I
can't find an "official" poetic term for the form "Little Viral
Song" takes, but it is composed similarly to a sestina in that it contains
six sextets. "Little Viral Song" differs from a sestina in that it
contains no three-line envoi, and Andrew Feld seems to create his own line
repetition pattern here (rather than using the sestina's rigid structure).
Feld
begins each stanza with a variation on (or outright repetition of) the final
line of the preceding stanza. He then ends the poem “full circle” with the same
line that began it. Notice (all quoted):
1. Always the fear was the infection
(1)
[...] One feels near the apocalypse. (6)
2. One feels, near the apocalypse,
(7)
[…]The end would come from that direction.
(12)
3. The end will come from that
direction (13)
[…] Made me think: even here? In Kensington? (18)
4. And even here in Washington (19)
[…] So long to the great winged migration. (24)
5. So long to the great winged
migration: (25)
[…] And there are other, worse, symptoms. (30)
6. Among the other, worse, symptoms
(31)
[…] Always, the fear is the infection. (36)
This structure neatly
mimics the effects of an infection that spreads from one entity to another,
changing slightly with each carrier. But, as a medical infection would remain
mainly unchanged from person to person (the flu is the flu is the flu is the
flu), here, the "fear is the infection" (1; 36), and it passes from
one "entity" (stanza) to another being freely morphed. This mirrors
the panicked passage of information from one source to another, which is rarely
a neat or tidy process.
The first time I read through the book so quickly I hadn't even noticed the symptomatic lines in this poem ended like it's beginning. It's also a very unique way to have form reinforce the poem's content. It seems like after the Aviation Influenza pandemonium that media has been really fixated on disease scares also is really awesome to see a modern poem that has obvious context, but is still applicable to other disease scares faced by the globe.
ReplyDeleteI love how well Feld "puts his finger" on the fact that these epidemics, which lately seem to affect single-digit numbers of Americans, are fixated upon because fear is so "contagious" that it transcends rational perspective.
ReplyDeleteOne characteristic of fear seems to be that it is rarely of the mundane, which is why we'll all freak out over four Ebola cases while, say, smoking cigarettes.
"The end will come from that direction." I find it fascinating how a lot of Americans can be riled up over these sweeping fears that come every couple of years but the real enemies that are responsible for the most deaths in this country continue to operate right under our noses. Big Pharm is the 4th leading cause of death for Americans and Heart Disease is number one. It's funny how we point our finger at these fears from a far when the highest cause of death is right at our doorstep. I think this poem provides with a sense of perspective in that regards.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's the sense of control we feel over certain epidemics that keeps us focused on them versus others. Big Pharm has already infiltrated our country to such an overwhelming degree that fighting it feels futile, but we sure can bar the entry of exported poultry.
Delete*imported poultry
Delete