Denise Levertov's poem "Fellow Passengers" is structured with four stanzas, beginning with a quatrain, followed by two sestets, and ending with a quatrain. The lines are enjambed somewhat irregularly in order to allow for the specific number of lines in each stanza. The straight-forward structure of the poem is unique when viewed from within the context of Levertov's 1978 book "Life in the Forest," in which many of the poems are written in a modernist lyric style unrestricted by traditional forms. The freely structured poems allow the subject and lyrical thoughts, emotions, and images Levertov wanted to convey to be emphasized. Although the poet uses the fairly simple stanza structure in "Fellow Passengers" to paint a clear picture for the reader or listener, Levertov manages to create a complex portrait through her description of a young man's interaction with a soldier on a train with a great deal of undertones and subtext.
The poem begins by describing the main character: "a handsome fullgrown child." The incongruity in the first line's phrasing both introduces the subject and sets the tone of the poem. In the subsequent lines of the stanza, the poet focuses on the man's well-groomed appearance -
"A handsome fullgrown child, he seems,
in his well-chosen suit and wedding-ring,
hair not too long or short, taking
a business trip, surely one of his first-(20)"
The image of this man is fleshed out as Levertov emphasizes the fact that he is married, and one can infer that he is probably self-absorbed or at least self-conscious due to his meticulous choice of suit. The emphasis on the wedding ring may imply that he is not only new to the work world, he may be a newlywed as well.
The poet continues in the second stanza, depicting another man about the same age, providing an almost exact opposite contrast to the "fullgrown child." The second man, although blond, is bronzed and bearded. He is bragging, and is even described as an "imperial pirate" -
"listening enthralled to the not-much-older
bearded man in the window seat,
a returned mercenary, bragging of Africa:
bronzed, blondish, imperial pirate
halfaudible, thrillingly, under the jet's monotonous
subdued growling (20)."
This description provides tension between the juxtaposed images of the men, and sets up a deeper look at the "handsome fullgrown child."
The poem continues with Levertov showing a more complex view of the man in the third stanza, in which the tension increases. Although the the naive "baby businessman" is laughing and seems to be having a good time conversing with the mercenary, there seems to be something of an underlying angst that the poet sees and subtly shows the reader.
"The baby businessman, naif, laughs, excitement
springing from him in little splashes - his aura
fragmented - at a whiff of
soiled romance. It is something morbid
that flutters his dark thick lashes, gestures
with such well-cared-for hands, (20)"
Levertov describes his fragmented aura, the implication of which could be that the man is much more complex than his well dressed and clean-cut exterior. The poet hints at "soiled romance," which is intriguing due to the connection with the emphasis on the man's wedding ring in the first stanza, and beneath the fluttering of his dark thick eyelashes and the gesturing of his well-cared-for hands, there is something morbid controlling him.
What does this "morbid"ness imply? Is it an obsession, or is it something that the man can't escape, a fear perhaps?
Levertov takes a turn toward something completely different in the final stanza,showing a jarring notion of the man's "well-cared-for hands... hands his young wife must want to bite, when they fumble, / innocent and impatient, at her tense thighs (20)." These final lines suggest an overtly sexual element, and seems almost lurid in comparison to the overtones of childish innocence at the beginning of the poem.
This perverse and shocking ending shows how the poet when using a simple straight-forward structure is given the liberty to flesh out images, concepts and emotions (even unexpected ones). Levertov does this in four fairly short stanzas: the first quatrain introducing a man in a specific way, then another man of completely opposite nature is introducing in the second sestet providing contrast, and the first man is developed further in the third sestet. Instead of writing about the dynamics between the two men, or even looking into the root of why the young man might be the way he in the abstract intellectual or lyrical poetic way, Levertov introduces the wife of the man in a concrete physical way - adding an element of tangible anxiety and painful awkwardness, but possibly even playfulness and humor as an intentional afterthought to the otherwise introspective and pensive poem.
The dynamic layers of the poem's sociological and psychological elements have the possibility to be analyzed with many interpretations even without looking at the last stanza, but part of the depth of this poem it seems to me, lies in how the final quatrain has the ability to surprise and catch the reader off-guard. I doubt Levertov would have been able to do this so effectively had she not written the poem in this deceptively simple structure.
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