My Poetry thoughts
By robert Barnes
“Chunkey” by Paul Muldoon
The poem can be found here: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/chunkey/ I thoroughly enjoyed reading this poem because it differed significantly from other Muldoon poems that I have read. In contrast to speaking of heavenly or worldly things, like human nature, he explains a view of life through a simple metaphor. In my opinion, his comparison of our successes in life to a sport also created a message that was easy to understand and follow. Also, being someone who enjoys sports, I liked this poem in particular because it was based on a topic that I am highly familiar with. It also helps to put at ease the feelings that can rise from falling short of our goals, which we all experience at some time or another. The poem starts with an admittance from Muldoon that the game is one that we have “next to nothing straight” about, indicating that it is truly confusing. He then proceeds to describe the game as a fusion of two obscure sports that belong to very specific regions in Central Asia and Ireland. Then, he describes his process of envisioning the spear-thrower envisioning his target, which creates quite a mental picture in my opinion, until he hears the cheers of a monstrous crowd as they chant for their champion to win. Next, Muldoon poses the idea that our knowledge of the moment will fall short, just as the champion’s “spear falls short of a sandstone disk,” and compares the sandstone disk to the sun. However, he changes tact and proposes that people should consider their “grand ambitions” as “grandiose” and their “aversion to averting risk” as “merely rash.” Lastly, he suggests that we should consider winning as just “merely ‘to have come close.’” The imagery found in the early stanzas of the poem is crisp as it creates the sense of the “ten thousand strong” crowd, making an almost audible chant to the reader. Muldoon crafts a clever metaphor as he compares the peoples’ view of the sandstone disk as the sun, meaning that they see that disk as the giver of life and the source of warmth, happiness, and success in their home town. That metaphor is a key piece of the work because it is an indicator of how much the game truly means to the people, and the weight the champion carries on his shoulders. Looking at the broad scheme of the poem, not only does the sandstone disk represent something in life, but the entire sport represents the human struggle for something better, the drive to obtain a greater life than the one possessed, and the hope that rides on the dreams and ambitions of all of us. In the second half of the poem, Muldoon becomes much more straightforward about his message, asking for the consideration of the readers to look at their lives and see things for how they are in the real world, and use their intelligence to see that sometimes coming close to your goals is victory enough. While this poem may seem much more direct than the other poems by Muldoon, it is still heavily embedded with deeper meaning than just seen upon the surface. Even as I was writing this blog post, my understanding of the poem evolved to deeper levels than I had originally anticipated. This poem inspired me and opened my eyes to some of the truths in life: not every goal is reachable and not every risk is worth it, but no matter how short you fall, if you gave it your best effort and came closer than you were before, then it should be considered a victory. Muldoon’s words carry a message of hope with a “keep your chin up” attitude in his writing and a heart-lifting confidence behind it.
3 Comments
Kelly
1/13/2017 07:05:36 am
Nice analysis! The poem would probably make much more sense for me if I understood what sports he was describing. You did a good job finding the metaphor through his poem. Of course, he was trying to drive the point home that winning doesn't actually mean winning. Winning is getting as far as you can when you try your best.
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Robby B
1/13/2017 10:21:17 am
Paul Muldoon has an Irish heritage, yet he seems to be a very worldly person. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me!
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Kristian
3/8/2017 08:07:44 am
I really enjoyed your analysis. I like how you found the metaphor. I also agree with the wining is not only just winning.
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