Thirsting for the hierarchic privacy of Queen Victoria’s century, she buys up all the eyesores facing her shore, and lets them fall. At this point the speaker feels completely alone, even though he's close to the love-cars? Each part is in two stanzas. Has the speaker learnt his lesson? . The tone is one of mild desperation at this stage in the poem, the heiress thirsting for a return to the glorious days of old Victoria, when the great and good ruled supreme and everyone knew their place. "...we’ve lost our summer millionaire, who seemed to leap from an L. L. Bean catalogue." Again, rhyme cannot be ignored but is used unusually by the poet. The flow of images has led people … Illness Lowell suffered from manic depression and was hospitalized many times throughout his adult life for this mental illness. The poem focuses initially on several prominent inhabitants of Nautilus Island, Maine; from the hermit heiress to the gay decorator. Skunk Hour is a confessional poem written in 1957. There is no reference to people, only the bodies of the cars, hull to hull, as if it's the vehicles that are mating. Shrestha, Roma. The speaker has moved from depression to the spiritual rebirth of his natural energies, from a decadent world to individual revitalization. The speaker only infers, he doesn't explicitly state. His mind is not right. This is a dark and thought provoking poem, with religious anxieties surfacing, and raises issues that are universal and relevant for today. The poem focuses initially on several prominent inhabitants of Nautilus Island, Maine; from the hermit heiress to the gay decorator. “Skunk Hour” is dedicated to one another not simply out of friendship, but because each poet imitates each other’s style and alludes to the other’s key personality traits. “Skunk Hour” depicts a man at a moment of crisis. Skunk Hour, poem by Robert Lowell, published in Life Studies (1959). It was the last poem in an important volume of poetry titled Life Studies, one of Lowell's most influential creations. Her son’s a bishop. “ Skunk Hour ” by Robert Lowell starts in New England, where a “hermit heiress” acts as the poem’s initial focus. The narrative, a personal take on the island's more controversial citizens, gains more momentum and darkness. Skunk Hour by Robert Lowell: Summary and Critical Analysis. The poem has intricate metre and internal rhymes. They might be smelly, distasteful creatures but at least they're confident; they march right up Main Street on their soles (soles- souls), brazen, searching for one thing, food. He climbs a hill and finds the degraded modern condition. His mind was getting more and more disordered. Her son's a bishop. Skunk Hour. ...Poetry analysis: Skunk Hour, by Robert Lowell In beginning of "Skunk Hour" (the first four stanzas to be more precise), Robert Lowell gives the sense of a Maine sea town that is slowly declining. How low can you get? He echoes the sayings of Saint John, King Lear and Satan, all of which express emotional crisis. But the poem ends with a deep realization about why his life was becoming meaningless and painful: he sees a dirty small animal enjoying life, having the physical, mental and spiritual strength to live on. . Robert Lowell famously wrote “Skunk Hour” for Elizabeth Bishop, who just as famously had written “The Armadillo” for him. It is composed of 8 sestets with an internal rhyming scheme in each sestet that can only be called irregular from sestet to sestet. Jackson Barry's "Robert Lowell: The Poet as Sign" contends that "in Lowell we find a very complex sign function where a physical signifier, the figure chosen, stands for a cluster of meanings attributed to but not inherent in the actual person" (180). The poem can be divided into four main parts or stages of development of images. The Poem “Skunk Hour” is written in free verse, but with a formal pattern of eight six-line stanzas (sestets) with a loosely regular rhyme scheme. Tragedy in Medea play detailed analysis October 18, 2019. At the start of ‘Skunk Hour’, Robert Lowell appears to be thinking about a female citizen who lives in the city in the state of Maine. Skunk Hour was inspired by fellow poet Elizabeth Bishop's poem Armadillo. | .” I hear my ill-spirit sob in each blood cell, as if my hand were at its throat. So Nature comes to the rescue in the form of the instinctive skunk, a mother no less with her young in tow out looking for food. Skunk Hour By Robert Lowell (For Elizabeth Bishop) Nautilus Island's hermit heiress still lives through winter in her Spartan