Joshua Jerome Jerome1

Mr. Gallagher

AP Literature

Explication

In the poem Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 [Withheld], Charles Olson

establishes the idea that Gloucester must resist change through allusions to his

past, and the moderate use of metaphor, in addition to the overall structure of the

piece. This sentiment is also clear through the cautionary tone that the speaker

takes up in throughout the poem.

In order to establish Gloucester as he knew it, and the way he felt it should

remain, Olson begins by sharing his early memories with the audience. He makes

mention of how his father “shot his scabby golf” all the while, young Olson “played

baseball into the summer darkness” (1-5). Already, one is able to feel that sense of

community and familiarity that Olson denotes with Gloucester, and the profound

emotional relevance it has to him. These same sentiments are echoed in the third

stanza, as Olson takes the reader back to an even earlier period in his life, as he

illustrates his father coming out “roaring with a bread-knife in his teeth” and his

mother “laughing, so sure, as round as her face” (15-18). From this memory, one

can see that Olson associates these early memories of parents with Gloucester, to

the point where it is possible that the town itself, like his parents is able to provide

him with a sort of fortification, and console that it only can provide. By sharing

these memories with the reader, Olson is ultimately able to establish the profound

significance the town of Gloucester had to him, and why he did not want it to

change.
Joshua Jerome Jerome2

Mr. Gallagher

AP Literature

Explication

As the poem continues, Olson begins to experiment with historic allusions,

tone, and structure in order to drive home his point against change. This is first

seen when he says, “Greeks, is the stopping of the battle” (24-5). This is significant

because the Greeks lived in elaborate city-states, or polis, in which everyone was

bounded together by a sense of community and government, ultimately making

these city-states the ideal municipality. For Olson, it is clear that Gloucester is in

fact his polis, and he wants it to remain that way. In addition to this historic allusion,

Olson also utilizes exaggerated spacing throughout the rest of the poem. This

spacing is intriguing, because when it is compared to the beginning of the piece,

when Olson is reminiscing about the “good old days”, the lines are single spaced,

which symbolize order, and togetherness; however, once those memories end, and

Olson takes the reader to the point and time he was at that moment, the warmth of

familiarity fades, and the harsh and bitter individualism is ushered in, which is in

essence the change that Olson is against. That point is reiterated when Olson says

“I compel/ backwards Gloucester/ to yield, to/ change” (47-50). Olson is not only

outright telling the reader what he wants, but is also hinting at it through his tone.

The Cautionary tone that is expressed through these lines is foreboding almost as

though Olson was a prophet of doom, such as Tiresias from many of the Grecian

legends. In the end, it is clear that through the use of all these literary devices,

Olson is very much against change in Gloucester.

Joshua Jerome Jerome3

Mr. Gallagher

AP Literature

Explication