17 pages • 34 minutes read
Swan and Shadow
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Themes
The Inevitability of Change
As symbolized by the swan’s quick motion over the water, change is inevitable. The swan cannot stay in one place; it floats along the eyeline or rises from the water in a flutter of wings. The poem’s call-and-response technique shows that the swan’s arrival is highly anticipated: “When Soon before its shadow fades” (Line 11). However, the swan’s arrival itself foreshadows its departure. The speaker is aware of this inevitability, realizing that the swan will appear moments before its shadow dissolves.
In Line 18, the poem emphasizes the present moment: “[E]ven after this bird this hour both drift by atop the perfect sad instant now.” The swan and the hour both pass; they cannot be stopped. The “now” is perfect, yet “instant” and “sad”; “instant” because it exists only in the experienced moment and “sad” because the present moment is always lost (Line 18). Thus, the poem expresses its deep, metaphysical engagement with the nature of change. People dread change, yet change is the only constant in life because of the nature of existence.
However, the swan’s passage is not entirely pessimistic. The swan is a harbinger of change: The scene before its arrival and the scene after its departure are not the same. Before the swan appears, the moment is “O so / gray” (Lines 7-8), but afterwards, the place is a “vast / pale / hush” (Lines 27-29) and “sudden dark” (Line 33). The swan’s disappearance has left the sudden darkness one feels when something significant has ended. However, the swan has caused a transformation, giving the speaker something on which to reflect.
The Complex Nature of Cognition and Memory
The poem focuses on how objects are recognized and committed to memory. However, the process of memory-making is not linear and straightforward. In the first half of the poem, the speaker describes how the swan sparks a moment of recognition in the minds of those watching it:
“As at the very edges / of where we take shape in the dark air / this object bares its image awakening / ripples of recognition that will / brush darkness up into light” (Lines 13-17).
The eye captures the image of the swan, and sends it to the brain; the cognitive ability of the watchers (“we,” including the speaker and the readers) uses its memories to process that the image is a swan and its reflection. The light of knowing this object merges with the darkness of ignorance. The watchers know this object is a swan because they have a visual memory and a name for a swan. The disappearing, dissolving image of the swan as it swims away or flies off is more difficult to pin down because it looks like the water is breaking it up and regathering it. Taken together, the memory of the swan and its shadow is anything but photographic. It is subjective, abstract, and intangible. Thus, the poem shows that memory does not always reflect facts objectively.
As the swan disappears, its image trails behind, making it look like the reflection is driving away the object. This contrasts the first half of the poem, where the object bared or uncovered its image. The passing swan slides into “yet-untroubled reflection / this image bears its object darkening / into memorial shades” (Lines 20-22). The reflection or image is untroubled because the image is still intact in water. The further the image slants, the more it will begin to ripple and break up. However, reflection here has another meaning, in the sense of contemplation. After the swan’s appearance, the speaker’s memory is fresh and contemplates the swan more immediately. As time passes, the memory will become more “troubled” by subjectivity, much like the swan “darkening / into memorial shades” (Lines 21-22). The word “shades” evokes complexity (as in shades of grey) beyond the binary of light and dark, and it is also an archaic term for ghosts. The latter meaning is emphasized by the descriptor “memorial” (Line 22). The memory of the swan is both its ghost and a monument (memorial) to the swan.
Art and Nature
Nature is inspiring, and art tries to capture its beauty. Nature’s beauty can transform into a memory or an impression, analogous to how the brain creates memories. However, the art—painting, song, poem—is never a replica of the natural object. Even a photograph is not a replica of the natural object because it captures the object only under certain conditions of light. However, this does not mean that art is lesser than nature. In fact, one of Hollander’s key poetic beliefs was that art and nature are inseparable; how one perceives and expresses the natural object is also a part of art.
The poem’s form resembles its subject, a swan and its reflection, however, the form and words still cannot capture the swan exactly. Instead, this poem captures the impression the swan and its reflection made on the poet. The poet also challenges the notion that a poem is spontaneous or natural. “Swan and Shadow,” while based on nature, is itself a complex and deliberately structured work of art. Hollander then raises important questions about the definitions of art and nature. Art might be inspired by nature, but it is not its reproduction; art is in continuum with nature.
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