cottage; her sheep still graze above the sea. Has he done anything wrong? A car radio bleats,“Love, O careless Love. The poet uses full end rhyme - for/shore - all/fall - to continue this theme of ongoing tradition but note the contrasting complicated and simple shortened lines of iambic and especially dactylic rhythms which fall off : the voice pitched higher on the stress, then lower on the unstressed. . Only the realization and use of these potentials for revitalization of the inner energy will rescue modern man from his suicidal frustration. “Skunk Hour” is most important to twenty-first century readers not necessarily as a confessional testament to “America in decline” but as a mapping of the fault line between the “tranquilized fifties” and the volatile 60s, where formalism ruptures into confessionalism and the obstinate skunks transmute into Mailer’s Armies of the Night. Skunk Hour Meanings Of Certain Words and Phrases. Andrew has a keen interest in all aspects of poetry and writes extensively on the subject. Poetry analysis: Skunk Hour, by Robert Lowell In beginning of “Skunk Hour” (the first four stanzas to be more precise), Robert Lowell gives the sense of a Maine sea town that is slowly declining. Uncategorized. The full end rhyme fall/awl and half-rhymes cork/work and fairy/marry help tie up this stanza, a near comic portrayal of a guy making the best out of a sorry situation. There is no set rhyme scheme but there are interesting end rhymes and some internal rhymes that help solidify the whole, adding a seam of sense/sound. For Elizabeth Bishop Nautilus Island's hermit heiress still lives through winter in her Spartan cottage; her sheep still graze above the sea. Skunk Hour Introduction. These combine to endorse the idea that on this island things are falling into a state of disrepair, which doesn't bode well for the future. Solitude, trivialization, psychic problem, drug, and moral corruption are the causes. Brief descriptions set the scene until the main protagonist, the sad, lonely speaker, begins his rather … Skunk Hour Summary. Tags . For example, note the recurrence of ill and all, ell and ail and ull throughout the poem, in these words: still/still/village/all/fall/ill/millionaire/Hill/fall/filled/awl/hill's skull/hull/hull/ill-spirit/cell/hell/swills/pail/tail/will. Analysis In "Skunk Hour," Robert Lowell begins by describing a strange, hermit woman. But again note the specific details: I watched for love-cars. The speaker is so close to the cars on the hill he can hear music from one of the radios. He must be physically, mentally, psychologically and spiritually fertile, or creative. His nine-knot yawl was auctioned off to lobstermen.A red fox stain covers Blue Hill. |, Copyright © www.bachelorandmaster.com All Rights Reserved. Steven Gould Axelrod and James E. B. Breslin's criticisms of Robert Lowell's “Skunk Hour” agree about the significance and meaning of the first four stanzas. That process is also suggested by the pattern of the poem that moves from a dying old human mother who is failing to maintain her values to a young animal mother which is able to live so fully and actively. Categories . The season’s ill— we’ve lost our summer millionaire, who seemed to leap from an L. L. Bean catalogue. It's this element of distance that helps create the poem's somewhat shadowy atmosphere. Brief descriptions set the scene until the main protagonist, the sad, lonely speaker, begins his rather pathetic confession. Skunk hour poetry analysis essay. He's a type of voyeur - a victim of a modern, uncaring, materialistic community or a loner who will resort to crazy things for a buzz. The rhyme scheme changes as the speaker becomes aware that he is not alone - skunks are out in the moonlight. In the early 1950s, Robert Lowell was a successful, even famous poet, yet was writing few poems. While Bishop comments on her friend Lowell’s rage against humanity’s cruelty, Lowell writes of Bishop’s isolation and inner darkness, yet also resilience to persevere. The speaker is revealed, at last, having 'hidden' behind the first four stanzas, but note the wording of the second line: Somehow the car is driving itself up that hill, with the speaker absent, as if there's no personal responsibility for the action. It's not a fun place to exist in according to the speaker; there is a sickness pervading and he seems to be a victim of it, admitting that he is not right in the mind. . Although his manic depression was often a great burden (for himself and his family), the subject of