The Rain by Robert Creeley
"The Rain" by Robert Creeley is a poignant poem that uses the imagery of rainfall to explore deep emotional themes and personal reflection. The poem begins with a rhythmic and repetitive tone, emphasizing the persistent sound of rain throughout the night. This natural phenomenon serves as a backdrop for Creeley's introspective questioning of his own identity and emotional state, raising concerns about the permanence of feelings such as "hardness" and "uneasiness."
As the poem progresses, the focus shifts from mere observation to a heartfelt plea for love and connection, indicating a desire for intimacy that transcends emotional fatigue. Creeley contrasts human frailty with an idealized notion of love, suggesting that emotional fulfillment can be akin to the refreshing qualities of rain. He invites his "love" to embody joy and fluidity, linking the attributes of nature with essential human experiences. The final lines evoke a sense of cautious optimism, reflecting Creeley's ability to balance modest hope with deeper emotional truths, making "The Rain" a relatable exploration of the complexities of love and longing.
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The Rain by Robert Creeley
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1962 (collected in For Love: Poems, 1950-1960)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
Among his lyrics that use an image from the natural world as an occasion for an emotional revelation, “The Rain” is one of Creeley’s most poignant and successful efforts. It opens with the direct, lean language that is Creeley’s special signature:
All night the sound had
It then proceeds to a psychological correlative, where the poet asks “What am I to myself” and considers whether “hardness” is permanent, whether he is to “be locked in this/ final uneasiness” that even “rain falling” cannot alleviate.
Then the poem moves beyond observation (of the self in the context of the phenomena of nature) to a fervent declaration of necessity:
Love, if you love me,
The plague of human frailty, which he condemns in three multisyllabic constructions that stand in stark contrast to the poem’s other diction, is a part of the common affliction that dismembers relationships. As a remedy, Creeley then instructs his “love” to “Be wet/ with a decent happiness.” The joining of rain, its properties of liquidity and fluidity, with a desirable human attribute unifies everything, and the mixture of the modestly hopeful and the idealistic in the last line perfectly captures the reserved or cautious optimism that is one of Creeley’s most appealing features.
Bibliography
Allen, Donald, ed. Contexts of Poetry: Interviews with Robert Creeley, 1961-1971. Bolinas, Calif.: Four Seasons, 1973.
Clark, Tom. Robert Creeley and the Genius of the American Commonplace. New York: New Directions, 1993.
Edelberg, Cynthia. Robert Creeley’s Poetry: A Critical Introduction. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1978.
Faas, Ekbert, and Maria Trombaco. Robert Creeley: A Biography. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 2001.
Ford, Arthur. Robert Creeley. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1978.
Foster, Edward Halsey. Understanding the Black Mountain Poets. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995.
Fox, Willard. Robert Creeley, Edward Dorn, and Robert Duncan: A Reference Guide. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1989.
Oberg, Arthur. Modern American Lyric: Lowell, Berryman, Creeley, and Plath. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1977.
Rifkin, Libbie. Career Moves: Olson, Creeley, Zukofsky, Berrigan, and the American Avant-Garde. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2000.
Terrell, Carroll, ed. Robert Creeley: The Poet’s Workshop. Orono, Maine: National Poetry Foundation, 1984.
Wilson, John, ed. Robert Creeley’s Life and Work: A Sense of Increment. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1987.