Poetry Precis #4: “At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian Border”


In “At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian Border” by William Stafford, peaceful imagery is used to create a calm and reflective tone, which is used to bring out the message of peace and that the best type of monument is one in a place where nothing ever happened. The speaker starts from the beginning by describing a perfect, untouched field that conveys a serene and still feeling. The field is where “grass joined hands,” seeming to be a piece of land between the U.S. and Canadian borders. This field, lying in the middle of two countries has experienced no fatalities, no wars, and no violence. It has the potential to become a breeding ground for hatred and fighting, but instead, “no monument stands.” There is nothing that needs to be commemorated in this place, and its inner glory is allowed to shine through, as shown in the line, “the only heroic thing is the sky.” The imagery used with the birds “unfolding their wings across the open” visualizes a place where there is absolute freedom and tranquility, where birds can fly freely without fear, and nature can exist without interruption. Stafford is able to create a beautiful image of this field solely by telling us what is not there, because that is what is truly important. In the final line, he brings this message home by saying, “people celebrate it by forgetting its name.” The reason this “un-national monument” is so pure and great is because no one knows about it. No one needs to remember it for something bad that happened there, or to mourn for the ones who fell there, or even to celebrate the ones who were victorious. This is a place of complete peace, and that is where the message comes through. Stafford is trying to present an anti-war image, and that without war the whole world could be like this field; with no monuments or memorials. He is promoting peace among the nations, and the greatest gift would be to have everywhere be this sort of “non-monument.” Disagreeing with the ideas of monuments in general, he thinks that they shouldn’t be commemorating fatalities or victories, because no type of war is good. He uses imagery to portray this tranquil field, and along with it, the message of peace and harmony that we should strive to attain in our world.

Comments

  1. Efraim WienerSeptember 8, 2016 at 2:23 PM

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  2. Efraim WienerSeptember 8, 2016 at 2:25 PM

    Once again, you really captured the essence of the poem, but you missed a couple things that I would like to highlight on. First off, there was a bit too much of summary and less development of the actual techniques. There needs to be analysis of how the techniques convey the message. Another issue that I had with the précis is that you picked up on the imagery, but not on the personification. The personification of the nature and landscapes, add so much more depth to the poem. Instead of focusing on the imagery, focus more on other techniques. Imagery is great, but see if you can push a little deeper. Also just as I mentioned in my other critique, the summary turned into a bit of repetition. This may have added to the overall size of the précis. Finally, I differed a bit in interpretation of what the poem was going at. My interpretation was that nationality doesn't have to come from war all the time, rather national pride can be found in nature. However, this is merely a difference of interpretation. Either way, good effort and good job!

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