At first glance, “The Uncreating Chaos” by Stephen Spender seemed organized with the poem split into parts I through IV, however, as I continued to read and examine the structure of the poem, I became increasingly perplexed. Even from the beginning, starting with words such as “despair,” “pity,” and “apocalypse,” the author creates a dreadful tone that the reader is thrown into, without warning. I am immediately confused about when and where the narrator is, since the reader is immediately thrown into chaos, hence the name. I became further confused when I stumbled upon the strange structure of how “a bride” (9) is on a whole separate line. However, because of the chaotic diction and the speaker’s despairing tone, I realized that “the bride” must be separated from the rest of the poem due to the poem’s “chaotic” nature. The bride may also be representative of a man because of the line “though a man” (8). After reading further, the specific sentence “You only longed for your longing to last” (12) seemed to stand out within the poem. I then realized that the poem was directed towards either the reader, or towards someone who is self conscious and lacks confidence. This is because many lines in the poem contain an uneasy diction such as “anxiety,” “never,” and “revolution.” After deducing the focus of the poem as well as pinpointing the main tone, I was able to continue.
However, Part II was equally as difficult. Even starting with the sentence “I am all that you do” (20) threw me off because of the complete tone change. The narrator seems more confident, rather not only confident, but more overwhelming and seeking for power and control. I immediately questioned if this part was supposed to be narrated by a different person or perspective. However, after reading further and seeing the lines “what fears and falters in myself” (23), I came to the conclusion that this was the same narrator, but from a different thought process. Different feelings. Or rather, same feelings expressed in a different way- seeking control. As I read further into the second part, I noticed how the author uses “flooded” and “tide” to describe the future. This makes the future in the poem seem scary and unpredictable conveying a possible fear of the speaker. Then, at the end of the poem, the author starts to describe machinery and repeats “iron,” making me question the symbolism or metaphor in which iron represents. However, reading the line “the men are their machines,” I deduced that the iron and the machinery are supposed to represent men, in a way in which men seemed programmed and trained.
The first thing I noticed about this third part was how short it was compared to the rest of the parts of the poem. Just from the first sentence “All I can foresee now- more I shall learn” (36) made me think that this paragraph was going to be a realization. Then, there is a comparison where “fear creates its opposite” (37) and “peace is war” (38). These contrasts within the poem automatically made me think that the narrator had some sort of self hatred, just because of the switch of tones from part to part. He then says that a reflection in a mirror of a lover is essentially oneself with a gun, which confused me even further. What was the mirror supposed to represent, and what was the narrator even trying to mention? After examining this third section, I moved on to the last.
In the final part, the tone shifts once again. It was more questioning. Seemingly more intrigued with possibilities of life. The narrator now uses words such as “shall” and “where” along with multiple questions, which I deduced represented the final stage of intrigued acceptance. Many symbols mentioned in the previous parts such as “machinery” or “mirrors,” are once brought up again in this paragraph, but instead of being used for a negative meaning, the tone seems to have shifted to an acceptance of these representations. Lastly, I noticed how the poet repeats “clear” and even mentions “Holy is lucidity” (62). Because of this repetition, I believed that the author was trying to mention this clearness and lucidity as a way of symbolizing his state of mind- clear and clean.
Overall, I still find myself slightly confused about the meaning of the poem as a whole, and why it is even called the “Uncreating Chaos” because of the tonal shifts within the poem. Many of the sentences within the poem confused me and I still find myself perplexed with what any of the symbols are supposed to truly represent. Nevertheless, I came to the conclusion that this poem was split into parts based on stages. Whether those be stages of feelings, life, or even chaos, I am unsure, yet as I continue to read poems in the future, I will be able to chip each detail one by one until the meaning is unlocked.
Hey Annie, you chose a much longer poem in comparison to some of those we analyzed in class and of other classmates. Given the numerous parts, explicitly marked by the Roman numerals, I found it interesting how you noticed the drastic tone shifts and interpreted them as different perspectives. Though you were confused about the title I think that shows it has done its purpose, ‘Uncreating Chaos’ is almost a double negative, it assumes that chaos already exists and perhaps the way to uncreate it is through chaos. This would make sense with the chaotic tones that seem to be divided or organized by sections. We can assume that these tones are representative of different types of thoughts and thus internal chaos. It seems that you analyzed each part separately, but I wonder if there would have been a different understanding if each section had been read through cohesively. Great job finding different poetic techniques and comparing/contrasting them between different sections.
Hi Annie, thanks for sharing your thoughts about this poem. Ironically, you found the initial organization and tone confusing which mimics what the poet was trying to do in the first place: hence the title. I liked your use of the bride and their contrast to the rest of the poem and the chaotic nature. It was also interesting to see the bridge described as a man to follow the trend of contrasting. The length was also one to note, with different parts standing out. Particularly, the chunk of part 3 compared to other parts was a significant volta and your interpretations of the feelings of self-hatred and internal conflict adds a psychological perspective. Overall, I liked your use of literary elements and the efficiency in which you went through the poem.