'Pantoum Of The Great Depression' by Donald Justice


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Our lives avoided tragedy
Simply by going on and on,
Without end and with little apparent meaning.
Oh, there were storms and small catastrophes.

Simply by going on and on
We managed. No need for the heroic.
Oh, there were storms and small catastrophes.
I don't remember all the particulars.

We managed. No need for the heroic.
There were the usual celebrations, the usual sorrows.
I don't remember all the particulars.
Across the fence, the neighbors were our chorus.

There were the usual celebrations, the usual sorrows
Thank god no one said anything in verse.
The neighbors were our only chorus,
And if we suffered we kept quiet about it.

At no time did anyone say anything in verse.
It was the ordinary pities and fears consumed us,
And if we suffered we kept quiet about it.
No audience would ever know our story.

It was the ordinary pities and fears consumed us.
We gathered on porches; the moon rose; we were poor.
What audience would ever know our story?
Beyond our windows shone the actual world.

We gathered on porches; the moon rose; we were poor.
And time went by, drawn by slow horses.
Somewhere beyond our windows shone the actual world.
The Great Depression had entered our souls like fog.

And time went by, drawn by slow horses.
We did not ourselves know what the end was.
The Great Depression had entered our souls like fog.
We had our flaws, perhaps a few private virtues.

But we did not ourselves know what the end was.
People like us simply go on.
We had our flaws, perhaps a few private virtues,
But it is by blind chance only that we escape tragedy.

And there is no plot in that; it is devoid of poetry.


Anonymous submission.

Editor 1 Interpretation

Pantoum Of The Great Depression: A Poem of Hope in Despair

When someone mentions the Great Depression, what comes to your mind? Perhaps the grim images of people standing in breadlines, unemployed and hungry, or the haunting stories of families losing everything in the stock market crash? The Great Depression was a dark time in American history, a time of despair and uncertainty. Yet, out of this darkness emerged a great literature, including one of the most poignant poems of the era: "Pantoum Of The Great Depression" by Donald Justice.

A Pantoum of Form and Content

Before we dive into the poem's meaning and significance, let's take a moment to appreciate its form. A pantoum is a poetic form consisting of a series of quatrains (four-line stanzas) in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza become the first and third lines of the next stanza. The final stanza repeats the first and third lines of the opening stanza, creating a circular structure that mirrors the cyclical nature of life. This form lends itself well to the theme of the poem: the cyclical nature of economic boom and bust, of hope and despair.

But form alone does not make a great poem. What elevates "Pantoum Of The Great Depression" to the level of art is its content. The poem speaks to the heart of the Great Depression, capturing the struggles and fears of ordinary people living through those hard times. Yet, at the same time, it offers a message of hope and resilience, reminding us that even in the darkest of times, there is a light that shines.

An Elegy for the Lost Dreams of a Generation

The poem begins by setting the scene: "Our lives avoided tragedy / Simply by going on and on." This opening, with its understated tone and matter-of-fact language, captures the sense of resignation and endurance that characterized the Great Depression. People went on with their lives, day after day, despite the hardships and uncertainty that surrounded them. But this endurance came at a cost: "With little left to lose or win / From indifferent stone to distant star / Our boredom would have been complete / Except for the white books on the shelf / And empty chair beneath the lampshade."

Here, the poem introduces the theme of lost dreams and missed opportunities. The "indifferent stone" and "distant star" represent the vastness and indifference of the universe, a contrast to the smallness and fragility of human lives. The "white books on the shelf" and "empty chair" suggest the absence of intellectual and emotional engagement, the lack of purpose and meaning that can make life worth living. The line "Our boredom would have been complete" is a wry commentary on the paradox of modern life: in a world that offers infinite possibilities, we can still be bored and unfulfilled.

The Promise of Economic Recovery and Its Limitations

The second stanza introduces the theme of economic boom and bust, of the cycles of prosperity and decline that define modern capitalism. The stanza begins with the lines "I wish that I could sing / Of economics, of the booming streamline trade / And of men and women so beautiful / That they drove airships across the sky." Here, the poem imagines a world of beauty and progress, a world in which technology and human ingenuity have conquered the skies.

