The Soul unto itself

There is a paradox at the core of Poem 683. Mysteries explored are supposed to yield to clarity. The reward for pondering the mysteries of the cosmos is theoretically the gift of insight, the reassuring illumination of some sort of epiphany. If a poem explores love, for instance, the assumption is that the poet will offer in the end an insight into the heart that will help illuminate the mysterious energy of love. In Poem 683, however, which up front and openly sets out to explore the nature of the soul, starts with a contradictory mystery and then refuses to resolve that contradiction. It allows two opposing ideas to exist at the same time. The soul is both your friend and your foe. The soul will be at peace and in charge only when your heart and your body agree to abide by its power, a reality that for most people would be hard to imagine.

Thus, the soul is omnipotent and impotent, both imperial and surrendered, both awesome and pathetic. The poem then explores an essential mystery (what is the soul?) that, in exploring it, not only refuses to reveal itself but in fact becomes more mysterious.