Patrick McEvoy-Halston

English453/Q01
ProfessorDougBeardsley
12August202

Languageandthe Poetin MichaelOndaatje's"Early Morning,Kingstonto Gananoque"

MichaelOndaatje's"Early Morning,Kingstonto Gananoque"arguesthat natureis

ultimatelybeyondman's control. But by beingopento allowinglanguage,eachwritten word, to

developthis themeso that the poemmight seema collaborativecollectiveeffort betweenthe

new directionsthat languageitself opensup, we

planningof a shapingwill andthe spontaneous

experiencetensionin the poemthathaslittle to do with its ostensiblesubjectof natureplotting

againstman. Ultimatelythe poemdevelopsinto beingmoreaboutthe tendencyof languageto

--xgr, tamethe poet,asit is aboutman'smistakenimpressionthathe hastamednature.

s
\'l.jD\--
The poetbeginsthe poemasif he (not she,I think) wantsto distortour everyday

of natureassomethingcivil, but otherwisethe poetbeginswithout a masterplan to

apprehension

tamethe wordsthat follow into a predictableshape.We sensethatthe particularwordschosen

o'The
seemto directthe poemasmuchasthepoet'sshapingwill does. Thebeginningwords,

twenty," may havebeenchosenbecausetogethertheybeginthe poemforcefully,the right way

(/
to leavein the reader'smind a senseof propheticinevitability. But the choicehasconsequences:

a sensethat the
choosingto emphasizeandusealliterationcementswithin the subconscious

beginningsof wordsareimportant,which leavesthe poetin the controlof languagewhich, as

is difficult to escapefrom. The next adjective

this sentenceasmuch asthe poemdemonstrates,

used,"tangled,"might well createa desiredeffectin his reader,but which, gtventhe poem's

start,may havebeenselectedfrom a curtailedlist of possiblewords(possiblyincluding"tough"

or "treacherous").

Throughoutfu?offi, that areso

words,especiallythe wordsshosento begina sentence

ominous,so full of portentthat theylikely would haveus pausewithout the help of a line break,
 1eaveechoesinthepoet'smindasmuchasintffisg[tusreaders.Thefragment,..Deepin

il*isninfthat
the fields," leavesthe poetwith the letters"d" and"f' so entrenched we cannot

words"dirt" and"fern" were"chosen,"

be surehow accurateit is to saythat the subsequent
r'
or inevitable,suggestinga shapedconsciousness.
suggestinga shapingconsciousness,

This feelingof language,or letters,dictatingto the poetmay in fact be what concernsthe

L
poetasthe poemdevelops.The words"forming" and"shaping"may appearin{h€"o€fn after

andhis
the first staruafor this reason.Man's attemptto controlnaturemay be wrong-headed,

illusory, but the realbattlethat comesto concernthe poetmight well be thatbetween

success,

^-A poetandlettersoverwhich oneis the word-smith.Whenthe poetwritesof crowswho "arch

behinda shieldof sun,"perhaps,at somelevel,he is thinking of the tendencyof his wordsto

,/ of words
disappearbut only to "swoop" backinto the poem(unbidden?).The sequence

beginningwith "t" atthebeginningef*efefm is endedwhenthe poet,sensingthat onemore

subsequentword beginningwith a'f'would makethe poemseemsomekind of poet's exercise,

r bouncesoffthe last letter of the word 'tangled," "d," to free himself from the tyranny of the
,|r.-s
-
o *p*r"rrible "1." However,the word "too," a't-word" later re-appearc,"out of the mist."
.-.pq'
\
\ Sotootheword'!ick" appears
swerallinesaftertheselectionof theresonate,

implicating,ominous,loadedword "picnic." Here"picnicn'suggestsa feebleattempton the part

of manto pretendthat a simpleandharmoniousrelationshipexistsbetweenman andnature. It is

asnaiveandunimaginativean assumptionasthe poetwho thinksthat allowing languageto

directhis art is a kind of self-surrender asnon-threatening.

that canonly be experienced

The poemconveysa sensethat language,no lessthanwomento an insecureman,may

cometo be experiencedasmalevolent.As if in responseto a sensethat languagehastakentoo

stronga hold on the directionof the poem,at the endof{rerpogn, the poetassertshimself. By
 3

tellingusthatnatureis atwort "shryingnewkindsof women" hehopesto showthathecan

fathomthemasterplansofantagonisticforces,whetherthosebelongingto natureor to language.

v
Theshorttwo'lineconclusion" afterthepauseafterthesecondstanza,hasthefeelofa
especially
.T
l*te-X that was entirely composedbeforebeing written It usesalliteration,but only to prove
seirte,nce

that the poet is, andhasbeenthroughoutt@n, using alliteration,not the reverse.

For this poemat least,the unnaturalwill of wordsnatrnally'breeds"a battleof wills

betweenpoet andlanguage.The poet's pet, language,letters,plot . . .

Lt?
 Work Cited

Ondaatje,Michael. "Early Morning,Kingstonto Gananoque."15CanadianPoetsX3. Ed.

GaryGeddes.Toronto: Oxford, 2001. 336.