that mental A love song, Careless Love, from the 1950s, is playing, with the lyrics "Now you see what careless love will do.../ Make you kill yourself and your sweetheart too.". The overall tone of Skunk Hour is pessimistic, even depressing - only the skunks seem to live brightly in the here and now of Nautilus Island. The fox stain is ambiguous. The language is simple, but suggestive, too. But she fails. BachelorandMaster, 17 Nov. 2013, bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanpoetry/skunk-hour.html. It could be blood, it could be the sheen grass takes on at a certain time of year, which is known as fox stain. Summary of Skunk Hour ‘Skunk Hour’ by Robert Lowell describes a speaker’s fascination with a Maine town and the secret night-time activities he participates in. .I myself am hell; nobody’s here— only skunks, that search in the moonlight for a bite to eat. What couldn’t be healed by anything is revealed to the sufferer in a simple incident. The speaker was almost giving up life and extinguishing his powers due to self-disgust. Even her farmer is a traditional administrator (selectman) in the speaker's own village of all places. Published in 1957, Skunk Hour is a part of Lowell’s fourth book, Life Studies. He learns a lesson, and a new life begins for him. Wedlock would seem to be a way out of a life destined for a peculiar kind of sad, island loneliness, although at the time of writing, 1957, marriage for gay couples would have been out the question. There is a “hermit heiress.” Her son is a bishop and her farmer is the first selectman of the town. Summary. The two used to write letters to each other constantly, and were very concerned about what one thought of the other's work. The scene is set by first introducing the old and frail heiress of the island who is a stickler for tradition, a conservative, fading aristocrat landowner with a bishop for a son and ruins for the future. Basically she's living in the past. For example, lines 4 through 6 state the following: “Her farmer / is first selectman in our village; / … Note the full end-rhymes of the middle four lines, becoming tight couplets: the skunks are together. So there is an atmosphere of doubt, failure and poverty of spirit, relieved temporarily by the actions of the courageous if slightly disgusting skunks. The speaker, an ambiguous “we” dangling over the story, tells the readers bluntly that the heiress' son is a bishop, a farmer on her farm holds a place in the local government, and that she is beginning to grow senile. Published by Deadline Essay on February 7, 2020. Have students read Bishop’s poem as well, and perhaps briefly introduce their friendship. "Skunk Hour by Robert Lowell: Summary and Critical Analysis." He must fight and struggle against degradation and artificiality. The possible redeeming qualities of domestic life enable the starker context of "Skunk Hour" to provide a somewhat satisfactory conclusion to the volume's spiritual journey. The third part of the poem shows how the persona wanders in intense agony and spiritual crisis. Sample Papers; Tags . John R. Reed "Skunk Hour" is important not only because it is a good poem but also because it is a firm acceptance of the things of this world in all their ambiguous excellence. American culture was changing rapidly and dynamically in those postwar years, and Lowell—due in part to his encounters with Allen Ginsberg and Beat culture—was beginning to feel that his work was archaic and staid. When he saw the others, he only generalized that all of them were railing to maintain their old values, and failing to live. The poem is creating a general symbol of the modern human condition. Read through this stanza several times and the full end rhymes help it to become memorable, perhaps the poet's intention. hull to hull - the speaker sees the cars as boats, next to one another as if on a river. She lives in a small house, buys up all the ugly houses across from her and tears them down. Published by Emma Watson on October 18, 2019. Published in 1957, Skunk Hour is a part of Lowell’s fourth book, Life Studies. Carefully placed punctuation helps moderate pace. The Styx from Greek mythology, associated with the final crossing of the soul? | The four dots at the end of this line are poignant and pregnant with possibility. The revelation or epiphany at the end is unbelievable. The poem begins with the speaker describing a number of the town’s residents. Imprisoned for being a conscientious objector in the second world war, he had a torrid personal