Swan and Shadow

by John Hollander
Vintage Book, page 333

As Liz described in her post, this poem caught my eye because it already provided a concrete image of the subject matter. The poem is in the shape of a swan with its reflection in the water. I think one thing that works against this structure is that it makes the poem hard to read and follow in some places; it is not clear whether to read down the neck of the swan or to read horizontally across gaps. An interesting way this poem used imagery is that it answers the specific questions "what?", "when?", and "where?" three lines in a row using those actual words. The word "what" appears by itself, then after a gap the poem goes "A pale signal will appear". After "when", "Soon before its shadow fades". After "where", "here in this pool of opened eye". I thought in this way, the poem incorporated its structure to cleverly give different details of what is going on. Many words and used in the poem gives the reader an image of a darker reflection, such as "shadow fades", "darkening into memorial shades", and "in the dark air". These words give the poem a darker, musty feeling at a pond as opposed to taking place in a clean, clear, and bright area.