Before the Next Song and other Poems Analysis

THE HOUSE OF BROWN GLASS

The subject matter of the poem is alcoholism and its deceitful effects. It is written in four stanzas with the first one focusing on a metaphorical and literal journey of a group of unnamed people to a place where they can obtain alcohol. The use of the plural first person pronoun “we” suggests that the persona is not a single entity. The poem therefore is a comment on the common view held by the society. The second stanza discusses the arrival of the persona at the place where there is alcohol and the subsequent expectations, anticipations and the hopes the persona has concerning consuming alcohol. In the third stanza, the anticipated desirable effects of taking alcohol are outlined through a series of metaphors. The fourth stanza is characterised by disillusionment as the persona’s hope of peace and tranquil is shuttered and reality settles in. The persona comes to a sudden and depressing reality that alcohol cannot “delouse” the soul after all.

A visual image of travellers embarking on a journey in search of inner peace is created in the first stanza. The preposition “to” indicates direction towards a specific point. The meaning here is multifield. There is a suggestion of literal movement from one place to another place where alcohol can be found. At the same time, the actual act of picking up a bottle of alcohol and drinking from it is also conveyed. The “house” therefore refers to the bottle of alcohol. The poet brings out the idea of protection and safety since a house is built to offer such. The use of alcohol as some form of escapism is clarified when the persona and his friends are seen “vying for peace” in an environment which does not offer hope. The simile “empty as a sheath” suggests a sense of hopelessness.

The use of a continuous sibilant consonant sound created by alliteration on the words ” sojourners seeking solace and suckle” point to a relaxed and calm moment. A “wilderness” which is “dry and tearless” implies barrenness and want. Teats produce milk so that young ones can get nourishment in the form of food. The absence of teats insinuate lack of succour and support for the psychological aspect of life. The harshness of life is summed up by the simile “like a knuckle”. This simile create a tactile image of a hard surface that offers no physical comfort. In this case, the poet suggests that the hardships of life make life to be a difficult experience. Amidst all the world sorrows, the persona is elated at the thought of turning to alcohol as a way of forgetting the woes.

Through parallelism, the poet creates a light atmosphere that is free from troubles. The pattern verb + plural possessive pronoun + noun is observed in the lines “fumigate our souls/… “delouse our spirits”/… “lubricate our minds”. A song like effect is thus created by these lines. The musical quality of the stanza generates an excited tone that is associated with joy. “To fumigate” gives an impression of healing since fumigation is used to kill harmful organisms. Alcohol is seen as having healing and soothing properties. The persona believes that consuming alcohol lightens spiritual burdens just as when a person with lice is “deloused” and freed from parasites. The belief that taking alcohol sharpens the faculties is captured when the poet says that alcohol “lubricate our minds”.

It is in the fourth and final stanza that disillusionment is brought out clearly. Reality dawns upon the persona when he comes to a full realisation that alcohol offers no freedom. He realises that alcoholism is tantamount to slavery except that in this case it is “by choice”. The poet, through a mocking tone, ridicules those who deceive themselves into thinking that alcohol diminishes misery. Such, in the persona’s view, are hypocrites because they are “charlatans” who are fully aware that they are deceiving themselves. They are just “masking” reality that is permanent. “Masking…angst” is just but an exercise in futility because sooner or later, when the effect of alcohol has faded away, the ugly reality will rear its head.

The irony created in the poem is that the “house” does not offer any purported protection. Perhaps because it is a “glass…house”. “Glass” is a fragile substance thus the word “glass” has connotations of temporariness. The “peace” and calm provided by alcohol is not permanent. The persona argues that resorting to alcohol as a way of fighting “angst” is as good as treating the symptoms without addressing the real genesis of the problem. Instead of sharpening the faculties, the persona says that alcohol lulls them. This can be deduced from the colour “brown”. Brown is an opaque colour, therefore the “brown glass”, which by extension is alcohol, does not provide enough light for one to see and understand reality.