life, got through three marriages and was treated for various episodes of manic depression. He must have the determination and spirit to live. And that line about the graveyard is a powerful hint - the island's dead are looking in on this love-making too, just like the speaker. For example, the speaker admits to secretly watching lovers in their cars at night and this makes him feel bad, like hell. In the last two stanzas, we find the speaker looking at a skunk and its kittens fearlessly coming to a city street and eating garbage. OPEC and the Global Market detailed analysis February 7, 2020. . Robert Lowell was a controversial figure in his lifetime. As the poem progresses the reader is fed mostly factual information but the undercurrent of personal pessimism is just strong enough to elicit the thought - something strange is going on here. In the first stanza of ‘Waking Early Sunday Morning’ the speaker begins by describing an experience, or set of emotions, he wishes he could have. Note the way the poet uses end half-rhyme (slant or near or imperfect rhyme) in cottage/village/dotage which suggests that things are not making full sense, there is little harmony. The two were great friends. The title points to the disgusting phase of life that the poet was living when he had lost the courage, desire and purpose of living life. Thirsting for the hierarchie privacy Then he starts to describe the things that have begun to go wrong with the place – the millionaire who lived there for the summer is gone, the town decorator seems depressed and … It is modeled on “ The Armadillo,” a poem by Elizabeth Bishop; both poets dedicated their respective poems to each other. In it, the poet reveals his personal secret confesses that he is living meaninglessly and suffering from the loss of faith, courage and even desire for life. Skunk Hour Analysis 1108 Words | 5 Pages Confessional poet Robert Lowell expresses his personal trauma in his poem Skunk Hour through his syntax, multiple themes, and his gothic tone. Skunk Hour is a confessional poem written in 1957. I stand on top of our back steps and breathe the rich air— a mother skunk with her column of kittens swills the garbage pail She jabs her wedge-head in a cup of sour cream, drops her ostrich tail, and will not scare. My mind’s not right. The poem is essentially obscure like the thought and express of a mental patient. Privacy and Cookie Policy Skunk Hour Quotes and Analysis. In between is a half-rhyme. Note the first and last lines rhyme fully - ill/hill - and seem to top and tail the stanza in a rather neat but distant fashion. He's falling apart, just like the island. The skunks’ passion or strong desire for life, their fertility and naturalness and their originality makes the speaker feel that he doesn’t have these powers and qualities of living a meaningful life. The process seems to represent a journey back to health through art, imagination or creative experience. Composed of eight six-line stanzas, “Skunk Hour” is one in a series of confessional poems that characterized Lowell’s verse from the 1950s. . She clings on through the winter, the sheep go on grazing. ' Skunk Hour' is one of Robert Lowell 's most frequently anthologized poems. Also, the contrast between the two wealthy characters—the heiress and the millionaire—versus the decorator hints that the speaker is saying that wealth can be a factor in alleviating or enhancing one's isolation. The speaker is self-reflecting. Dedicated to Elisabeth Bishop and an homage to her style. This is the therapy for an ill soul, of modern man. Her farmer is first selectman in our village, she's in her dotage. The poem is dedicated to his friend and junior poetess Elizabeth Bishop, who also wrote poetry about the necessity of simple powers of the mind and spirit to … Another businessman fails to attract customers by decorating his shop, and so he’d rather marry”. “Skunk Hour” is the last poem in Life Studies, and as such it was meant to sum up the themes and tone of the collection and suggest some sort of resolution. The second part begins with “the season is ill”, an expression of frustration. Modern life’s corrupting influences have led men to express frustration and despair: “I myself am hell”. His poems are published online and in print. Probably the most influential poem in the mid twentieth century. At the start of ‘Skunk Hour’, Robert Lowell appears to be thinking about a female citizen who lives in the city in the state of Maine. 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