50 Poetry for Students

garden plots, literally, but, figuratively, our homes

and our beds may be cheerless and gray, as though

they are being rained on. Finally, the speaker

reaches a conclusion, finding what he has been

looking for throughout the entire afternoon (and the

entire poem). What he has found is “the word”—

the language that captures the vitality of expres-

sion. Wright italicized line 72 to stress its signifi-

cance. He tells us that “Description’s an element,”

meaning that the act of expressing ourselves and

the use of language is as important to human life

as are “air or water.” The three words that end the

poem (line 73) are like an exclamation point on the

entire work. And the poet has reached “that pure

grace,” which is language itself as he refers to it in

the later collection, Appalachia.

Themes.

Religion and Death

Charles Wright’s personal religious views play

a significant role in much of his work, and they are

obviously flavored with the fundamentalism of

southern denominations. But admitting a basic be-

lief in a supreme being does not tell the entire story

of one of this poet’s common themes. In “Black

Zodiac,” as in all his work, there is a tension kin-

dled by his faith in God, almost a love-hate rela-

tionship that often occurs when strong and fervent

feelings come into play. From the outset of the

poem, the religious references, the “master’s,” in

the first stanza, are described as elusive and diffi-

cult to understand. They “mix / And mismatch” and

are “like air / Without a meaning.” The second

stanza brings religion and death together and con-

tains biblical citations as well as language associ-

ated with fire-and-brimstone doctrines: “dust and

ashes,” “revile him,” and “speaking in fear and

tongues.” Wright seldom mentions religion with-

out incorporating some relation to death and, there-

fore, a direct meeting with God. He acknowledges

that some people will be happy with that encounter,

some will be angry, and some will be fearful. Re-

gardless of the emotion, however, eventually

“we’re out of here.” In this poem, Wright appears

ambivalent in his own feelings. On one hand, he

expresses old-fashioned sentiments of a religiously

fundamental nature, and on the other hand he in-

tellectualizes the idea of God, thinking in more ab-

stract terms. He blends heaven and the constella-

tions, eternity and astrological signs, the afterlife

and a zodiac of letters. Our souls become calligra-

phers and “word-wards” for God, all of which

sharply contrasts to—and yet mixes with—the bib-

lical notion of crying out in praise and of speaking

in tongues. “Black Zodiac” leaves room for both

evangelical and philosophical thought on religion,

but death goes hand in hand with whichever side

we fall.

Landscape

Poets do not often get so much inspirational

mileage out of their own back yards, but Wright’s

entire Black Zodiaccollection is full of imagery,

allusion, and description based upon Sunday ob-

servations from a lawn chair. In the poem “Black

Zodiac,” he includes several landscape reflections,

but is even more extensive in describing “sky-

Black Zodiac

Topics for

Further

Study

• This assignment has two parts. First, write a
  brief essay describing a natural setting that you
  see on a regular basis, perhaps your own back-
  yard. Write the essay from memory. Next, go to
  the place you have described and write a second
  brief essay about the landscape as you are ob-
  serving it. Notice how the two writings differ
  and how they are alike.


• Read a collection of poetry by a southern poet
  (other than Charles Wright) and write an essay
  discussing any southern influences that are evi-
  dent in the work.


• The connection and disconnection between God
  and the physical universe has been debated for
  centuries. Write an essay describing your own
  feelings on the subject.


• Pretend you live in a time and place in which
  written language has not yet developed. De-
  scribe what your typical day may be like, what
  your activities may be and how you “communi-
  cate” with other people in the community.


• If you wrote a poem leading up to the final line,
  “That’s the word,” what would your “word” be
  and why would it be worth writing a poem
  about?