Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Alicia Suskin Ostriker’s "Marriage Nocturne" is a poignant and layered meditation on the complexities of love, conflict, and the human condition. The poem juxtaposes the intimate tensions of a quarreling couple with the broader, often painful realities of life, weaving together themes of marriage, survival, and the inescapable imperfections of the world we inhabit.

The poem opens with a vivid scene: the speaker, stopped at a corner near midnight, witnesses a young couple engaged in a heated argument under a streetlamp. This scene, bathed in the artificial light of the street, is both raw and theatrical, with the couple’s gestures and words exaggerated by their anger. The young man leans forward, scowling and raising his hand, while the young woman, initially passive, now stands up to him, defiantly throwing out her chin and chest. Their confrontation is underscored by the harshness of their words—"Shut up, bitch" and "Go to hell, loser"—phrases that capture the bitterness and resentment that have erupted between them.

Amidst this turmoil sits their baby, "a piece of candy," an innocent and helpless observer to the scene unfolding around it. The baby’s presence adds a layer of tragedy to the scene, highlighting the vulnerability of life caught between opposing forces, whether in the microcosm of this couple’s argument or the broader struggles of the world.

Ostriker then shifts the focus from the immediate scene to a broader reflection, drawing on the work of Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai. The speaker recalls listening to Amichai earlier that evening, noting how his language seemed to "grow like Jonah’s gourd in a dry place," a metaphor that suggests the poet’s words springing forth from a place of deep yearning and humility. Amichai’s poetry, rooted in the conflicted and sacred city of Jerusalem, becomes a lens through which the speaker considers the complexities of love and survival. The reference to Jerusalem as both a dreamt-of "never-obtainable mistress" and a "stony wife" given by God as a "long reproach" encapsulates the tension between desire and reality, the ideal and the imperfect.

This reflection on Amichai’s work deepens the poem’s exploration of marriage as both a personal and collective experience. The imagery of a husband touching his wife "in tears, / And helpless lust, and the survivor’s shame" evokes the emotional turmoil that can accompany intimate relationships, particularly in a context of long-standing conflict and pain. The wife’s eyes, likened to "walls / Where you still can see the marks of the shelling," suggest the enduring scars of past trauma, both personal and historical, that continue to shape present experiences.

Ostriker’s poem acknowledges the "dubious skill" humans have developed in making "beauty of bitterness," in surviving and even thriving amidst conflict and suffering. This skill, while necessary, is also fraught with moral ambiguity, as it involves finding ways to live with—and even aestheticize—pain and violence. The poem’s closing lines return to the immediate scene, as the light changes and the speaker drives away, leaving the quarreling couple and their baby behind. The road ahead is "lined by luminous spring trees," a reminder of the beauty and renewal that still exist in the world, even as it remains wounded and unhealed.

The poem concludes with the speaker’s journey home, where her husband waits, "sleepy and naked," a symbol of comfort and intimacy. Yet this comfort is not without its own complexities; it exists within a world that is "wounded" and beyond our ability to fully heal. The final image of the world as "our bride" encapsulates the poem’s central theme: the idea that we are all bound to this imperfect, scarred world, just as we are bound to our flawed relationships, finding moments of solace and beauty even as we grapple with the harsh realities that surround us.

"Marriage Nocturne" is a powerful exploration of the intersections between personal relationships and broader social and historical conflicts. Through its vivid imagery and layered reflections, the poem captures the complexity of love and survival in a world marked by both beauty and pain, reminding us of the enduring human capacity to find meaning and connection amidst the turmoil of life.

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