The Drunk in the Furnace by W. S. Merwin
"The Drunk in the Furnace" by W. S. Merwin explores themes of human disconnection from both the environment and spiritual fulfillment. The book juxtaposes contrasting figures: a Greek warrior-hero, Odysseus, and a marginalized street person, representing the universal human struggle. Odysseus embodies the endless wandering and internal conflict inherent in the quest for purpose and belonging, a journey marked by forgetfulness and unresolved dilemmas. In the poem "One Eye," Merwin reflects on the proverb about the one-eyed man ruling in a land of the blind, illustrating the limitations of perceived advantages in a world where true understanding remains elusive. The titular character, a singing derelict, symbolizes societal neglect and the consequences of environmental degradation, as he resides among the remnants of a discarded furnace. This figure serves as a poignant reminder of the human tendency to isolate and ignore those in distress, ultimately reflecting a cycle of casting out that perpetuates harm even to the innocent. Merwin's work resonates with a somber tone that offers little hope for resolution, urging readers to confront the complexities of human existence and the impact of societal choices on both individuals and the environment.
The Drunk in the Furnace by W. S. Merwin
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1960
Type of work: Poetry
The Work
With The Drunk in the Furnace, Merwin intensified and expanded his earlier position that human beings had become increasingly subject to divorce from their environment and from their integrating spiritual centers. The book is enclosed by two defining figures, a Greek warrior-hero and a street person, who reflect for Merwin the typical human situation. The first is the title character in “Odysseus,” the epic wandering hero of the Homeric poems, about whom Alfred, Lord Tennyson had written two poems in the high Victorian mode projecting Odysseus’s role as the model male hero, the man whose will admits no obstacles to his quest.
Merwin’s Odysseus character is internally and externally a wanderer. This represents a dilemma that cannot seem to be resolved regardless of what choice the hero makes. Merwin exemplifies this conflict in his poem in the way the hero often cannot remember who caused his wandering and where his destination lies. Ultimately, the hero must come to terms with his internal conflict before he can externally find his home.
“One Eye” considers the probable consequences of the proverb “In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king.” Commonly, this saying is taken to summarize folk wisdom, that one can capitalize on one’s advantages by choosing one’s objective audience carefully. Things do not work out this way in Merwin’s world. Although One-Eye at first finds immediate acceptance, his situation quickly begins to pall. As king, he discovers his subjects rich in goods from which he cannot profit, such as their intricate music. Worse, he learns that he cannot share his gift, his advantage, with them: No matter what he does, they will never see. In the end, he cannot save them from their common human fate. He is powerless to change the fundamental conditions of their lives and death.
Merwin uses the image of the singing derelict from the title poem to close this volume. The poem actually begins with the image of the abandoned furnace, cast off to add its litter of decay to an already poisonous creek. This illustrates Merwin’s view of what humans do to themselves, progressively contaminating their environment until it can no longer support life. The drunk, equally cast out by society, appropriately houses himself in this pile of junk, from which he serenades the community. The good people ignore him, for good or evil, but their children cannot keep from gaping at him and, the poet says, studying him. What they learn is the human way: casting out and refusing, even to their own harm. Merwin at this point holds out little hope.
Bibliography
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