'"The Dreadful Has Already Happened"' by Mark Strand
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The relatives are leaning over, staring expectantly.
They moisten their lips with their tongues. I can feel
them urging me on. I hold the baby in the air.
Heaps of broken bottles glitter in the sun.
A small band is playing old fashioned marches.
My mother is keeping time by stamping her foot.
My father is kissing a woman who keeps waving
to somebody else. There are palm trees.
The hills are spotted with orange flamboyants and tall
billowy clouds move beyond them. "Go on, Boy,"
I hear somebody say, "Go on."
I keep wondering if it will rain.
The sky darkens. There is thunder.
"Break his legs," says one of my aunts,
"Now give him a kiss." I do what I'm told.
The trees bend in the bleak tropical wind.
The baby did not scream, but I remember that sigh
when I reached inside for his tiny lungs and shook them
out in the air for the flies. The relatives cheered.
It was about that time I gave up.
Now, when I answer the phone, his lips
are in the receiver; when I sleep, his hair is gathered
around a familiar face on the pillow; wherever I search
I find his feet. He is what is left of my life.
Editor 1 Interpretation
The Dreadful Has Already Happened: A Masterpiece of Poetic Imagination
Can a poem be both haunting and beautiful, both eerie and captivating? The answer is yes, and Mark Strand's "The Dreadful Has Already Happened" is a perfect example of that paradoxical achievement. This enigmatic poem, published in 1992, explores the themes of mortality, memory, and identity through a series of surreal, dreamlike images that defy easy interpretation. Yet, despite its elusiveness, the poem exerts a powerful spell on the reader, inviting us to enter its strange, unsettling world and confront its existential mysteries.
A Closer Look at "The Dreadful Has Already Happened"
The poem consists of ten stanzas of varying lengths, each containing a few lines of free verse. The language is spare and precise, with a careful attention to sound and imagery. The title itself is a potent paradox, suggesting that something terrible has already taken place, yet we are still living in its aftermath. The poem opens with a stunning image:
The gods are leaving. The gods are leaving. The gods are leaving through the shattered roof.
Here, we are confronted with the idea that the gods, traditionally seen as immortal and omnipotent, are departing from the world. The image of them leaving "through the shattered roof" suggests a violent or catastrophic event that has caused the world to break apart. The repetition of the phrase "The gods are leaving" creates a sense of urgency and inevitability, as if the reader is witnessing a momentous event that cannot be stopped.
The second stanza introduces another startling image:
Somebody has to be there when the ladder Comes splashing down.
Here, we are faced with a scene of impending danger, as if someone is about to fall from a great height. The image of the ladder "splashing down" also suggests a sense of instability and uncertainty, as if the ladder is not firmly anchored or reliable. The use of the second person pronoun "somebody" makes the reader feel implicated in the scene, as if we are being called upon to witness or prevent the disaster.
As the poem progresses, it becomes more surreal and fragmented, with images that seem to defy rational explanation. For example, in stanza five, we read:
The water is rising. The fish are rising. The stones are rising. Even the dust is rising.
Here, we are presented with a series of images that seem to contradict each other: water rising, fish rising, stones rising, dust rising. The effect is disorienting, as if the boundaries between different elements of the world are breaking down. The use of repetition ("rising") creates a sense of urgency and chaos, as if the world is undergoing a cataclysmic transformation.
In stanza seven, we encounter a particularly enigmatic image:
The mirror is clouding over. The image Is disappearing. The words are disappearing.
Here, we are presented with the idea that the mirror, traditionally seen as a symbol of reflection and self-knowledge, is becoming opaque and unreliable. The image disappearing suggests a loss of identity or memory, while the words disappearing suggest a loss of language or communication. The use of the present continuous tense ("is clouding over," "is disappearing") creates a sense of ongoing decay, as if the world is gradually falling apart.
The final stanza of the poem reinforces the idea of mortality and loss:
The long night is coming. The future is Disappearing behind us, shrinking away, Like some forgotten god, immense and trembling.
Here, we are presented with the idea that the future is disappearing, and that we are powerless to stop it. The image of the forgotten god suggests a sense of reverence and awe, as if we are witnessing a cosmic event that is beyond our understanding. The use of the adjectives "immense and trembling" suggests that the world is both vast and fragile, and that our existence is precarious and fleeting.
Interpretation and Analysis
"The Dreadful Has Already Happened" is a poem that resists easy interpretation, yet it invites us to engage with its themes and images in a personal and imaginative way. At its core, the poem explores the idea of mortality and the fleeting nature of existence. The gods are leaving, the ladder is about to fall, the water is rising, and the mirror is clouding over—all of these images suggest a sense of impending doom and decay. Yet, at the same time, the poem is also about the power of imagination and memory to transcend the limitations of time and space.
The image of the ladder coming "splashing down" suggests a moment of crisis or transformation, yet it also suggests a sense of possibility and renewal. The water rising, the fish rising, and the stones rising suggest a blurring of the boundaries between different elements of the world, yet they also suggest a sense of interconnectedness and harmony. The mirror clouding over and the words disappearing suggest a loss of identity and memory, yet they also suggest a sense of freedom and transcendence.
Ultimately, "The Dreadful Has Already Happened" is a poem that speaks to the human condition in all its complexity and ambiguity. It invites us to confront the mysteries of existence with courage and imagination, even as we acknowledge the inevitability of our own mortality. It is a masterpiece of poetic imagination that continues to haunt and inspire readers to this day.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Dreadful Has Already Happened: A Masterpiece of Poetic Despair
Mark Strand's "The Dreadful Has Already Happened" is a hauntingly beautiful poem that explores the depths of human despair. With its sparse language and haunting imagery, this poem is a masterful example of how poetry can capture the essence of the human experience.
The poem begins with a simple statement: "The dreadful has already happened." This line sets the tone for the rest of the poem, which is a meditation on the inevitability of suffering and loss. The speaker of the poem seems resigned to the fact that life is full of pain and sorrow, and that there is nothing we can do to escape it.
As the poem continues, the speaker describes a series of images that are both beautiful and terrifying. He speaks of "the wind that blows through the trees like a sigh" and "the moon that rises like a white balloon." These images are both peaceful and unsettling, and they serve to underscore the poem's central theme: that life is full of contradictions and paradoxes.
The speaker also describes a series of events that seem to be leading up to some kind of catastrophic event. He speaks of "the darkness that gathers like a storm cloud" and "the silence that falls like a guillotine." These images are ominous and foreboding, and they suggest that something terrible is about to happen.
But then, in the final lines of the poem, the speaker seems to suggest that the dreadful event has already happened. He speaks of "the moment when the sun goes out" and "the moment when the stars fall from the sky." These lines are both beautiful and terrifying, and they suggest that the speaker has come to accept the inevitability of death and destruction.
Overall, "The Dreadful Has Already Happened" is a powerful poem that speaks to the human experience in a profound way. Its spare language and haunting imagery make it a masterpiece of poetic despair, and its central theme of the inevitability of suffering and loss is one that resonates with readers of all ages and backgrounds. If you are looking for a poem that will move you and challenge you, then look no further than Mark Strand's "The Dreadful Has Already Happened."
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