Close and Slow

A Weekly Appreciation of Poetry Pt.2

Many of us feel a bit inadequate when it comes to reading poetry, perhaps suspecting that there is some higher learning or personal initiation required in order to appreciate verse. ‘Close and Slow’ is a new regular feature here on ‘The Sounding Board’ providing some pointers as to how to read and enjoy poetry, taking an individual poem for each post and highlighting some ways in which it can be read. I trust that this feature might open poetry to those keen to read it but a little overwhelmed, and showcase some of the amazing work that is out there to be discovered. Pt.1 on John Hewitt’s ‘The Ram’s Horn’ can be read here.

‘Patchwork’ by Eavan Boland

Eavan Boland is among the foremost Irish writers of the twentieth century, an astonishing literary talent whose work combines formidable technical prowess with a compelling depth of grace and humanity. A professor in various institutions in Ireland and beyond, her scholarship informs her poetry at the unseen subterranean level, leaving a body of work which emerges from the ordinary contexts and conflicts of life. ‘Patchwork or the Poet’s Craft’ appeared in her 1980 collection Night Feed and is an excellent case study in poetic technique, personal meditation, and philosophical reflection.

In approaching ‘Patchwork’ we will follow the same process as last week’s ‘Close and Slow’, taking our time to allow the poem to speak, assessing the literary features it embodies, and inviting its message into our own lives and experiences.

Listen to the voice of the poem

Poetry is written to be read and, perhaps even more so, to be heard. The musical and rhythmic qualities of a poem are designed not merely to convey a ‘message’ but to embody meaning in their form. This means that rushing past slow reading, hurrying to dissect the formal properties of a poem, or rashly seeking to extract the ‘deep meaning’ is to ultimately miss the point. Week by week in ‘Close and Slow’ I will be insisting that entering the soundscape of a poem, really allowing it under our skin (even if we are not yet in full possession of it’s meaning) is the main part of our role as readers. This can be done by reading ‘Patchwork’ over and over again on the page but there are other creative ways to encounter the work. Many of us now use mobile phones and making a voice recording of oneself reading the poem and then listening to it on repeat is a wonderful way to let it wash in to our thinking and feeling. Via whatever medium we choose, listening to the voice of the poem is not only primary but remains central to our entire appreciation throughout our encounter with poetic work.

Put form first

Having acquainted ourselves with the feel, shape and sound of the poem, we are now in a position to consider its formal features. It can be tempting after reading to try to get all of the ‘meaning’ out of a poem but taking our time to observe the ‘how’ of what is recorded will greatly enrich our understanding of the ‘what’ of the poet’s message.

In terms of form, one of the first things to observe is that Boland has not adopted a specific poetic form for ‘Patchwork’. This is not a sonnet, a villanelle, a sestina etc. We can also note that the metre of the poem is irregular with a mix of syllables and stresses in each line. There is also no discernible or regulated rhyme scheme. Observing what a poem is not is just as important as discerning what it is. Marking the free form of this poem means that we do not need to filter for any of the formal assumptions that attend other ways of structuring the piece.

Although this is technically ‘free verse’, Boland’s attention to poetic detail and technique is constant through ‘Patchwork’. I am only going to highlight a few of these features, and have colour coded these insights to make it easier for the reader to begin to identify formal features themselves. First up is the use of repetition, and we can take the first stanza as an example of how this works (all repetition is marked in green).

In most other forms of writing repetition is to be studiously avoided, and can be a sign of a limited vocabulary. Poetry is, of course, an exception to this, and repetition can serve to convey meaning in surprising and disarming ways. In ‘Patchwork’ Boland begins by recording that she has been thinking, and her repetition of the words ‘random’ and ‘universe’ lend the sound of the poem a quality of deliberation, a sonic representation of how thoughts normally work when they are merely in our minds. The poet is mulling things over, giving them consideration, and like most of us this works via a loop in our minds rather in a linear fashion.

