Wilderness Gothic (Themes)

Themes

Religion and Mythology

The themes of religion and mythology are present throughout “Wilderness Gothic.” Most prominent is the image of a workingman at the top a church repairing its spire, which is then coupled with a mention of Jacob from the Book of Genesis. This allusion serves to connect the man with the concept of whether good works and acts of faith ensure a rightful place in heaven. As the workingman hangs in the air against the blue sky, it brings to mind Jacob’s vision of a ladder that leads directly to Heaven. In addition, the Greek myth of Icarus plays a large part in the poem by exploring the idea of human aspiration and the capacity for failure. Purdy’s poem suggests a connection between the workingman’s noble ambition and Icarus’ attempts to fly. However, Icarus died because he had too much ambition, a vice that may also bring the workingman to his demise. Another association that exists involves the idea that Icarus, because of his folly, became an emblem of aspiration, and so the poem offers the same possibility to the workingman — that death may, ironically, bring him immortality.

Work

Purdy introduces the theme of work immediately with the first few lines of the poem. The first thing the narrator observes is a crew repairing a church two shores away. The focus turns on one man, who is hanging by a rope, “working his way up along the spire.” As the poem continues, Purdy announces that the man is doing volunteer work. He will not be paid for his labor nor will he receive the type of benefits that come with other jobs. However, the man is doing God’s work, a notion that has in large part disappeared from modern culture. The admiration for the workingman is evident as Purdy refers to his deeds as heroic. Since Purdy was a working-class poet, he understood the inherent value in doing hard labor. He suggests that there’s something noble in a hard day’s work, a concept that might put Purdy in direct contrast with his intellectual, university-educated peers. By creating a poem that exalts the workingman, Purdy criticizes the values of modern society by comparing modern people to the people of past centuries, who eagerly sacrificed time and labor for the greater glory of God. The workingman seems to be an exception for his time, having more in common with his medieval counterparts who were not concerned with a wage or whether they had a union job.

Death

The first image of death in “Wilderness Gothic” is a misdirection of sorts. The third and fourth lines of the poem announce that “someone hangs in the sky / over there from a piece of rope.” This immediately brings to mind someone who has committed suicide by hanging. However, it is quickly realized that the man in question is not dead, rather he is working to repair the spire on a church. It is made clear in the next few lines that the man is putting his life in danger for the sake of God and putting his fate in God’s hands. Since, the man could fall to his death at any time, the narrator believes the man’s faith must reach far and wide. As the poem continues, it describes the death of three young birds who meet their demise because of the construction of a new county highway. Considering that the birds meet their death while the workingman holds his life in the balance, the poem implies that death is present everywhere and can occur randomly and without warning.

The idea of death is continued as the myth of Icarus is mentioned. Icarus met his death while trying to secure his freedom. Consequently, the workingman may lose his own life in the pursuit of a kind of spiritual freedom. Finally, the poem ends with the line, “perhaps he will fall,” which predicts the death of the workingman. And while it is not definite that the man will die while working on the church, the line “something is about to happen” implies that the possibility of death hovers heavily in the air. This further confirms the concept that death can come at any time, and is, in fact, a necessary part of a life and a consequence of a world that inevitably moves and progresses over time.

Topics for Further Study

• Critics claim that Purdy is a distinctively Canadian poet. What makes his work Canadian? Explore the relationship between American and Canadian politics and how that relationship may affect and influence Purdy’s political poems.
• Read about Jacob in the Book of Genesis, and explore how his relationship with God parallels the plight of the man in “Wilderness Gothic.”
• Compare and contrast the work ethic of the Victorian pioneers mentioned in “Wilderness Gothic” with that of today’s culture. How do they differ? Why do you think these differences exist?
• Have you ever taken a risk and failed? Explain your encounter, your motivations, and what, if anything, you learned from your experiences.