Insomnia. Homer. Taut Sails by Osip Mandelstam
"Insomnia. Homer. Taut Sails" is a short yet evocative poem by Russian poet Osip Mandelstam, characterized by its first-person narrative and classical motifs. The poem explores the theme of insomnia, as the persona struggles to find sleep while reading a list of ships from Homer's Iliad. This act of reading serves as a catalyst for a vivid imaginative journey where the ships are transformed into white cranes flying over Greece, symbolizing a graceful escape and exploration. Throughout the poem, Mandelstam employs rich metaphors, notably the interplay between the serene imagery of cranes and the ominous roar of the sea, creating a contrast that reflects the persona's mental state.
The poem also subtly interrogates deeper themes, such as love and longing, particularly through the mention of Helen of Troy, which evokes a sense of yearning tied to both personal and historical narratives. As the poem progresses, the persona grapples with a dilemma—whether to heed the call of the sea or the words of Homer—culminating in the eventual acceptance of sleep as the overwhelming sound of the sea takes over. Mandelstam's masterful use of imagery and metaphor invites readers to reflect on the human experience of insomnia, the search for meaning in art and literature, and the fleeting nature of sleep itself.
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Insomnia. Homer. Taut Sails by Osip Mandelstam
First published: 1916, as “Bessonnitsa. Gomer. Tugie parusa,” in Kamen, second edition; English translation collected in Modern Russian Poetry, 1967
Type of poem: Lyric
The Poem
“Insomnia. Homer. Taut Sails” is a short poem of only three stanzas, told in the first person. It is untitled, like many of Osip Mandelstam’s poems, although the very first word, “Insomnia,” fits the mood of the entire poem. It is one of his early poems and one of many poems in which he used classical motifs. The lines are six-foot iambic, rhymed regularly abba.
The poem opens with three noun sentences, setting the stage in a most concise manner. The persona is suffering from insomnia and is reading the list of the ships of Homer’s Iliad (c. 800 b.c.e.), most likely hoping that it will help him fall asleep. He has read half of it when, in his imagination, the sails of the ships on the list turn into white cranes, which are now flying high above Hellas. The connection between the first words of the poem becomes clear: Insomnia leads to Homer, and Homer leads to white sails and the ships.
In his imagination, the poet sees the ships as a flock of cranes and follows them as they fly off in wedge formation to distant lands. They are compared, parenthetically, to royalties whose heads are covered with the foam of gods. The poet then unexpectedly asks where they are flying, even though he gave a hint in stanza 1. He immediately gives another hint, after suddenly shifting the perspective, by asking the Achaeans another unexpected question: What would Troy be to them without Helen?
In the third stanza, the poet provides further elucidation about the mystery by shifting his focus again to the sea and Homer. He flatly states that both the sea and Homer are governed by love, but now he is faced with a dilemma: Should he listen to the sea or to Homer? The dilemma resolves itself when Homer falls silent and only the majestic roar of the sea is audible.
By now, sleep is taking over as the sea inundates the persona’s pillow: He has sunk into drowsiness after the dilemma has been resolved. The perspective shifts back to the persona and the bed, where it all began.
Forms and Devices
In this poem, as in most of Mandelstam’s poems, metaphors and images reign supreme, beginning with the opening metaphor of Homer. Homer serves not only as the provider of reading material (the catalog of ships), but also, in a much more important role, as a guide toward the revelation that the persona (poet) is seeking. This metaphor also opens the door for other metaphors, all of which are closely connected with Homer.
The sea is the second important metaphor. At first, it is a beautiful, calm sea on which the ships/white cranes sail majestically. Toward the end, it turns into “the dark sea” that roars and crashes heavily, the dominant sound before the persona sleeps. The sea metaphor also contains a clue to the central message of the poem.
The third important metaphor is that of the cranes, which clearly stand for the ships. They are seen as beautiful white creatures sailing gracefully through space. They are not used here merely for description, however—nor is their geographical destination particularly important, or else the poet would have told the reader about it immediately. By sailing to Troy, as the poet hints by mentioning the Achaeans, the cranes direct the reader’s attention toward the focal point of the poem.
Helen is used as the fourth metaphor, in which the three previous metaphors converge. Although she is mentioned only once, she provides the all-important clue to the rationale of the poem.
Thus the four main metaphors work in harmony not only to bring sleep to the persona of the poem but also to provide the answer he is seeking. All four are therefore indispensable; remove one and the whole edifice collapses.
There are several striking images in the poem. The description of the long-extended flock of cranes and their wedge formation adds grace to the significant role of the birds. The white vision of their graceful sailing amid the blue sky and the sea lends them a touch of royalty. The crane image is reinforced by the image of the kings, who are sailing on and guiding the ships. The kings’ heads are covered with foam produced either by the swift sailing of the ships or by clouds descending upon their heads. Moreover, the foam is modified by “divine”—no doubt a reference to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who was born out of sea foam. (Mandelstam has used this motif in another poem, “Silentium.”)
The poem concludes with the image of a dark, roaring sea that crashes and thunders against the pillow, providing a fitting climax to the search and to the solution. It is interesting that the whiteness of the cranes contrasts with the darkness of the sea, as if to underscore the change of focus of both the persona and the reader from the lightness of the pre-sleep condition to the heaviness immediately preceding the sleep.