Illustration

"Illustration"IA novice was sitting on a corniceHigh over the city. AnglesCombined their prayers with thoseOf the police, begging her to come off it. One lady promised to be her friend.“I do not want a friend,” she said.A mother offered her some nylons Stripped from her very legs. Others brought Little offerings of fruit and candy,the blind man all his flowers. If anyCould be called successful, these were, For that the scene should be a ceremony Was what she wanted. “I desire Monuments,” she said.“I want to move Figuratively, as waves caressThe thoughtless shore. You people I know Will offer me every good thingI do not want. But please rememberI died accepting them.” With that, the wind Unpinned her bulky robes, and nakedAs a roc’s egg, she dr ifted softly downwardOut of the angel’s tenderness and the minds of men.IIMuch that is beautiful must be discardedSo that we may resemble a tallerImpression of ourselves. Moths climb in the flame, Alas, that wish only to be the flame:They do not lessen our stature.We twinkle under the weightOf indiscretions. But how could we tellThat of the truth we know, she wasThe somber vestment? For that night, rockets sighed Elegantly over the city, and there was feasting: There is so much in that moment!So many attitudes toward that flame,We might have soared from earth, watching her glide Aloft, in her peplum of bright leaves.But she, of course, was only an effigyOf indifference, a miracleNot meant for us, as the leaves are notWinter’s because it is t he end.Analysis:The poem “Illustration” by John Ashbery is about a nun leaping from the top of a building. The poem starts with a nun sitting on top of a tall city building. The townspeople and police begged and bribed the woman to come down. She was offered everything from friendship to flowers and candy, but the nun refused. Instead of material possessions, she desired what was not worldly. Naked, she jumped from the top of the building and took her life. In the second part of “Illustration,” Ashbery describes the attitude and reasoning behind the nun’s suicide. He explains the most of what is beautiful on earth must be ignored in order to become better people. Much of what people do is unexplainable, and Ashbery compares this to the reason why moths climb in into flames. This flame is compared to the reason why the nun committed suicide. Ashbery ends by saying that the nun was a miracle that could not be understood by man.This poem has several messages dealing with material and worldly possessions and somewhat compares to some of Anne Bradstreet’s works. For example, Bradstreet’s poem “The Flesh and Spirit” deals with two siste rs and ones argument for worldly wealth and the others argument for spiritual wealth. Ashbery’s piece has some very common themes. The nun’s refusal for friendship and material bribes shows that she wants more out of life. The line, “’I desire monuments,” she said. “I want to move figuratively, as waves caress the thoughtless shore’” shows her desire for something greater. What they offer will never please her and because of that she takes her own life. In the second part of the poem, Ashbery offers an expl anation of the nun’s thoughts. He says that in order to transcend and become a better being, one must shed all worldly vices. Most of what society has deemed as beautiful and desirable does not help an individual become better. The moth analogy explains why peoplemay do things for not apparent reason. The moths fly into the flame just to be in it, even though it kills them. People’s attitude to this flame, may be an attitude to an unknown desire. The desire to do something that no one else understands. The last line, “But she, of course, was only an effigy of indifference, a miracle not meant for us, as the leaves are not winter’s because it is the end,” may mean that her desire is not meant to be understood. The reason for her suicide is not for us to judge as it is not our right.This poem was one of the more difficult pieces for me to interpret. However, I like how Ashbery gives the reader a story then an explanation. Reading this for the first time I thought the explanation in the second part of the poem would detail why the nun required other desires. Instead he talks about motive, and why people do the things they do. I do agree with his reasoning in that people have to shed much of what society has established as beauty in order to become better people. Much of what we are told is desirable and good is actually the opposite. However, as moths climb into the flame just to be in the flame, people will make their own decisions with no apparent explanation. I think the flame in the part is the most important element. From the way I interpreted it, the flame is the desire that people have. In the line “So many attitudes toward that flame, we might have soared from earth,” Ashbery explains that everyone has a different attitude toward each other’s desires. Th e reason why we do what we do is not for everyone else to understand, as the nun was a gift not meant for us to understand.。