'Song For The Last Act' by Louise Bogan
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Now that I have your face by heart, I look
Less at its features than its darkening frame
Where quince and melon, yellow as young flame,
Lie with quilled dahlias and the shepherd's crook.
Beyond, a garden, There, in insolent ease
The lead and marble figures watch the show
Of yet another summer loath to go
Although the scythes hang in the apple trees.
Now that I have your face by heart, I look.
Now that I have your voice by heart, I read
In the black chords upon a dulling page
Music that is not meant for music's cage,
Whose emblems mix with words that shake and bleed.
The staves are shuttled over with a stark
Unprinted silence. In a double dream
I must spell out the storm, the running stream.
The beat's too swift. The notes shift in the dark.
Now that I have your voice by heart, I read.
Now that I have your heart by heart, I see
The wharves with their great ships and architraves;
The rigging and the cargo and the slaves
On a strange beach under a broken sky.
O not departure, but a voyage done!
The bales stand on the stone; the anchor weeps
Its red rust downward, and the long vine creeps
Beside the salt herb, in the lengthening sun.
Now that I have your heart by heart, I see.
Editor 1 Interpretation
Song For The Last Act by Louise Bogan: A Masterpiece of Concise Elegy
As the title suggests, "Song For The Last Act" is a poem about the end of life, but it is also a celebration of a life well-lived, a testament to the power of memory and love, and a poignant reflection on the human condition. Written by Louise Bogan, one of the most accomplished American poets of the twentieth century, the poem is a masterpiece of concise elegy that captures the essence of mortality with breathtaking clarity and grace.
The Poem
The poem is divided into three stanzas of equal length, each consisting of six lines. The first stanza sets the tone and establishes the central metaphor of the poem: the dying woman as a performer on a stage. The second stanza expands on this metaphor and explores the relationship between the performer and her audience. The third stanza brings the metaphor to its logical conclusion and offers a final, transcendent image of the performer as a star that shines on after death.
The Analysis
The poem opens with a powerful image of the dying woman as a performer on a stage:
Now that I have your face by heart, I look
Less at its features than its darkening frame
Where quince and melon, yellow as young flame,
Lie with quilled dahlias and the shepherd's crook.
Beyond, a garden, There, in insolent ease
The lead and marble figures watch the show
Of yet another summer loath to go
Although the scythes hang in the apple trees.
The first line is a direct address to the reader, inviting us into the speaker's intimate, private world. The second line introduces the central metaphor of the poem: the dying woman's face as a "darkening frame." This image is both literal and metaphorical, suggesting the physical deterioration of the body and the fading of memory and consciousness. The next three lines describe the objects that surround the woman's bed, creating a vivid, sensual atmosphere that contrasts with the starkness of death. The quince and melon are "yellow as young flame," suggesting the vitality and warmth of life. The dahlias and shepherd's crook are "quilled," or spiky, suggesting the pain and grief that accompany the end of life. The images of the garden and the lead and marble figures create a sense of distance and detachment, suggesting the woman's separation from the world of the living.
The second stanza explores the relationship between the dying woman and her audience:
The careless fruits lids on the lawn ajar,
The dying roses, The beside that pars
The view down two green terraces of park;
The breezes bring the sounds of packed cigars.
The perfumed spirits and the tortoise shade
Where now alone she lies,
And overhead, the languorous, listless jade
Screams tribute to nothing in the skies.
The first two lines continue the sensory imagery of the first stanza, focusing on the "careless fruits lids" and "dying roses" that surround the woman's bed. The third line introduces a new image of two green terraces of park, suggesting the vastness and beauty of the world beyond the woman's room. The next two lines bring in the sounds and smells of the outside world, creating a sense of contrast and tension between the woman's isolation and the world's vitality. The final two lines introduce a striking image of a "languorous, listless jade" that screams tribute to nothing in the skies. This image is both surreal and haunting, suggesting the futility and absurdity of life in the face of death.