We can also observe some very clever and subtle things taking place in terms of rhyme (marked in red). We have already noted that no formal rhyme scheme is employed by Boland but this does not mean that rhyme is not used. The text highlighted in red gives a sense of how nuanced the rhyming work in ‘Patchwork’ is.

Rhyme occurs in this poem externally (‘feel’ and ‘wheel’), internally (‘trash’ and ‘Ashley’). Only in the final lines of the ‘Patchwork’ does the rhyme scheme regulate, and this is representative of the fact that the Boland’s thinking is beginning to clarify, that she is finally observing non-random patterns, and that certainty is overtaking constant thinking:

A couple of other formal features are also worth noting. Assonance is a literary technique where vowel sounds are repeated for poetic effect. This is related to ‘rhyme’ but achieves this through careful handling of where vowels appear in words and how they ‘sound’. Assonance is a key component in the ‘music’ of poetry. A beautiful example of this in ‘Patchwork’ is the close combination of the words ‘presumption’ and ‘sumptuous’. It is also worth noting the use of consonance in the words ‘stitched’ and ‘patched’. Consonance is where the same consonants are used in neighbouring words but are combined with differing vowel sounds: ‘stitched’ and ‘patched’.

Identify clear themes

Having filtered for literary features in the poem (and your own reading should identify even more than highlighted above) we are in a position to consider the theme or meaning it embodies. ‘Patchwork’ is a personal reflection on the nature of the universe, on whether it is random or purposeful, ‘craft’ or ‘art’. As the poem begins, the non-random external ‘universe’ is drawn into conversation with ‘random’ thoughts of the poet as she considers the nature of reality. This philosophical musing is undertaken late at night while Boland engages in patchwork quilting.

The seeming disconnect between the deep thoughts of the poet and the very mundane crafting she is engaged in is quickly bridged. Patchwork quilting is not merely the manual backdrop of Boland’s mental musings but serves to embody and represent the meaning that she is wrestling with. There are elements of randomness in the craftwork she is involved in - ‘trash bag of colours’, ‘finding greens in pinks’, ‘logging triangles and diamonds’. As Boland sorts her thoughts she is also arranging the materials of her physical work. The sorting of patches is random rather than reasoned, a kind of disentangling of unrelated materials so that something can be made of them.

The assertion ‘there is no reason in it’ is quickly contextualised by her laying the finished work out ‘in good light’ and recognising subtle subconscious patterns that have been formed, how the seeming ‘bits’ of her work are actually ‘pieces’ that ‘fit’ together. The resolution of her seemingly random quilting work is a physical manifestation, a kind of sacrament, of her mental struggle. Just as the universe is made up of ‘stars and bits of stars’, so is her handiwork, but both speak of purpose and design (or ‘art’) rather than chaos or chance (or ‘craft’).

The philosophical conundrum of the meaning (or meaninglessness) of physical reality is intellectually considered but manually resolved by Boland. This is where the alternative title of the poem comes into play. This is what poetry itself does. Just like the quilting activity that runs through the poem, poetry (as it is made) resolves issues and ideas - not in a formulaic or crass way but subtly and via the weaving together of words.

Piece it all together

Piecing it all together seems like a particularly appropriate activity with a poem entitled ‘Patchwork’. Boland has exemplified the subtle, evocative nature of poetry while also showcasing its intellectual and philosophical capacities. A treatise on the meaning of the universe might be intellectually helpful but cannot satisfy in the sensory and emotive way that a poem can. Through deftness and delicate skill, Boland has mediated her meditations on the meaning of reality that can not only be processed by the reader but participated in.

‘Patchwork’ invites us to think about the meaning of the universe as well and to consider whether we are in a random disordered world of ‘bits’ or part of a cosmos that is created and purposeful. Poetry does the work for us here and helps us not only to think our way through these issues but to feel our way as well. In the making of patchwork and in the making of poetry we have a visible, tangible, audible counter to our low thoughts of the world we live in, and the physical irrationality of embracing ideas of chaos and randomness. Given all of this, we can see that ‘Patchwork’ will repay repeated visits and is a prime example of what poetry can do in the hands of a master craftswoman.