Richardson 1

Francesca Richardson Richardson1

October 5, 2010

Ryan Gallagher

Poetry Explication

In Charles Olson’s poem, “Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 [withheld],”

Olson addresses the dilemma of Gloucester’s change by making his poem read from the

inside out of why things should not be left untouched. Olson structures his poem in a way

so that the content that is said begins with his personal thoughts and expands beyond that

to relate the change of Gloucester to the world, and finally to history. Olson does not use

many literary techniques to send his message; instead, he puts words together to create

images. Also, the structure of his lines helps the reader recognize his purpose.

In the first three stanzas of the poem, Olson describes very personal memories or

events. He starts the poem off by writing, “I come back to the geography of it” (line 1)

which indicates to the reader that he has been to this place before. However, now he is

reminiscing how “to the left the land fell to the city,/ to the right, it fell to the sea.” (lines

9-10) In this first section, Olson utilizes his personal memories to create a bond with the

reader that will make them be able to see through his eyes. Olson writes about how his

“father shot his scabby golf” (line 3) in the place he is remembering. By doing this, Olson

is personalizing the setting, which seems to be Gloucester. Another thing Olson does in

this first section of stanzas is how he gives very little space in between the lines. Not only

do the lines have no spaces, but also they are filled with many words. This can connect to

the idea of Olson beginning his poem on a personal level. The lack of space between
lines can symbolize for how these thoughts and memories he is referring to are close to Richardson2

his heart. The long lines represent the long lasting effect the memories he is describing

have on his life. In lines 4 through 5 Olson refers to a childhood memory of how the kids

“played baseball into the summer darkness.” Olson mentions this to create nostalgia of

Gloucester. By personalizing the first three stanzas of his poem, Olson hopes to present a

feeling of empathy to his readers of why Gloucester should not change.

The next six stanzas are presumably smaller than the first three. This is because

Olson is stepping out of himself and now connecting his first thoughts into the world

setting. Here, we see that the spaces between lines grow and the stanzas themselves

become significantly shorter. This represents how Olson’s tone is becoming more

assertive. This is where Olson branches out of personal thoughts and focuses on how

change effects the world. In lines 20 through 25, Olson writes,

“This, is no bare incoming

of novel abstract form, this

is no welter or the forms

of those events, this,

Greeks, is the stopping

of the battle”
Here, Olson is saying that this is not him asking for help, this is him saying it is

going to stop. When he refers to “Greeks” (line 24) he may mean those who support

American mercantilism. Olson also writes

“It is the imposing

of all those antecedent predecessions, the precessions
 of me, the generation of those facts Richardson3
which are my words, it is coming

from all that I no longer and, yet am.”

This one line really says a lot about Olson’s message without using any complex

techniques, just words. The words antecedent, predecessions and precessions all have the

same idea of one thing coming from another; a somewhat change. This relates to how this

poem is coming from his thoughts, but not this is no longer who he is. He is not the same

as before because he has changed with Gloucester. And just like Gloucester, he cannot go

back.

In his last section, Olson broadens the idea more by coming to the history of it all.

His lines are now even shorter and spaced out much more. Olson writes, “No Greek will

be able to discriminate my body” (lines 35-36) because his beliefs will not be

overshadowed by these new ideas of technology and mercantilism. Olson says “I am

one / with my skin” (lines 42-43) because he will not be broken or change for anyone. He

likes the way he is and he’s going to stay that way. Olson states that “An American/ is a

complex of occasions” (lines 37-38). Here, Olson is saying that Americans are never

always just one they, they are constantly changing, but still, not him. In lines 47 to 49

Olson writes that “I compell// backwards I compel// Gloucester//to yield.” In other words,

Olson is demanding for what Gloucester was before. Finally, Olson uses the words

“Polis// is this” (lines 51-52) to end his poem. The idea behind this is to have a happy

ending, a utopian state where all things are perfect. By doing this, Olson is hoping to end

his message to the newspaper on a happy note.

 By beginning his poem on a personal note and branches off into his deeper Richardson4

meaning of change, Olson emphasizes the power of his message. The personal start

creates a nostalgia that cannot be ignored, and of course that plays on the emotions of any

reader. By incorporating spacing structure with his words Olson makes the reader step

out of the personal thoughts and take them into a more general idea of change.