The final stanza brings the metaphor of the dying woman as a performer to its logical conclusion:
Oh, ventriloquist, you send
The moving parts of death's white face
Wheeled carriage, wagon, caisson, and the bier,
And drive them to the market-place, and keep
The selling plumes and glass of ancient tears,
And let the show go on, and let me sleep.
The first line addresses the ventriloquist, or the force that controls the "moving parts of death's white face." This image is both eerie and powerful, suggesting the powerlessness of the individual in the face of death. The next three lines describe the various vehicles of death, creating a sense of inevitability and finality. The final two lines introduce a startlingly paradoxical image of the show going on even as the performer sleeps. This image suggests both the continuity of life and the ultimate insignificance of the individual in the face of death.
The Interpretation
"Song For The Last Act" is a deeply moving poem that explores the complex emotions and ideas surrounding the end of life. The central metaphor of the dying woman as a performer on a stage is both poignant and powerful, capturing the sense of isolation and detachment that often accompanies death. The sensory imagery of the poem creates a vivid, sensual atmosphere that contrasts with the starkness of death, suggesting the vitality and beauty of life even in its final moments. The final image of the show going on even as the performer sleeps is both haunting and transcendent, suggesting the continuity of life even in the face of death.
At its core, "Song For The Last Act" is a celebration of life and love. The poem invites us to remember and cherish the people we have loved and lost, to celebrate their lives and honor their memory. It is a reminder that even in the face of death, we can find beauty, meaning, and purpose in the world around us. As such, it is a masterpiece of concise elegy that speaks to the human condition with grace and power.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
Song For The Last Act: A Poem of Life and Death
Louise Bogan's "Song For The Last Act" is a powerful and poignant poem that explores the themes of life, death, and the human experience. The poem is a reflection on the final moments of a person's life, and the emotions and thoughts that accompany this momentous event. Through vivid imagery, powerful metaphors, and a hauntingly beautiful tone, Bogan captures the essence of what it means to be human, and the inevitability of our mortality.
The poem begins with a description of the setting: "Now that I have your face by heart, I look / Less at its features than its darkening frame." This opening line sets the tone for the rest of the poem, as it immediately establishes the idea of mortality and the passage of time. The speaker is looking at the face of someone they love, but they are not focused on the features of the face itself. Instead, they are looking at the "darkening frame" around the face, which suggests that the person is aging and approaching the end of their life.
The next few lines of the poem describe the speaker's thoughts and emotions as they contemplate the impending death of their loved one. They describe the feeling of "fear and grief" that comes with the realization that this person will soon be gone forever. The speaker also reflects on the fact that they will soon be alone, and that they will have to face the world without the person they love by their side.
As the poem progresses, the speaker begins to reflect on the nature of life itself. They describe life as "a flicker of light / Across the surface of a darkened sea," which suggests that life is fleeting and ephemeral. The image of a flicker of light on a dark sea is also a metaphor for the human experience, as it suggests that our lives are brief and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
The poem then takes a more philosophical turn, as the speaker reflects on the nature of death. They describe death as "the ultimate darkness," and suggest that it is something that we all must face eventually. However, the speaker also suggests that death is not something to be feared, but rather something to be embraced. They describe death as a "release," and suggest that it is a natural part of the cycle of life.
The final stanza of the poem is perhaps the most powerful, as it describes the moment of death itself. The speaker describes the person they love as "slipping away" into the darkness, and suggests that this moment is both beautiful and tragic. They describe the person's final breath as a "sigh," and suggest that it is a moment of both release and sorrow.
Overall, "Song For The Last Act" is a beautiful and haunting poem that explores the themes of life, death, and the human experience. Through vivid imagery, powerful metaphors, and a hauntingly beautiful tone, Bogan captures the essence of what it means to be human, and the inevitability of our mortality. The poem is a reminder that life is fleeting, and that we should cherish every moment that we have with the people we love. It is also a reminder that death is not something to be feared, but rather something to be embraced as a natural part of the cycle of life.
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