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John Ashbery The Painter Critical Appreciation “The Painter” is an elegant, seriously thoughtful, and philosophical but a bit enigmatic ()ﮦ poem by John Ashbery. As we know that most of Ashbery’s poems revolvers around the ideas of life, death, soul and art. This poem too revolves around such ideas but in a unique light hearted and allegorical style. The poem is a typical example of John Ashbery’s obscurity ( ) واwhich is deceptively simple. What is the purpose of art? How does the conscience of an artist move about? What are the various pressures on an artist and above all how an artist can touch the heights of satisfaction in his art? These are the questions which make the crux ( ) ﮯ اﮨ ہof this poem. The magical quality of this poem is very captivating and it reveals that there is always psychological complexity and soul-stirring analysis in all Ashbery’s work, which capture the attention of modern day reader. In short, present poem is a typical specimen of Ashbery’s great skill. The surface story of the poem is very simple having hardly any ideas of complexity or allegorical thoughts. We find a painter (perhaps the poet himself) sitting between the sea and some huge buildings behind. The painter is thinking about his next master piece and decides to portray “the sea” as the subject of his painting. Somehow are the other; he could not find the inspiration that is needed to paint such a complex and puzzling painting. Soon leaving his meditation as an artist, he wished like an innocent child: “…his subject To rush up the sand, and seizing a brush Plaster its own portrait on the canvas.” Naturally, the wish is too childish to be fulfilled and he remains sitting without painting anything. The people watching him busy in his work give him their own views about painting. They advise him to paint something easier, common and the way the tradition has been going on. Thus their view is: ”Select for a portrait, Something less angry and large…”
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However, the painter finds it tiresome to convince the people of his own conception of art which is: “That nature, not art, night usurp (و ﮨ، ) ﮨthe canvas.” To please the people around he decided to change the subject and attempted to paint his wife. However, he was thoroughly unsatisfied with his efforts. After some efforts to ignore the call of painting going in him, he returns to the wild urge of burning in him i.e. to paint sea. Now too much of concentration and dilemma about the choice of painting had destroyed him mentally as well as emotionally. He lost his energy and vitality even to lift up the brush and the other artists from the buildings around made fun of him. Some ridicule his impossible idea of painting sea, the others rebuked him for self love and: “Others declared it a self-portrait.” In this dilemma of “to be or not to be”, he is not able to put a single stroke on the canvas and it is left “perfectly white”. Suddenly a huge voice is raised by the crowd, agitated at the unique and unacceptable idea, they threw him, his canvas and the brush into the swallowing waves of the sea. Thus his desire remained a futile dream for him and could not be actualized. This is the story around which the whole texture ( ) وٹof the poem is woven. On the surface reading, it seems a simple tale of a painter who wanted to paint something but could not. However, a thorough critical analysis would suggest that it is not all. In fact, the poem captures in its very essence, Ashbery’s conception of an artist, the purpose of art and the very method would be adopted by an artist. In this regard, the present poem can be compared to Robert Browning’s famous art poem, “Fra Lippo Lippi”. In that poem also, Browning highlight the attitudes of the socalled authorities and traditionalists, who would like that their views in art whether it be painting or poetry should be followed. The idea of beauty in painting is not a new one and depends upon the intellect that perceives it. Thus, every genuine artist has his particular way of looking at the beauties of God and appreciating them. However, any naïve ( )دﮦ "حreader may be deceived in considering it a poem related to the theme of art. The poem can be called a contrast on three levels: i) ii) iii)
Traditional approach and the modern approach. Authority and masses. Personal will and social conscience. The painter of this poem is a conscious artist and knows that: “The real art lies in concealing art.”
An imitation of the worldly objects in a blind way, may not suit his purpose. For him, the copy of the objects is not the honesty which is demanded by the conscience of an artist. To find the truth inherent in the outer surface of beauty may lead someone to go in the abstract ( ﮨا$%&) Email:
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neglecting the concrete. Thus any innovation in the existing tradition may be taken as ‘blasphemy’ by the mediocre (' )او* در(ﮯminds, as happened with the painter of this poem. This very aspect of the poem can be called autobiographical one as well. John Ashbery too was harshly criticized for his style of writing, even his rank as a poet was challenged by few. The poet, thus, has attempted to propagate that a genuine and true artist is the one who challenges the existing norms and finds his own of identification. In short, if we visualize the poem in this context then the ‘sea’ stands for originality of an artist and the people in the ‘buildings’ are the traditional artists who would challenge every new move. If the poem is taken in more general context, then the painter is a living soul whose conscious is not dead, by the popular yet baseless concepts of society. The huge buildings are the popular views of the society and the sea is a symbol of an ideal. However, society too in its execution is orthodox (ﮦ+" ا,را، - ./ ) اand never allows its norms to be trespassed. This a price which an individual has to pay for being a member of social set up. In short personal will has to be sacrificed to suffer the greater pressure of the society, otherwise we should be thrown violently into the sea; a sea of troubles. “The Painter” can also be viewed as an indirect attack on the authorities and the so called champions of humanity, who will implement their rules as absolute solution of every problem. The poem was written in 1956, which was the worst period in terms of the freedom granted to the writers. The painter by painting the sea wants to use the basic right of the freedom. But the authorities would like to listen the truth which they want. In the end, it can be said “The Painter” is a highly symbolic, allegorical and deeply philosophical poem by John Ashbery. The credit goes to him for giving deep thoughts in such a simple and easy language and style.