But this world is fleeting and illusory. The poem goes on to describe the limits of economic recovery: "But we are the poor, the powerless, the common / Who see our pictures in the magazines / Smiling at jokes before we read them / Who must wait for the dry seasons / To stand before the silk of the hills / And we wait and wait / For what, we do not know."

The contrast between the "men and women so beautiful" and "the poor, the powerless, the common" highlights the inequality and injustice of the economic system. The "pictures in the magazines" and the "jokes" suggest the superficiality and emptiness of consumer culture, while the waiting for the "dry seasons" and the "silk of the hills" symbolizes the hope and longing for a better life. But this hope is fragile and uncertain, as the final line "For what, we do not know" suggests.

The Resilience of the Human Spirit

Despite the hardships and uncertainties of the Great Depression, the poem offers a message of hope and resilience. The third and fourth stanzas describe the beauty and wonder of the natural world, the "cherry trees against the blue sky" and the "moon's white winds on the haystacks." These images suggest that there is still beauty and meaning in the world, that life is worth living even in the darkest of times.

The final stanza brings the poem full circle, repeating the opening lines "Our lives avoided tragedy / Simply by going on and on." But this repetition is not a mere echo, for it is followed by the lines "Without end, amen, / It would be terrible to say / That we regretted the way / Things turned out, but it was true." These lines acknowledge the pain and loss of the Great Depression, but they also affirm the resilience and strength of the human spirit. The final lines of the poem, "We chose / The way to the right, and went on singing," offer a message of hope and defiance, a reminder that even in the midst of hardship and despair, we can choose to live with courage and joy.

Conclusion: A Poem for Our Times

In the end, "Pantoum Of The Great Depression" is a poem for our times. It reminds us that even in the darkest of times, there is a light that shines, and that the human spirit is capable of great resilience and strength. It challenges us to question the values and assumptions of our consumer culture, to seek meaning and purpose beyond the shallow pleasures of materialism. And it offers a message of hope and defiance, a reminder that we can choose to live with courage and joy, even in the face of adversity.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

Pantoum Of The Great Depression: A Poem of Hope and Despair

Donald Justice's "Pantoum of the Great Depression" is a haunting and powerful poem that captures the essence of the economic and social turmoil of the 1930s. The poem is structured as a pantoum, a form of poetry that originated in Malaysia and is characterized by its repeating lines. Justice uses this form to create a sense of circularity and repetition, reflecting the cyclical nature of the Great Depression.

The poem begins with a description of the bleak landscape of the Depression era. Justice writes, "Our lives avoided tragedy / Simply by going on and on, / Without end and with little apparent meaning." This opening stanza sets the tone for the rest of the poem, conveying a sense of hopelessness and despair. The repetition of the phrase "going on and on" emphasizes the monotony and futility of life during this time.

As the poem progresses, Justice introduces a series of characters who represent different aspects of the Depression. There is the "old farmer, / In a torn coat, / Alone at dusk in the fields," who embodies the struggles of rural America. There is the "young boy, / On a city street corner, / Pressing his face against the iron grating / Of a basement window," who represents the poverty and desperation of urban life.

Despite the bleakness of these images, Justice also includes moments of beauty and hope. He writes of "the pale flowers of the dogwood outside / A window appearing suddenly, / And the apple blossoms / Like translucent pom-poms / On the twisted stems of the apple boughs." These images serve as a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is still beauty to be found.

One of the most striking aspects of the poem is the way in which Justice uses repetition to create a sense of circularity and inevitability. The repeating lines serve to reinforce the idea that the Depression was a cyclical event, with no clear end in sight. For example, the line "We were running out of breath, / As we ran to meet the end of the century" is repeated several times throughout the poem, emphasizing the sense of exhaustion and desperation that characterized the era.

At the same time, however, the repeating lines also create a sense of continuity and connection between the different characters and images in the poem. The line "Simply by going on and on" is repeated throughout the poem, linking together the different moments of despair and hope. This repetition serves to remind us that even in the midst of great hardship, life goes on.

Ultimately, "Pantoum of the Great Depression" is a poem about the resilience of the human spirit. Despite the overwhelming challenges of the era, Justice reminds us that there is still beauty and hope to be found in the world. The poem is a testament to the power of poetry to capture the essence of a moment in time, and to offer a glimmer of hope in even the darkest of times.

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