Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Maple and Sumach" by Cecil Day-Lewis is a poignant reflection on the cycle of life and death, using the vivid imagery of autumn foliage to draw a parallel between the natural world and human existence. The poem contrasts the vibrant, fleeting beauty of trees in autumn with the more somber, gradual decline of human life, evoking a sense of both admiration and melancholy.

The poem opens by directing the reader's attention to the maple and sumach trees, adorned in their autumnal colors along a ride. The "scarlet character" in which they speak is a metaphor for the language of nature, expressing itself through the brilliant hues of fall. Day-Lewis suggests that these trees have invested a whole year's worth of sunsets into their current display of pride, emphasizing the culmination of beauty and vitality in this brief, resplendent period.

The second stanza further explores the source of the leaves' vibrant colors, attributing their appearance to "flamingo dawns" and evenings that have "crimsoned to their toppling crest." This vivid description not only highlights the process through which nature achieves its peak beauty but also underscores the transient nature of this spectacle—achieved through a year's worth of sunsets, yet lasting only a week.

However, the poem then shifts its focus to the human condition, drawing a stark contrast between the glorious display of the trees and the more subdued, inward decline of humans. Day-Lewis laments that humans do not experience a similar "blaze" in their decline; instead, their fall from vitality is marked by a "short of pride" and an internal bleeding, leading to a "paler" approach towards death.

The final lines of the poem, "O light's abandon and the fire-crest sky / Speak in me now for all who are to die!" serve as a plea for the same vibrant expression of life's end that the autumn leaves exhibit. The poet wishes for the abandon and beauty of the natural world's cycle of life and death to find a voice in him, representing a universal yearning for a dignified and celebrated conclusion to life's journey.

"Maple and Sumach" is a beautifully crafted meditation on the beauty of nature, the inevitability of death, and the human desire for significance and grace in life's final chapter. Through the comparison of autumn's fleeting beauty with human mortality, Cecil Day-Lewis captures a profound sense of the cyclical nature of life and the contrasting ways in which life's end is manifested in the natural world and in human experience.