to yield a new beginning. He elaborates on this imagery through the figure of a bird that, "back-assing out of nest," goes against the natural progression of growth and vitality. Rather than a fledgling emerging confidently from its nest to meet life, this backward motion suggests fear, retreat, or an unnatural process, aligning death with something that upends life’s expected trajectory.

A sense of relentless motion drives the poem, most vividly in the line about the “bird of horror,” which Olson describes as crashing down through the "wall of night." This bird is unlike other birds that soar gracefully; it is a destructive force that brings a “solid second wall” of darkness, amplifying its ominous power. Olson imagines it "traveling double the speed in the black night," emphasizing the unstoppable, violent impact of death as it slices through reality, leaving no space for escape or reprieve. The image of death as a bird from a "blackest sky" diving down captures the abrupt, almost predatory nature Olson assigns to death. This description is neither gentle nor gradual but rather a visceral, intense image of death descending like a crushing force.

The imagery of desolation intensifies as Olson describes the surrounding scene: an “empty” house, a silent corner, and “not a sound or a person nor a light in it.” This emptiness reinforces death’s isolation and alienation from life. In contrast to a familiar scene where death might have social or familial recognition, Olson paints a picture of death as an experience devoid of comfort or witness, one that takes place without the warmth or continuity of life.

Olson’s repetition of "Horrible. No good. Impossible Loss," further drives home the primal horror of death. Each phrase is short and sharp, as if capturing bursts of thought or intense emotional reactions to death’s indifference and finality. These words are not elaborated upon, creating a staccato rhythm that mirrors the disruption and incomprehensibility of death’s presence. The simplicity and immediacy of these phrases evoke a deeply visceral reaction, suggesting that some aspects of death resist intellectual analysis or comforting reinterpretation.

Olson then contrasts the unnatural process of death to that of the “barnswallow” feeding its young. The barnswallow’s continuous flight, seamlessly delivering sustenance, embodies the fluidity and connectedness of life—an energy starkly absent from the monster that death represents. Here, Olson taps into an image of nature’s ease and continuity, which is at odds with the earlier depictions of death’s alien force. The barnswallow, unceasing and nurturing, offers a fleeting glimpse of harmony and natural rhythm. This reinforces how foreign and threatening the “grinning monster” of death seems by contrast, a break in the continuity of life.

The poem concludes with a haunting line that juxtaposes the rhythm of a “heart beat 120” with the realization that “the blood did not any more have pressure.” This final image captures the breakdown of life’s physical systems, even as the heart races, perhaps in panic or futile struggle. The lack of blood pressure—the absence of the force that animates and sustains—is symbolic of life’s complete dissipation in the face of death. Olson’s choice to end on this note reflects his portrayal of death as an absolute, a final stripping away of vitality that can no longer sustain the body or soul.

"Grinning Monster Out Side the System" reflects Olson’s existential meditation on death as a force devoid of any of life’s natural rhythms or nurturing cycles. Death in this poem is both an entity and a process that operates outside of human understanding, disconnected from any notions of consolation or continuity. Through Olson’s intense imagery and sharp, direct language, the poem becomes a powerful confrontation with death’s inexorable and isolated reality.

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