“Melodic Train” Critical Appreciation “Melodic Train” is an informative, symbolic and meditative poem by John Ashbery. It gives a deep philosophy of life in a simple manner, which is typical of John Ashbery. The poem deals with the image of a journey through train, but the poet travels through the deep secrets of human mind and tries to analyze the complexity prevailing there. Personal feelings of the poet about some of the touching realities and a curious blend of reality and imagination, makes it an unforgettable commentary on the life around us. In short, apparently the poem is simple but it has hidden philosophy which is beyond the reach of common readers. The start of the poem is dramatic and a bit suspenseful, when we find the poet travelling through a train and is asked about time by a young girl. However, her watch is a dummy and Email:
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naturally there is no conception of time on it. The poet realizes that the girl is wearing the watch just for fun, just as sometimes adults use pipe or wears clothes for fun. He then begins to think about the train and the way it travels across the valley. The train seems to him as a pair of pencil and ruler, moving against the map of the mountains. To Ashbery, he and the little girl are the visitors who watch the train as a symbol of curiosity. As the poet thoroughly meditates over the various phenomena related with the journey on the train, he also reaches an irritating aspect of it. The time-table of the trains, thus departure and arrival, the affairs of the station and other such events are not comprehensible to poet. This unclear system of trains creates a type of confusion and chaos on the stations as well. When the train arrives at some station, breaking the norms of the schedule, there is sadness of the faces of the children and concerns of the grownups. People look either for their relatives or taxis so that they may be evacuated of a tense situation. The passengers leaning forward for various taxi-cabs give an image of “tower of figures” to the poet. Ashbery being a poet and a sensitive person has also noticed the nervous temperament of the people, right before reaching the final destination. The passengers get so much anxious that they lose all the sympathy and respect for others. This thought makes him sad and he asks a very stirring question: “Why could not we have been more considerate?” Further, the look on the face of the passengers makes him more tense as they seem dissatisfied and frustrated. However, the poet ardently hopes that anxiety of these people would somehow diminish when they would reach their homes. After such long thoughts about his fellow passengers, the attention of the poet is soon captured by the “bluish vague landscape”. He gets absorbed in the beauty of the nature and forgets all that was going on in his mind for a long time. The poet tells us that by listening to the others can make us to lose ourselves and loss contact with own selves. It is only by neglecting the hustle and bustle around that we can enjoy the real beauty of the town around. However, as the meditation of the poet and his various views about the entire journey go on, perhaps, he too realizes the end or the approaching end of his railway journey. The idea of reaching his destination creates the image in which the people gather, tossing hats and preparing for welcome. However, all this seems quite too familiar to the poet, an event which has happened a number of times prior to this. A deep critical analysis of the poem suggests that a surface reading may mislead a naïve reader to take it as a poem describing a journey by train. The poem is ambiguous and is quite symbolic. This ambiguity is created right at the start by the title of the poem: “Melodic Train”. Now this suggests a smooth and rhythmical journey. But, the content of the poem suggest that the title is ironical, as the journey is centered on chaos and frustration. In fact, the journey conducted here may symbolize journey of man in this world, a journey conducted in tension, anxiety, Email:
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weariness. The poem is exploratory (ﮩ12) in nature and the poet moves from known to the unknown, familiar to unfamiliar and above all from time to timeless. The opening dialogues of the poet with the little girl may seem an ideal talk between an adult and a child, but the underlying idea is the complicated idea of time in this world. The time for us may appear on the clock and watches but we are not familiar with the broader and historical vision of time. Hence, in our life, we may be using the concept of time but the poet in here gives it a more complex and mysterious air. However, this aspect gives the poem a greater depth and touch of universality. Another aspect of the poem is the metaphor of journey, which might have been used for our stay in this world. John Ashbery projects the world like a journey which is undertaken under nerve breaking circumstances. The journey of us is a mixture of contradictory feelings. At time it seems to us like “a heave”, at other times it is too much for us. In fact, metaphorically the comment on the haphazardness (34 5 ﮯ،362 2 ) ﮯof the railway system is the concept of the universe. Moreover, while in this world man is in a constant state of turmoil and a thorough penetration of the worries around haunt his mind. The ultimate result of all is frustration. The poet also gets a bit sad at the idea that these demands of the tense journey have made us prisoners to our thoughts. We remain so much occupied with our own selves that we hardly find time to look around and share the joys and grief of others. That is why the poet compares the motion of these exhausted passengers with “mechanical puppets”. To him, they are “tower of Pisa figures” who have hardly any motion and feelings for others. This in here that the poet introduces, perhaps, the most important question of the poem: “Why couldn’t We have been more considerate?” Thus, the above question becomes a mild satire and a strong protest by the poet against the modern-psyche of the modern man. At a moment, when train stops and the platform is crowded with the people, there is a mood of hum-drum activities and the poet feels the people to be “my brothers” yet the bond is superficial. In such, variously tense mood people come, sit with each other, but like huge glaciers remain far apart of each other. They carry their dull mechanical mood in public places and then move to their houses with the same mood. If this is man’s life in this world, then it is really pathetic. To conclude, we may say that it is typical Ashbery’s poetic style. The poem reveals his dramatic as well as narrative talent as a poet. The philosophy of the poem may not be crystal clear but the massage is very clear. In short, the poet has conveyed very deep thoughts in extra-ordinary simple language.
