Paul Muldoon’s Mules: Clearing Confusion in Confusing Ways
When reading through Northern Irish poet Paul Muldoon’s second major poetry collection, Mules (1977), it is best to either have an encyclopedia in hand, or be Paul Muldoon yourself. If the latter is not an option, then a bit of research and patience will suffice. After deciphering Muldoon’s poetry, the reader is left to reflect on topics. In Mules, Muldoon expands on topics such as politics, his native country of Northern Ireland, and religion that weren’t as prevalent in his first collection New Weather. The poems in Mules aren’t grouped with an obvious order, but they are consistent in size and style. The first, title, and last poems are perfect representations of Muldoon’s dealings with political, national, and spiritual questions, and his adept use of allusion respectively. Paul Muldoon’s second collection of poetry, Mules, is difficult to decipher, but ultimately provides a refreshing view of situations of political, religious, Irish cultural, and other types of turmoil.
Mules’ first poem “Lunch with Pancho Villa” is written in a colloquial style typical of Muldoon, makes numerous allusions to religion and politics, and introduces a tension between politics and art that is present throughout the book. Pancho Villa was a Mexican Revolutionary general who helped a Venustiano Carranza become President of Mexico, but later overthrew Carranza to put a different man in power. Including Villa in the title is an example of how Muldoon uses historical references to add depth to his poetry. Villa was himself a player of dual roles, first bringing power to a man, and then later removing that same man from power. “Lunch with Pancho Villa” is written from two perspectives that change without notice to the reader. The basic idea is that a young poet is visiting an older writer whom the younger one admires. The older poet tells the younger one to stop writing about trivial matters such as “stars and horses, pigs and trees.” By opening his book with “Pancho Villa,” Muldoon immediately addresses questions all Irish poets had to face at the time he was writing Mules. Northern Ireland was in the midst of a sort of civil war between British-supported Protestants and Irish Catholics informally called The Troubles, that was causing sharp divisions among the Northern Irish population. The poem is full of allusions, a characteristic of Muldoon’s work that is apparent throughout the collection. By illustrating the multiple sides of the political problems in Ireland, and giving the narrator multiple personas, Muldoon in “Lunch with Pancho Villa” is introducing the collection’s common theme of multiple meanings in single objects.
The collection’s title poem, “Mules,” is a good example of Muldoon exploring the combination of different concepts within one entity. “Mules” is an extended metaphor that Muldoon uses to explore his fascination with multiple concepts and meanings in one creation. In the case of this poem, Muldoon explores the combination of the earthly and the divine as represented by the conception of a mule: offspring of a horse and a donkey. Because this poem has fewer allusions than usual, it makes it easier to grasp the purpose. The simple biblical references to a star and a cross in the first stanza, “Her feet of clay gave the lie/ To the star burned in our mare’s brow/ Would Parsons’ jackass not rest more assured/ That cross wrenched from his shoulders?” introduce the religious duality in the poem. By using a pair of barnyard animals, Muldoon suggests the infinite ways religion is combined with other subjects in the world. The way Muldoon takes the reader from a simple question, “Should they not have the best of both worlds?”, through the conception and birth of a mule, while all the time really questioning how the earthly and the divine are combined in an everyday animal, is typical of Muldoon’s work. Muldoon poses the question so that the reader is prompted to reflect on how the mule contains both world – the earthly and the divine. Arriving at a deep question after working through what can seem like trivial details or informal style is Muldoon’s ultimate technique in the collection Mules. Muldoon’s style itself reinforces the theme of multiple meanings in unexpected places; Muldoon’s writing can see plainly written, but he jams as much meaning into his poems as possible.
