Poetry Analysis for A Change of Maps

I chose to analyze the poem A Change of Maps, from the anthology “A Change of Maps,” by Carolyne Wright. I found this book in a library and decided to write my critical essay about this poem for many reasons. First of all, I really enjoy the use of language and the abstract nature in the poem, which contribute to its somewhat ambiguous but heartfelt meaning. Another reason I chose this poem was because I wanted to find a poem that I have never read before and that hasn't been overly scrutinized by others. I wanted to find a piece that I can make my own project with a close reading and a careful analysis.
In A Change of Maps, Carolyne Wright combines many images of the modern and ancient world to explore the advancement of technology through the ages, but also to show that the same qualities of the human condition remain and are put into conflict with the changing world. Both of these ideas are shown in the work, but none are overly dominant, as the author's direction wanders with an intentional carelessness. This allows the poem to have many themes and many images that contribute to the overall unifying idea of the poem, which is the passage of time. The main idea is reflected through many different themes such as nature, technology, human curiosity and maps themselves.
The first stanza of this poem jumps right into the theme of time, stating how “Every fall looks both ways.” I believe that this means that as people, we are constantly thinking about the future and the past. We are also thinking about “how we will outsmart the distance” between different times. Basically how we will get by and get through life without feeling the stress of aging. Aging is a significant idea in this poem, as it mostly reflects the changing times from an older point of view, a wizened perspective. The stanza ends with “our childhoods wave goodbye in the rear-view mirror.” This is a powerful image of the passing of time and is a depressing idea to think about. There's no going back when it comes to time. You just have to look forward and face the future, not live in memories.
The idea of looking ahead is how the next passage starts, “We look ahead.” This stanza introduces the theme of nature, as Wright uses poplars to represent the passage of time. These trees have a lot in common with humans, as they also experience aging as we do. You can trace the past of these poplars through their limbs, which are almost like memories. The “X-factor,” the thing we can never know, is the future. This idea applies to both poplars and humans.
In the next several paragraphs, the poem becomes more complex, more confusing. This is because the poem finally gets to the heart of what is to be discussed; It starts to explore the x-factor, the idea of the future. Wright imagines the future as a blank map, a map with indescribable shapes and figures. This map is impossible to explain or decipher, with ridiculous coastlines and “impossible directions.” To stress the unconventional nature of time and the future, Wright compares these new x-factor maps to other maps that we use. Wright draws a distinction between “our maps” and “the Triple A's” network of routes, its field guides. Our maps are more like old, archaic maps that are impossible to determine and “rough as Magellan's reckoning,” with “blank seas and terrae incognitae.” Basically, the maps of our future are not maps of an established world, but are magical guides to unexplored lands with unknown features.
In the next part of the work, Wright suggests that the vast improvements and power of technology are lessening the possibilities of our future, “shrinking our wildest dreams.” Technologies such as micro-chips and satellites tracking the geography of earth and the moon are also taking all the secrets and mysteries out of the world and, simultaneously, human life.
This isn't a strong and passionate statement against technology, but it is more of an observation of the effect of technology. The advances in science are bringing us closer to the creation of maps of our personal futures. Similar to “the old cartographies” and ancient, uncertain maps of the world, our own x-factor maps are slowly being determined by science. Our once imaginative future of blank seas and mysterious worlds is being filled in with “more transparent certainties.” “Where now?” Wright asks, stating that soon we may analyze the maps and “look both ways for distances that shift their bearings in our favor.” In other words, these maps will someday be realized and our futures may be set in stone. The author fears that our imaginative dreaming, and hopes for the future, may some day fall victim to calculated reasoning and cold, rational decision-making, as we read our 'maps'.
This poem evoked many strong feelings for me. It has a deep significant meaning that become clearer as I closely read the lines. The passing of time and uncertainty of the future has always been a poignant theme in my life, and I feel that this poem captures the essence of passing time well. Wright makes a brilliant point in that the future is constantly becoming less uncertain, as people are put on predictable paths in life, and technology often determines our destiny.
The free-verse is used very well in this poem, and is a highlight of the writing style. The way that the poem flows reflects the overall theme of time. The poem is anything but predictable, and the narrative wanders unpredictably, drawing metaphors and symbols from unexpected places. The organization of the stanzas actually makes the poem far more powerful, as sentences, and even words, are broken up to make sure that each paragraph has its own distinct theme. This is seen in the line “batteries of data, micro-/chips shrinking our wildest dreams.” The fact that micro and chips are in different stanzas shows that the author wants the previous stanza to be strictly about satellites and technology, and the latter to be about the transition that the technology is putting the world through, the loss of wonder.
Another literary device that is used exceptionally in this poem is metaphors. The beauty of the metaphors in this poem is not just their appropriateness, but the unique images and ideas conveyed by their seemingly unrelated nature to the object of comparison. One such metaphor comes in the first half of the poem, between the second and third stanzas. The author introduces the main subject of the poem, the X-factor, stating that it is “unguessed as the distance between wavelengths.” This metaphor is incredibly appropriate and descriptive, as it encompasses the entire meaning of the poem in one line. This effectiveness occurs for several reasons.
The distance between wavelengths, just like the X-factor (or future), is slowly becoming realized by modern science. As technology advances, small subtleties in science, such as this distance, are being revealed as measurable and predictable objects. According to Wright, this effect of technology on scientific mysteries is the same as its effect on the 'maps' of our futures. The future of every individual, and of humanity as a whole, is becoming less mysterious and more determined with the scientific, concrete nature of the modern world.
The metaphors are used to help convey this poem's abstract meaning, and so is the deep symbolism found within this poem. Some of the symbols embedded in the work are ancient maps, such as those of Magellan and other cartographers, and the trees (poplars). The ancient maps are both a symbol and a metaphor for the uncertainty of the future. The world used to be a magical and mysterious place, and these maps draw a comparison between the once unknown frontier of geography to the frontier of the future, which is quickly being determined and concrete.
The poplars are also an intense symbol of time and draw a overarching metaphor between nature and time. The poplars have progressed through time and physically represent the passage of time, which “reflect in limbs that take root in the water.” The poplars have a more predictable future than that of a human, but this gap is quickly dissolving. Humans are partially subject to the predictability of nature, and technology will soon be able to map out every child, poplar and house. The landscape, as Wright calls it, will soon be convenient and as easy to read as a map.
Overall, this poem was an excellent and rewarding experience to read. When I first read it, I really had no idea what it meant, but upon further analysis, it reveals complex layers and deeper meanings. Comparing and contrasting large themes such as time, technology and nature while telling a story is an amazing feat that Wright accomplishes in this piece. After reading this piece several times, I have found that the main message is almost a warning. As time progresses and technology gets more advanced, humanity as a whole begins to lose its natural curiosity and wonder, and the future has become a more predictable and calculated certainty. The way to solve this dilemma is to follow the old cliché: live in the moment.
In case you can't get the poem, here it is, typed out:

