Analysis of New Mexican Mountain
Robinson Jeffers 1887 (Allegheny) – 1962 (Carmel-by-the-Sea)
I watch the Indians dancing to help the young corn at Taos
pueblo. The old men squat in a ring
And make the song, the young women with fat bare arms, and a
few shame-faced young men, shuffle the dance.
The lean-muscled young men are naked to the narrow loins,
their breasts and backs daubed with white clay,
Two eagle-feathers plume the black heads. They dance with
reluctance, they are growing civilized; the old men persuade them.
Only the drum is confident, it thinks the world has not changed;
the beating heart, the simplest of rhythms,
It thinks the world has not changed at all; it is only a dreamer,
a brainless heart, the drum has no eyes.
These tourists have eyes, the hundred watching the dance, white
Americans, hungrily too, with reverence, not laughter;
Pilgrims from civilization, anxiously seeking beauty, religion,
poetry; pilgrims from the vacuum.
People from cities, anxious to be human again. Poor show how
they suck you empty! The Indians are emptied,
And certainly there was never religion enough, nor beauty nor
poetry here ... to fill Americans.
Only the drum is confident, it thinks the world has not changed.
Apparently only myself and the strong
Tribal drum, and the rockhead of Taos mountain, remember
that civilization is a transient sickness.
Scheme | axxx axxx Bxcx xcxx xxxx Bxcx |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110100101101111 100111001 01010110111100 111111001 01101111010101 11011111 110101011111 010111010011011 100111001101111 0101010110 1101111111110010 010101111 1101101010011 010010011100110 10100101001010010 100101010 1011010111001111 111100100110 01001110010011101 1001110100 100111001101111 0100101001 1010011110010 10010101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,257 |
Words | 216 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 42 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 169 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 28, 2023
- 1:04 min read
- 120 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"New Mexican Mountain" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32821/new-mexican-mountain>.
Discuss this Robinson Jeffers poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In