“Time of the Wolf” by Cynthia Cruz
http://www.mudcityjournal.com/cynthia-cruz/ Darkness. Desolation. Death. Worry. They all follow me throughout my experience with Cruz’s work. And that continues with today's selection. Let's start with the title: “Time of the Wolf.” In an instant, my brain flashes to this idea of a village, perhaps more primitive or just small, one that lives in fear during this season as it's when the wolves prey and they must protect themselves. Even with no actual imagery given, this image is so clear and so powerful. Again I have been sucked into the visionary world of this poem. “The wailing of women.” Sound. Almost more powerful than sight. I can hear the cries plainly and clearly in my head. Alliteration appears and gives the poem a rhythmic beat or flow that will be instrumental later. Now, why use “wailing” instead of “cries” or “groans?” Wailing means to manifest or feel deep sorrow, to lament. Any other word could have suggested anger or pain, but wailing specifically targets grief or sorrow. In the very first line, we know that these women are grieving deeply. And for what? Let's explore. With the second line, we get a clearer idea of the magnitude of this noise. The lamenting “was like a procession of voices.” So not only is it full of emotions, it is loud and it is emanating throughout the environment of this poem. All together, the first stanza conveys all the imagery of the poem by using audio. No actual visual descriptions have been given, yet we already know the swarm of emotions pouring out invading all of the space around these women. People. Or at least a person is introduced to us in the second stanza. Not just any person, but an “orphan.” Orphans denote a sense of loss, a sense of abandonment and solitude. A character only fit to accompany the wailing of the women. What's the orphan doing? We have action enlightening our minds to a little bit of visual in the poem. He (or she) “took two pieces of wood,” okay that seems innocent enough. Not sad or emotional at all. Then the orphan “connected them with twine.” Still not super emotional or at least I don't feel anything out of the ordinary when I imagine this child performing these actions against a black hole that is the environment so far of this poem. In the last line of the second stanza, we see the final product. “To form a makeshift cross.” Bam! Let the waterworks start. This orphan is making a cross mostly likely for his lost parent’s or parents’ grave. Now we know why the women are grieving, why they are wailing. Somebody has been lost. Stanza three. The last stanza. “Then we watched,” I want to stop right there for a second. Before this moment, we don't know who is observing, who is recording this scene. But Cruz gives us a “we,” a seemingly unattached one. One not connected to the story in any way, merely an observer. It could almost be us. After all, we’re observing this story. We hear and see all that is going on. We feel what is being felt. Again we are a part of this new world created by the poem. What are we watching now? “The men with their torches moved forward on their horses” is the moment we are currently capturing. Torches, this relates back to my beginning ideas of wolves. People would use fire to scare away any predators out to attack them, like wolves. And this would be common in small villages or towns on the outskirts of civilized land, prone to attack. The horses, their rhythmic pace, is started by that alliteration in THE FIRST STANZA! Told you it would be important. It also creates a pace of a procession, one likely to be associated with a funeral. Probably of the orphan’s parents who were most likely taken by the wolf. The final line, finally. A sense of environment is given, “through the night’s black ocean, like ships.” But wait, isn't the environment still dark? By leaving us oblivious to the surroundings of the poem, we actually knew the environment. Everything is set against a black hole of a background. Nothing can be seen and the sense of “oceans” and “ships” only adds to that rolling rhythm of the procession. Everything is orchestrated as intended, everything is for a purpose. Without that impenetrable darkness, without that sense of “I have no clue where I am currently at in this poem,” all the emotion would be drowned out. The lack of visual makes the audio even stronger and portrays the emotions even more deeply. We felt confused because we couldn't see as the characters in the poem felt confused. We felt that overwhelming sense of loss because nothing could distract us. We were scared because they were scared. The dark fosters fear, it magnifies worry, it breaks the strong, kills the weak, and we have fallen prey as well.
3 Comments
Kerston from WV
1/11/2017 08:11:29 am
Great analysis! You gave me A LOT of info on the entire poem that I was sort of confused with!
Reply
Jessica from VA
1/13/2017 05:13:05 am
I applaud you for your very thorough analysis! In fact, there is not really much for me to add to your analysis, so I just thought I might give you a different perspective.
Reply
1/13/2017 06:29:00 am
Thank you! That's a really interesting perspective. I hadn't thought of the use of the religious symbols with the wolf as well. I think this casts an even darker aura on this poem.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
BriannaFull time thinker, full time nerd Archives
July 2017
Categories |