Telephone Poles by John Updike

1. Original Text

They have been with us a long time.
They will outlast the elms.
Our eyes, like the eyes of a savage sieving the trees
In his search for game,
Run through them. They blend along small-town streets
Like a race of giants that have faded into mere mythology.
Our eyes, washed clean of belief,
Lift incredulous to their fearsome crowns of bolts, trusses, struts, nuts, insulators, and such
Barnacles as compose
These weathered encrustations of electrical debris¬
Each a Gorgon’s head, which, seized right,
Could stun us to stone.
Yet they are ours. We made them.
See here, where the cleats of linemen
Have roughened a second bark
Onto the bald trunk. And these spikes
Have been driven sideways at intervals handy for human legs.
The Nature of our construction is in every way
A better fit than the Nature it displaces
What other tree can you climb where the birds’ twitter,
Unscrambled, is English? True, their thin shade is negligible,
But then again there is not that tragic autumnal
Casting-off of leaves to outface annually.
These giants are more constant than evergreens
By being never green.

2. Initial Response

                This poem seems to talk about actual telephone poles. John Updike is trying to praise humankind’s advancement towards the future by showing the might of something we don’t seem to notice. The telephone poles, which are something we made, are become more useful and powerful than nature itself. This poem seems to be about admiration of the growth of human civilization.

3. Paraphrase

We’ve always had them.
They’re going to live longer than elms.
Our eyes, like the eyes of a crazy person cutting the trees

In their search for prey,
Run through them. They blend into little town roads
Like a breed of monsters like are now something no one remembers.

Our eyes, that see no more proof,
Look up amazed at the connection of bolts, inductors, and sparks.

Little nicks and pieces jutting out
These old glob of electrical waste.

Each with an amazing head, which if strong enough
Could electrocute us to death.
Yet they are mankind’s objects. We created them.
Look here, where the shoes of workers
Have created a second layer
Onto the original pole. And these nails
Have been put horizontally so that we can climb up them.
The reason we made these poles is

A better look from what used to be here naturally.

In what other trees could you sit next to birds,

Unscrambled, is in English, right? Yes, there is some shade,

But there also isn’t any change if it’s autumn

Falling off of leaves to become bare every year

These giant poles are more steady than evergreens

Because they are never green.

4. SWIFTT

SW = Syntax/Word Choice

                John Updike uses easy to understand words and language. The structure seems fairly normal with no elaborate use of syntax or word choice. The poem flows from one idea to another smoothly and makes it easy for others to understand its figurative language and other characteristics. He uses some words from mythology and references to other things in life.

I = Imaginary

                Updike asks the readers to use their imaginations and create a world that many already live in nowadays. It is a world with towering buildings and human-made trees. He transforms the image of telephone poles in cities to that of predators that feed on trees. The way he describes the poles and the way that they are created is intuitive and allows readers to imagine unnatural objects.

F = Figurative Language

                Updike makes references to the Bible and mythology in the poem. He describes the top of the poles like Gorgon heads because just like the Gorgon, if you though the top of a pole, you could shock yourself and die. He also connects the poles as “woods with spikes in it,” which could be an allusion to the Crucifixion. He also compares humanities eyes to those of a savage who looks past trees and don’t care about nature.

T = Tone

                The tone of the poem seems to be in admiration of the greatness and wonder of these majestic human creations. He feels that humanity is responsible for moving away from the beauty of nature and creating such dangerous and gruesome creations.

T = Theme

                 

                                The theme of the poem is of the creations of mankind. Telephone poles represent our destruction of nature and creation of monsters that could kill us. Updike shows that even the most harmless and simplistic of our creations are as dangerous as a Gorgon’s head.

5. Conclusions

                My initial reaction may have been slightly off. Rather than praising humanity on its skill and finesse of creating such magnificent structures, Updike is actually trying to tell of the destruction and horror that mankind is creating. He compares the poles to the Gorgon’s head and talks about how dangerous they are. Updike worries about the death of trees and that people may begin to stop thinking about the beauty of nature.