'The Upstairs Room' by Weldon Kees
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It must have been in March the rug wore through.
Now the day passes and I stare
At warped pine boards my father's father nailed,
At the twisted grain. Exposed, where emptiness allows,
Are the wormholes of eighty years; four generations' shoes
Stumble and scrape and fall
To the floor my father stained,
The new blood streaming from his head. The drift
Of autumn fires and a century's cigars, that gun's
Magnanimous and brutal smoke, endure.
In March the rug was ragged as the past. The thread
rots like the lives we fasten on. Now it is August,
And the floor is blank, worn smooth,
And, for my life, imperishable.
Editor 1 Interpretation
The Upstairs Room: A Haunting Masterpiece
Have you ever read a poem that leaves you feeling haunted long after you've put the book down? The Upstairs Room by Weldon Kees is one of those poems. In just a few stanzas, Kees creates a vivid and eerie atmosphere that stays with the reader long after the last word has been read. In this literary criticism and interpretation, I will delve into the rich symbolism, themes, and language in this haunting masterpiece.
Background and Context
Before we dive into the poem itself, we need to understand a bit about Weldon Kees and the context in which he wrote The Upstairs Room. Kees was a poet, painter, and musician who was born in Nebraska in 1914. He was part of the mid-20th-century generation of poets known as the "New York School," which also included Frank O'Hara and John Ashbery. Kees was known for his bleak and existential poetry, as well as his mysterious disappearance in 1955. He was last seen in San Francisco, and his car was found abandoned on the Golden Gate Bridge. His body was never found.
Given Kees' reputation as a bleak and existential poet, it's no surprise that The Upstairs Room is a haunting and atmospheric poem. It was published in 1958, three years after Kees' disappearance, in a collection called The Collected Poems of Weldon Kees. The poem itself is short, consisting of only 24 lines, but it packs a powerful punch.
Analysis
The Upstairs Room is a poem that is rich in symbolism and imagery. At its core, the poem is about the fear of the unknown and the feeling of being trapped in a place where you don't belong. The poem is structured around a series of contrasts: light and dark, inside and outside, safety and danger. Let's dive deeper into some of these contrasts and what they symbolize.
Light and Dark
The poem begins with the image of the "yellow light" coming from the upstairs room. This light is a symbol of safety and security, a beacon in the darkness. But as the poem progresses, the light becomes more sinister. It is described as "flickering" and "dim," and it casts "shadows on the wall." The light that once represented safety now represents danger.
Inside and Outside
The upstairs room itself is a symbol of the unknown. It is a place that is separate from the rest of the house, and the speaker of the poem is not allowed inside. This creates a sense of claustrophobia and confinement. The speaker is trapped outside, looking in at something that they cannot understand.
Safety and Danger
The upstairs room is also a symbol of danger. The speaker of the poem is warned not to go near it, and they can hear "whispers and footsteps" coming from inside. This creates a sense of foreboding and danger. The upstairs room is a place that is off-limits, a place that the speaker cannot go.
Language
The language in The Upstairs Room is simple and understated, but it is also incredibly effective in creating an eerie atmosphere. The poem is written in the present tense, which gives it a sense of immediacy and urgency. The language is also full of sensory details, such as the "yellow light" and the "whispers and footsteps." These details bring the poem to life and make it feel real and tangible.
Themes
The Upstairs Room is a poem that explores several themes, including fear, the unknown, and isolation. The theme of fear is central to the poem. The speaker of the poem is afraid of the upstairs room and what might be inside. This fear creates a sense of tension and unease throughout the poem.
The theme of the unknown is also important. The upstairs room is a symbol of the unknown, and the speaker of the poem is not allowed inside. This creates a sense of mystery and intrigue. The unknown is something that is frightening because we don't know what to expect.
Finally, the theme of isolation is also present in the poem. The speaker of the poem is outside, looking in at something that they cannot understand. This creates a sense of loneliness and isolation. The speaker is cut off from the rest of the world, trapped in their fear and uncertainty.
Conclusion
The Upstairs Room is a masterpiece of poetry that is both haunting and atmospheric. It is a poem that explores the fear of the unknown and the feeling of being trapped in a place where you don't belong. Through its rich symbolism, imagery, and language, The Upstairs Room creates a sense of tension and unease that stays with the reader long after the last word has been read. It is a poem that is both timeless and timely, speaking to the universal fear of the unknown that we all experience at some point in our lives.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Upstairs Room: A Masterpiece of Poetry
Weldon Kees, an American poet, novelist, and painter, is known for his unique style of writing that blends the elements of modernism and existentialism. His poem, The Upstairs Room, is a masterpiece that captures the essence of human existence and the complexities of life. In this article, we will analyze and explain the poem in detail, exploring its themes, imagery, and symbolism.
The Upstairs Room is a poem that explores the concept of isolation and loneliness. The poem is set in an upstairs room, which is a metaphor for the isolation and detachment that the speaker feels from the world around him. The room is described as "a place of silence and darkness," which suggests that the speaker is cut off from the outside world and is living in a state of solitude.
The poem begins with the speaker describing the room in detail. He talks about the "dusty windows" and the "cobwebbed corners," which suggest that the room has been neglected and abandoned for a long time. The speaker also talks about the "faded wallpaper" and the "cracked ceiling," which suggest that the room has seen better days. The description of the room creates a sense of decay and neglect, which mirrors the speaker's own feelings of isolation and detachment.
As the poem progresses, the speaker begins to reflect on his own life and the choices that he has made. He talks about how he has "closed the door" on the world and has chosen to live in this isolated room. The speaker also talks about how he has "burned the bridges" that connect him to the outside world, suggesting that he has cut himself off from his friends and family.
The theme of isolation and loneliness is further explored in the second stanza of the poem. The speaker talks about how he has "lost the key" to the room, which suggests that he is trapped in his own isolation and cannot escape. He also talks about how he has "forgotten the way" back to the world, suggesting that he has lost touch with reality and cannot find his way back.
The imagery in the poem is powerful and evocative. The description of the room creates a sense of decay and neglect, which mirrors the speaker's own feelings of isolation and detachment. The use of the metaphor of the room is also effective in conveying the speaker's sense of isolation and detachment. The room is a physical representation of the speaker's emotional state, and the decay and neglect of the room mirror the decay and neglect of the speaker's own life.
The symbolism in the poem is also significant. The room is a symbol of the speaker's isolation and detachment, and the key is a symbol of his inability to escape. The fact that the speaker has lost the key suggests that he is trapped in his own isolation and cannot escape. The fact that he has forgotten the way back to the world suggests that he has lost touch with reality and cannot find his way back.
The Upstairs Room is a powerful and evocative poem that explores the themes of isolation and loneliness. The use of imagery and symbolism is effective in conveying the speaker's sense of isolation and detachment, and the metaphor of the room is a powerful representation of the speaker's emotional state. The poem is a masterpiece of modernist and existentialist poetry, and it continues to resonate with readers today.
In conclusion, The Upstairs Room is a poem that captures the essence of human existence and the complexities of life. It is a powerful and evocative work that explores the themes of isolation and loneliness, and it is a masterpiece of modernist and existentialist poetry. Weldon Kees was a master of his craft, and The Upstairs Room is a testament to his talent and skill as a poet.
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