"Telephone Poles," by John Updike 1/25/12

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

REACTION: By the name of this poem, I can easily deduce the main subject matter of telephone poles. Upon reading this poem for the first time, I feel like the author is describing a human made object that is commonly ignored. It is apparent that the author does use a large amount of euphony throughout the lines and stanzas. I do not, however, see much past a description of a simple, ignored, man-made item.

PARAPHRASE:

Around for a very long time, they will outlive the tree with one of the longest lifespans. We see them all the time. They are on every street, but they have faded to the background. We do not see all that is behind them. If we could, maybe we would be impressed with them.

We made them, though. We can see that in the details like the roughened bark, the cleats, and the spikes. We made them to accommodate ourselves. Our creation is better than nature’s. It is not possible to climb a trees as easily. They not provide as much shade, but they do not shed their leaves. They change less than the evergreen trees, yet they are never green.  

SWIFTT:

-S/W:  The author uses a variety of complex sentences within this poem. He does not keep a constant rhyme or meter, but he does use a variety of rhyme methods like assonance and alliteration within the lines. When considering word choice, the author uses interesting words throughout the poem. For instance, he describes the trees as “savage sieving” and uses phrases like “incredulous to their fearsome crowns of bolts.” The usage of larger words contribute to a more definite description and help with the tone.

-I: The most imagery is used to actually describe the telephone poles. At the beginning of the second stanza, the author describes important aspect like the roughened second bark and the spikes on the sides at even intervals. Even a person who has not seen this common object has a clear mental picture. The author also draws the reader to picture other trees to compare to the poles, like elms and evergreens and trees that lose their leaves and turn to the autumnal colors.

-F: The author has a use of similes within the poem to heighten and branch the meaning. The first simile is “like the eyes of a savage sieving the trees”  when the savage is searching for food. This comparison shows that the busy human lives do not leave us with enough time to notice the little details. The second simile is “like a race of giants that have faded into mere mythology” which is compared to the poles themselves. They way in which mythology became a support system for the lives of ancient people, the telephone poles are a support system for the electronic lives people live today.

-T: The tone of this poem can be described as prideful, but detached. The author describes society as a whole detached from the details that make up our culture. The way in which he describes the poles show a pride he has in human made objects. The author describes every minute detail of the poles, from the spikes in the sides to insulators and struts. The disjoint forms when he explains the public reaction to this object. The complex vocabulary used in portraying the people disconnects the author from the public. He compared the people to creatures searching for food.

-T: The theme of this poem is the way in which society regards human made objects that support our lives. While telephone poles may not be the most ornate object, they are necessary for today’s life. The tone and figurative language help to develop this theme, because a pride is taken in the poles, but appreciation and acknowledgement is not shown.

CONCLUSION: This poem does more than describe the simple object of a telephone pole. This poem shows societies reaction to an important, but plain part of technology. The thought and rationing behind the poles are completely unappreciated and the poles are ignored altogether by people who have better things to do. The truth behind this integral part of society is just a small, unimportant part of busy lives of humans.