Introduction
Maya Angelou, a celebrated American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist, is renowned for her powerful and evocative writing. “Remembrance” exemplifies Angelou’s ability to capture complex emotions and experiences with profound intensity. This piece delves into themes of overwhelming love, the interplay between experience and memory, and the transformative power of passion.
In “Remembrance,” Angelou explores how intense love can transcend physical presence, examining the ways in which memory and imagination can be as potent as direct experience. Through her masterful use of imagery, metaphor, and sensory details, Angelou creates a deeply personal yet universally resonant exploration of love’s all-consuming nature.
Brief Summary
“Remembrance” is a lyrical poem that vividly recounts the experience and memory of an overwhelmingly passionate love. The speaker describes a connection so intense that it overthrows reason and blurs the lines between presence and absence. Angelou’s poem navigates the complex landscape of desire, depicting a love that is simultaneously frightening in its intensity and exhilarating in its ability to transport the speaker beyond the bounds of ordinary experience. The poem suggests that the act of remembering can be as powerful and consuming as the original experience itself.
The Divinity of Passion
Angelou begins “Remembrance” by establishing the almost divine nature of the lover and the overwhelming quality of the speaker’s passion. The imagery of the lover “glowing” suggests a godlike radiance, elevating the experience of love to a spiritual plane. This deification of the lover underscores the transformative power of intense passion.
The poet uses vivid sensory imagery to convey how this love transcends ordinary experience:
“Your hands easyweight,
teasing the bees hived in my hair,
your smile at the slope of my cheek.”
These lines not only set an intimate tone but also hint at the awakening of dormant sensations, with the “bees” in the hair implying a stirring of nerves or emotions that have laid quiet until this touch.
Reason Overthrown by Mystery
One of the most striking aspects of “Remembrance” is Angelou’s exploration of how intense passion overwhelms rational thought. This is powerfully expressed in the lines “mystery rapes / my reason.” This strong imagery underscores the complete surrender of logic to the mystical, transformative nature of the experience.
Angelou portrays this loss of reason not as a negative consequence, but as an integral part of the transcendent experience of love. The speaker doesn’t resist this overthrow of rationality, instead embracing the “magic” of the moment. This surrender to passion adds depth to the poem’s exploration of love’s power to transport us beyond our ordinary selves.
The Paradox of Presence in Absence
Angelou masterfully explores the paradoxical nature of presence and absence in intense love. The poem suggests that the lover’s absence can intensify their presence in the speaker’s mind and body. This is evident in the lines:
“When you have withdrawn
your self and the magic,
when only the smell of your
love lingers between my breasts, then, only
then, can I greedily consume
your presence.”
This passage highlights how memory and imagination can make an absent lover feel more present than when physically there. The lingering scent becomes a powerful trigger for remembrance, allowing the speaker to fully savor and “consume” the experience of their love.
Memory as a Form of Experience
The poem posits that remembering can be as profound an experience as the original moment. Angelou suggests that some experiences, particularly those of intense passion, can only be fully appreciated with the perspective that memory provides. When the lover is present, the speaker is overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment. It’s only in reflection, when there’s “a little distance,” that the speaker can fully savor and internalize the experience.
This theme is encapsulated in the final lines of the poem, where the act of remembering becomes a form of consumption, implying both a desperation to hold onto the memory and a pleasure in reliving it. Memory, in this context, becomes its own form of presence, allowing the speaker to experience the intensity of their love even in physical separation.
Literary Techniques in “Remembrance”
Angelou employs several literary techniques to enhance the emotional impact and thematic depth of “Remembrance”:
- Imagery: Vivid sensory details bring both the physical encounter and the act of remembering to life.
- Metaphor: Complex emotions are expressed through metaphorical language, such as the divinization of the lover.
- Paradox: The poem explores several paradoxes, including the idea of presence in absence and the overthrow of reason as a form of enlightenment.
- Sensory language: The poem engages multiple senses, creating a fully immersive recollection.
These techniques work together to create a rich, multi-layered exploration of passionate love and the power of memory.
Critical Reception and Impact
“Remembrance,” like much of Maya Angelou’s poetry, has been praised for its emotional honesty and its exploration of the complexities of love and desire. Critics have noted Angelou’s ability to capture the overwhelming nature of passion in language that is both accessible and profound. The poem’s examination of how love can transcend physical presence and become a constant, consuming force resonates with readers, contributing to its enduring appeal.
Angelou’s work, including “Remembrance,” has been recognized for its contribution to African American literature and women’s writing. The poem’s frank and positive portrayal of female desire and its exploration of love’s transformative power have been particularly noted as important aspects of its impact.
Conclusion
Maya Angelou’s “Remembrance” is a powerful exploration of overwhelming passion and the complex interplay between experience and memory. Through vivid imagery, emotional depth, and a nuanced understanding of love’s transformative power, Angelou creates a poem that speaks to the human experience of all-consuming desire. The poem’s strength lies in its ability to capture the paradoxical nature of intense love – how it can overthrow reason yet lead to a deeper understanding, how absence can intensify presence, and how memory can be as powerful as direct experience.
“Remembrance” stands as a testament to Angelou’s skill as a poet and her deep understanding of human emotion and desire. It continues to resonate with readers, offering a vivid and honest portrayal of love’s ability to transcend the ordinary boundaries of experience. Ultimately, the poem affirms the power of passionate love to transform our perception of reality, blurring the lines between presence and absence, experience and memory, and opening up new realms of emotional and sensory experience.
