Analysis: W.S Merwin's "To the Soul"

[Lawrence]

To the Soul
By W.S Merwin
___________________

Is anyone there
if so
are you real
either way are you
one or several
if the latter
are you all at once
or do you
take turns not answering

is your answer
the question itself
surviving the asking
without end
whose question is it
how does it begin
where does it come from
how did it ever
find out about you
over the sound
of itself
with nothing but its own
ignorance to go by
________________________

Initially, I wasn't sure, but I think it has something to do with the idea that our human soul gives us the ability to reason. Reason allows us to question, so "Is your answer the question itself " makes sense to me.

In line one, Merwin begins by asking if "anyone is there". He then goes on to ask "If so, are you real?" I'm not too sure about this line. If something is THERE, it is obviously real, no? Maybe you could assist me with this...

How did the human being come to awareness/the idea of its own soul, when the soul itself is so elusive, and can only be pursued with infinite questions? Our reason is incomplete, so we struggle with this question.

What are your interpretations?

[billy]

To the Soul
By W.S Merwin
___________________

Is anyone there
if so
are you real
either way are you
one or several
if the latter
are you all at once
or do you
take turns not answering

is your answer
the question itself
surviving the asking
without end
whose question is it
how does it begin
where does it come from
how did it ever
find out about you
over the sound
of itself
with nothing but its own
ignorance to go by

________________________
i think the title has more in it that we perceive,
To the soul;
it isn't to my soul. it seems to be to a generic soul. i think when he asks "are you real' he's asking if it's palpable, does it have substance as a separate entity. he's also questioning the soul as a collection, a hive soul where we all maybe share part of each others soul.

he then goes on to question the souls origin, "surviving the asking
without end" has it always been, will it always be? and finally asks why would such thing be interested in us.
how did it ever
find out about you
over the sound
of itself
with nothing but its own
ignorance to go by
and if indeed it was interested, wouldn't it make it less than what it could be or even should be.

i think he's also asking, "did we create our own soul" the way many created a god.

i'm not very good at this so forgive the ineptitude

[Lawrence]

"take turns not answering"


What I love about this line is that it means, if there ARE many, they operate independently of one another...
Merwin is the new poet laureate, by the by.

[billy]

so the hive mentality would only apply in so much that they reside in the same place.

what about "with nothing but its own
ignorance to go by" if they are many he calls it "it" maybe he's on about choice. the choice to voice certain opinions from within ourselves?

[addy]

I thought it was about God? Or rather, "you" sounds like god, and "it" sounds like human soul, and its about how those two things relate and and are distanced from one another. The last lines were particularly telling.

how did it ever
find out about you
over the sound
of itself
with nothing but its own
ignorance to go by

[billy]

i think you may have something addy. so in a way he's really questioning both.

[Lawrence]

Merwin draws a lot on Buddhism, on a side note.

I'll have to think about that, Addy.

[addy]

I'm revising my answer a little... I still think "you" refers to god, while "it" refers to our existence/consciousness/self-awareness/("I think therefore I am").

It makes sense, therefore, when the poet asks if the answer is the question itself, with the mystery of existence/consciousness being both the question that intrigues us (the mystery of life and where we came from) yet at the same time serving as the "answer" that gives creation and the supposed randomness of the universe sense and meaning in the first place.

[Lawrence]

I think you very well may be right, Addy.
He asks "Are you one or several?", which in my mind means polytheism vs monotheism.

What's odd is the title is "To the Soul", yet he seems to be speaking more or less to God.
Perhaps this is because the only way to understand the soul is to ask someone who does, namely God...hmm...

Good analysis addy. I think you've got a penchant for this stuff