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Characteristics of Ashbery’s Poetry John Ashbery today is one of the most influential poetic voices of America and his popularity is increasing with every coming day. However, one cannot eliminate the shadow of doubt and controversy from his status as a poet. He is great experimenter in the modern day art of versification. He with some of the younger poets of the era tried to prove that the tradition of American poetry can still have vitality if freed from its conventional restraints. It will not be wrong to say that no other American poet of modern day has enjoyed such varied and abundant criticism as is enjoyed by John Ashbery. The chief feature of Ashbery as a poet may be his complexity. He is more complex than he is often thought to be. He is a highly conscious artist and a penetrating thinker. According to Bayley, his primary artistic achievement rests on his blending of thought and emotion and symbolic imagery which give a greater vitality to his poetry. What may add complexity to his themes is his conversational tone is almost every poem. Using familiar tones and topics and employing technical symbols, he compels the reader for deep thinking. His complexity is enhanced by the metaphysical (ورا/، ت8"ق ا:/) thoughts in his poetry. He follows some of the traits of his poetry in the traditions of Emerson, Frost and Emily Dickinson. He tries to go beyond the seen to unseen. A hasty reading of his poems will not allow us to see anything, rather its looks as the poet is describing only a common event or object observed by him. As in all great poetry of such kind, the tension increases between the simple fact and the mystery which surrounds it. Ashbery in his poems either isolates the individual or treats mankind in the mass as a nation or race. Poem after poem shows the speaker running off ( )دورﮨor living alone. Most of his poems deal with the modern themes such as alienation (ا"; ﮨ، )(اﮨand isolation of man from his fellow men. In his poems as “The Painter” and “Melodic Train”, he does deal with the themes of alienation and isolation but he does not approve it. In his poetry, he portrays the barriers between man and man and makes a projection of the theme of isolation. He dislikes this isolation for man being the member of society. He insists on recognizing these barriers and not avoids the topic. In short, Ashbery’s view of society and man is consistent throughout. Each man to him is a stranger and an isolated being and so he remains for most of the time. John Ashbery is also an expert in using symbols in his poetry. While many of Ashbery’s poems are simple and plain, there are many which expose their true meanings when probed deeper. We can take the example of “The Painter” in this regard. The painter depicted in the poem fails to follow his will as the people in the buildings do not like it. Thus, through the use of very simple symbols Ashbery comments on the aggressive attitude of the society and so called authorities, who may consider every individual action as a rebel one. The beauty of all this has been that the simplest and common words have been used in the poem, yet it is deeply meditative
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and has a profound significance. Thus, John Ashbery being the poet of modern day realities was well aware of the literary methods that may suit to his poetic temperament. Nature and natural surroundings are certainly important ingredients of Ashbery’s poems. But, we cannot certainly call him a “Nature Poet” in the tradition of William Wordsworth. His poems suggest that nature is a fairly comprehensive term, meanings of which changes from poem to poem. He is not very much concerned with developing a philosophically consistent concept of nature. Though, nature is important to him, but he does not take it as an object of philosophical speculation (=ل،>ر2). What really interests him is man’s reaction to his surroundings and other human beings. Such phenomena do not require elaborated philosophical analysis for their understanding. In short, he takes nature as a part of the things to which we have to confront. John Ashbery is a modern poet in every sense of the word. Apart from their themes, the most modern aspect of his poems is the delineation of characters. His characters tell us the bare truths and the process by which they arrive at that truth. Ashbery not only depicts the outwards events and conditions of the modern day world but also the uncertainty and the painful sense of loss, which are characteristics of modern age, are always there in his poems. The contemporary nature of Ashbery’s poems is a fact that must be readily ( ﮯ3?=) recognized. Another modern aspect of his poetry has been his description of individuals and their problems in modern capitalistic world. It is through the depiction of the individual psyche and his set of problems that he takes us to some of the larger realities of life. However, we should not quote any writer as beings modern because he was born in the present age and wrote in it. Modernity is a concept strictly related to spirit and Ashbery is modern in that sense too. His concern with the world, greater importance to the individual freedom, condemnation of so called protectors of humanity and above all the way he tries to study the flaws of human thoughts, make him a modern poet. To conclude, we may say that Ashbery’s career is of great importance for the world in general and America in particular. He restored that poetry to the reader that had been lost. He wrote almost twenty books on poetry, in which he packed all sorts of information and messages. In short, it would not be wrong to say that Ashbery is an echoing (@ار4) voice of the present day American society because of his poetic appeal.
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