Every fall looks both ways
into the year--how we will outsmart
the distance. Behind us, our childhoods
wave goodbye in the rear-view mirror

We look ahead, down avenues
of poplars whose buried pasts reflect
in limbs that take root in the water.
Where we are going: the X factor,

unguessed as the gaps between wavelengths.
Our maps: not the Triple A's
network of routes, its field guides
to speed traps and warm weather;

but navigation charts, parchment
rough as Magellan's reckoning.
Blank seas and terrae incognitae.
Coastlines wandering off in fanciful

directions, peninsulas bulging
wrongly as anatomically
impossible limbs. The mapmakers'
crabbed Latin can't explain

how such charts voyaged into the New World
of our luggage. Magic, we say,
armchair pilgrims, turning page
after page of color-coded nations,

asking no questions of our whereabouts.
Above us, satellites measure the drift
of continents, dissolving vows
of bedrock, offshore shelves conceding

all their striations to the sea.
They track the moon's loosening orbit,
explorer shuttles homing in
with batteries of data, micro-

chips shrinking our wildest dreams.
We roll up the old cartographies,
coordinates overlaid with newer,
more transparent certainties

in the subatomic shadow's glare.
Where now? We want to know of landscape--
houses and poplars and children the maps
and master planners have no idea of.

Our arrival will coincide with the true
colors of our going. We look
both ways for distances that shift
their bearings in our favor.