Friday, April 9, 2010
February Evening In New York by Denise Levertov
Great poem! I think this poem is describing the pace of life in New York, in the beginning she describes the beauty and the significance of the February in NY, then she begins to describe "Feet patterns the street, in hurry and stroll"..balloon heads and seperate bodies...probably is symbolic to not being present and whole at the moment, and not observing whats really surrounding them and where they are, because they are in their own head. The women that she describes that are walking in a fair pace is contrasted with the people who are hurrying to reach their next goal, not stopping and enjoying life, the crooked heels for some reason made me think of someone who is living in the streets or even working on the streets, or is always outside wandering around maybe someone with no goals, not sure about that one.
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Yes, you're on the right track--the imagery presents a complex, ambiguous experience of the city, in its details, its anonymity and humanity-and the relationship between the urban environment and what lies beyond it. The opening and closing images are key--moving from the expansive opening "winter light / opens" to the smallest detail under foot; the "multiple disordered tones" is a touchstone for the whole poem, and of course the poem begins and ends in that "numinous" realm that Levertov mentions in discussing her poetry (see the exercise on Bb)
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