Unlike “Mules,” the collection’s seven-part final poem, “Armageddon, Armageddon,” is full of allusion, and yet it still brings the reader to a state of reflection. Almost as if he wants to remind the reader of how crafty he can be, Muldoon fills the final poem in Mules with allusion upon allusion, and does little to clue the reader into the subject matter of the poem. In an interview at Washington University in St. Louis, Muldoon described “Armageddon, Armageddon” as a “nightmarish journey” set in Northern Ireland and a play of words on his home county, Armagh (“Paul Muldoon and the Multiverse” 2). The poem draws the reader through a mass of allusions including those to British poets, Irish mythology, and Northern Irish politics and events, but as is the case with the other poems in Mules, ends up asking important questions. As pointed out by Jonathan Hufstader in Tongue of Water, Teeth of Stones: Northern Irish Poetry and Social Violence, Muldoon “conjoins the cosmic and local” (143). Muldoon references many constellations that relate back to Irish mythology (Hufstader, 1999). A key strength of Muldoon is that he takes readerz to very esoteric places, but ultimately brings them back to a relevant question if the reader is willing to work along the way. Muldoon does just this in the third part of “Armageddon, Armageddon.” Muldoon moves through a peaceful depiction of carefree Northern Ireland, “Follow the course of a pair of whippets,” to addressing the Orange political party, “And where the first Orange Lodge was founded.” After highlighting the multiple facets that make up Northern Ireland, Muldoon points to what really matters in the combination of these parts, “We could always go closer if you wanted, … Then the scene of the Armagh Rail Disaster. Why not brave the Planetarium.” The Armagh Rail Disaster and Planetarium are both reminders of Ireland’s struggles and accomplishments. The Rail Disaster was a freak accident where a railcar split from a train and crashed down the hill it was ascending. The Armagh Planetarium was a technologically advanced result of many years of Irish struggling for funding and support. By including reference to the Rail Disaster and Planetarium, Muldoon reminds the reader of what Ireland has been through, and what it can accomplish. Muldoon acknowledges the political problems that divide Ireland, but ultimately stresses that Ireland is more than political struggles, and that the people of the country and the country’s accomplishments are more important than the political squabbles.
In the end, Muldoon’s poetry is most satisfying after the reader has made the effort to understand the allusions and given the poems time to sink in. As illustrated by Christina Mahony in Contemporary Irish Literature: Transforming Tradition, not all critics are favorable toward Muldoon’s constant allusions. Hunt refers to some of the references to Irish mythology as “unproductive pairings” (Mahony 95). Critics are right to ask whether Muldoon’s eclectic references are ultimately worth it, but in the end, his use of allusion is essential to the theme of Mules. Muldoon is constantly looking at how different parts add up to make a whole piece, and he himself illustrates that idea in composing his poems by including numerous diverse allusions. Muldoon takes the reader on an academic adventure in almost every one of his poems in Mules, but he never does so without good reason. If the reader is willing to follow, Muldoon leads to a refreshing reflective state that encompasses all the stray components that make up a topic.
Although its constant reference to outside sources can be daunting and even off putting at times, Paul Muldoon’s second collection of poetry, Mules, is an ultimately rewarding work. As best illustrated in “Armageddon, Armageddon,” it is the path to a final revealing point of information that refreshes the reader’s view of poetry. “Armageddon, Armageddon” is laden with obscure allusion, but eventually Muldoon reminds the reader of the merit of reflecting on topics that encourage unity and growth. Muldoon’s poems help to readjust the reader’s view of politics, Northern Ireland, and religion, among other topics, by revealing the multitude of sides that make up a problem. Through his signature playful style and expansive encyclopedic knowledge, Muldoon’s Mules sheds light on topics that benefit from a fresh reflection.
Works Cited
Paul Muldoon and the Multiverse. Arch Literary Journal (2008). Web.
13 Feb. 2011.
Hufstader, Jonathan. Tongue of Water, Teeth of Stones: Northern Irish Poetry and Social
Violence. Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 1999. Google Book Search.
Web. 18 Feb. 2011.
Mahony, Christina Hunt. Contemporary Irish Literature: Transforming Tradition. New
York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. Google Book Search. Web. 24 Feb 2011.
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