Air for Mercury (Themes)

Themes

Religious Faith

Hillman's poem examines a number of religious themes, the primary one being the concept of religious faith. Over the course of the poem, Hillman uses several symbols that indicate this faith is being lost. In the first section, Hillman addresses the poem to what at first appears to be the classical Roman god, Mercury. This figure sports "crenellated shoulder wings," which is an important detail. When something is "crenellated," it is furnished with battlements, the square notches found on castle towers, which were used to provide openings through which to shoot at one's foes with arrows. The fact that Hillman is using a warlike image underscores the conflict between religion and secularism over the course of human history, especially in modern life, where the poem ends. In this section, religion loses the battle, and the Mercury character is forced to take off his shoulder and ankle wings, which are boxed up — a clear sign of the loss of religion. Without these wings, which are the source of this figure's power and which could be loosely interpreted as religious influence, the figure is "stranded" in California, a state that, as both this poem and others in the Cascadia volume indicate, has lost its faith. This loss of faith is symbolized in other ways in the poem, such as in the third section, where Hillman discusses "Monsters of will and monsters of / willlessness," which confront the biblical Garden of Eden, thus ensuring that man will remain a fallen race. As this loss of faith continues, the "dusk" in the third section, becomes "night" in the final section, symbolizing complete spiritual darkness.

Religious Comprehension

In addition to the loss of religious faith, Hillman indicates, as time passes in the poem, there is the loss of religious comprehension. She hints at this loss in the beginning of the second section, when she poses the question, "Of what is knowledge made?" While knowledge can be taken to mean many things, within the context of the poem, which uses a lot of different religious symbols, this knowledge is increasingly identified as religious knowledge. Later on in the same section, Hillman notes that "all notation had / become inaccurate." These notations, or classic religious texts, are inaccurate because they do not apply to modern life anymore. A new translation is needed. Likewise, church songs, referred to in the poem as "Rhyming" that is used as "a tool of / friendly desperation," no longer illuminate religion for people. In the final section, Hillman addresses the issue of religious comprehension head-on, talking about "two forevers, words and space, between / which more experience might ride, unencumbered?" Hillman's emphasis on the word experience, is important. This emphasis implies that if people give up the old ways and do not stick to the old interpretations of religious texts, they may have a better experience in life. By reading between the lines, and allowing both the words — and by extension, the religious concepts attached to these words — to air themselves, then people can regain their religious faith, begin to comprehend the concepts behind the words, and ultimately save themselves by finding the passion of religion once again.

Topics For Further Study

• In the poem, Hillman makes use of a seasonal motif in her structure to help convey the sense of time passing. Find another literary work that uses a seasonal motif and compare it to Hillman's poem. Make a list of the comparisons you find and note where they differ.
• Research the mythology surrounding the Roman gods, including Mercury. Create a chart that shows the place of each of these gods as they were viewed in the divine hierarchy. Include a small description for each god, highlighting which aspects of human life they were associated.
• Research the philosophy of anima mundi. Write an essay outlining the history and characteristics of this philosophy. In your essay, compare anima mundi to another religion or philosophy that is either very similar or vastly different.
• Research the doctrine and rituals of two religions other than the one you practice or the one in which you were raised. Discuss at least one of the traditional texts associated with these religions. Then, using Hillman's suggestion of "airing" out the words, try to read between the lines of these words and generate other possible interpretations.
• "Air for Mercury," like all of the poems in Cascadia, was initially inspired by Hillman's fascination with the prehistoric landmass known as Cascadia, which was submerged off the western coast of the United States more than 100 million years ago. Draw a map of what the world most likely looked like at this point and identify the locations of at least five modern-day countries, including the United States.