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Losing a Language
W. S. Merwin
Born in New York City in 1927, W. S. Merwin has written over thirty volumes of poetry, prose, and translation. His first book, A Mask for Janus (1952), was chosen for the Yale Younger Poets Prize. He has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Award for poetry twice (in 1971 for The Carrier of Ladders, and in 2009 for The Shadow of Sirius). Merwin served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 2010 to 2011. Throughout his career, he has written on a range of subjects, including the Vietnam conflict and environmental destruction. In the late 1970s, he moved to Hawaii to study Zen Buddhism; he currently lives on the island of Maui on what was once a pineapple plantation. “Losing a Language” is from Merwin’s 1988 poetry collection The Rain in the Trees.
A breath leaves the sentences and does not come back
yet the old still remember something that they could say
but they know now that such things are no longer believed
and the young have fewer words
5 many of the things the words were about
no longer exist
the noun for standing in mist by a haunted tree
the verb for I
the children will not repeat
10 the phrases their parents speak
somebody has persuaded them
that it is better to say everything differently
so that they can be admired somewhere
farther and farther away
15 where nothing that is here is known
we have little to say to each other
we are wrong and dark
in the eyes of the new owners
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the radio is incomprehensible
20 the day is glass
when there is a voice at the door it is foreign
everywhere instead of a name there is a lie
nobody has seen it happening
nobody remembers
25 this is what the words were made
to prophesy
here are the extinct feathers
here is the rain we saw
This is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Map of Endangered Languages by Country. The darker the color on this map, the more endangered languages are present in that nation. The United States has 191 endangered languages, which trails only India at 197. UNESCO notes, “Countries with the greatest linguistic diversity are typically also the ones with the most endangered languages.”
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Understanding and Interpreting
Although Merwin does not use conventional punctuation in this poem, he writes in sentences. How does adding periods and commas enhance your understanding of the literal sense of the poem?
How do you interpret the opening line, “A breath leaves the sentences and does not come back”? What associations with “breath” are at work here?
The speaker states that “the old still remember something that they could say” (l. 2), yet they do not. Why? Why don’t the children “repeat / the phrases their parents speak” (ll. 9–
10)? Are these silences deliberate intentions, unintentional negligence, instances of unavoidable change, or something else? What is the meaning of lines 5–
6, “many of the things the words were about / no longer exist”? What might Merwin be suggesting about the connection between language and memory? Who are “the new owners” (l. 18)? How does the concept of ownership apply to language—
or does it? Why is the “voice at the door [. . .] foreign” (l. 21)? By choosing this word, does the speaker imply a foreign language, foreign country, or something else?
What do you think might be the “lie” that exists “instead of a name” (l. 22)?
What do you think this poem has to say about the power of language? In what ways does the speaker believe language has been diminished? Is the ending hopeful, pessimistic, nostalgic—
or possibly pragmatic? What is the relationship between age, experience, and language expressed in this poem?
Analyzing Language, Style, and Structure
Identify the words in the poem that have negative denotations or connotations. How do these contribute to the principal idea Merwin is developing?
Fairly early in his career, Merwin began writing poems without punctuation, then later without capital letters. He explained: “I came to feel that punctuation was like nailing the words onto the page. I wanted instead the movement and lightness of the spoken word.” To what extent do you think he achieves this goal in “Losing a Language”?
In the poem, Merwin pairs images to support or illustrate a point just made. How do you interpret each of the following pairings?
“the noun for standing in mist by a haunted tree / the verb for I” (ll. 7–
8) “the radio is incomprehensible / the day is glass” (ll. 19–
20) “here are the extinct feathers / here is the rain we saw” (ll. 27–
28)
Who is the speaker; who speaks as “we”? Is he or she part of “the old” or “the young,” both, or neither?
Now that you’ve examined “Losing a Language” closely, reconsider the title. How does it capture the tone of the poem?
Connecting, Arguing, and Extending
Merwin believes that a vibrant culture, including a healthy relationship to the natural environment, is reflected in the language of that culture; thus, the loss of language signals a decline of culture. Consider how that perspective is expressed in this poem. Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation? Given Merwin’s commitment to ecological conservation, this poem has been interpreted as a reminder of the fragility of our natural environment. Consider how that interpretation might be developed. To what extent do you agree or disagree with it? You might consult the Merwin Conservancy website to research the poet’s commitment to environmental concerns.
In 2010, when Merwin was named Poet Laureate, he stated that he hoped to use his tenure to emphasize his “great sympathy with native people and the languages and literature of native peoples.” Do some research into today’s endangered and disappearing languages and write an argument addressing the following question: What is your responsibility to preserve your language, however you define what “your language” is (for example, a regional dialect, a mainstream language).