Ted Berrigan’s “Red Shift” is one my favorite poems. You can read “Red Shift” and hear the poet read it courtesy of PennSound. Last night I asked ChatGPT to write a 500-word analysis:
“Red Shift” is a poem by Ted Berrigan, a prominent American poet and member of the New York School of poetry. The poem is a short and fragmented, but packs a powerful punch through its imagery and use of language.ChatGPT came up short, in more ways than one. The text it generated is only 417 words, but no matter, because the words aren’t about the poem. I thought that the bot might have latched onto a song lyric, but searching for red shift, faint red light, signal of loss, and so on turns up nothing.
The poem begins with the image of a “red shift,” which is a phenomenon in astronomy where light from distant objects appears to be red-shifted, indicating that the object is moving away from the observer. This image sets the tone for the rest of the poem, which explores themes of distance and separation.
The poem’s first stanza describes the red shift as a “faint, red light,” suggesting that the phenomenon is distant and hard to see. This imagery is symbolic of the distance and separation that the speaker is experiencing. The second stanza describes the red shift as “a signal of loss,” further emphasizing the theme of separation.
The third stanza describes the red shift as a “siren song,” evoking the image of a distant, haunting sound that is both alluring and dangerous. This imagery is symbolic of the speaker’s longing for something that is out of reach, and the danger of getting too close. The fourth stanza describes the red shift as a “final light,” suggesting that the phenomenon is the last thing the speaker sees before the separation is complete.
The fifth stanza describes the red shift as a “memory,” suggesting that the phenomenon is something that the speaker remembers, but can no longer see. This imagery is symbolic of the speaker’s longing for something that is now in the past. The final stanza describes the red shift as a “dream,” suggesting that the phenomenon is something that the speaker wishes for, but may never happen.
Throughout the poem, Berrigan uses vivid imagery to create a sense of distance and separation. The imagery of the red shift is symbolic of the speaker’s longing for something that is out of reach, and the danger of getting too close. The poem’s fragmented structure is also effective in conveying the sense of separation and longing, as the speaker jumps from image to image without any clear narrative.
Overall, “Red Shift” is a powerful and evocative poem that explores themes of distance and separation through vivid imagery and a fragmented structure. Berrigan’s use of the red shift as a symbol for the speaker’s longing for something that is out of reach is particularly effective, as it evokes a sense of longing and distance that is both alluring and dangerous.
“There are certain trifles I do not forgive”: what would John Shade say about this effort?
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comments: 5
I'm a bit late to the game--finally read up on ChatGPT. I see what you mean about its limitations here, but to me--WOW! This is right out of Star Trek, right here, right now--an AI generating an analysis of a poem. I am amazed and impressed!
IMPORTANT NOTE: I would far, far prefer, however, that every human learned to read and write and play.
P.S. I had blogged yesterday about how often people (I) default to scripts instead of asking out brains to do the labor of processing something afresh.
AI seems like those scripts. (Like grocery store tomatoes that don't taste like tomatoes, or anything.)
Still, the intelligence behind its very creation--that boggles my mind.
We are the best of worlds and the worst of worlds.
Don’t be too impressed: I have more fails coming up. : )
What I most notice, aside from the invented quotations (!), is the bland cheeriness and formulaic structure. “Explores the themes of,” “in the first stanza,” “in the second stanza,” “in the third stanza,” “in conclusion.” Same with every poem I’ve tried.
Yeah, but I just mean--humans have invented a machine that can write bad reports on poems! I do think that's mind blowing. Truly, we live in a sci-fi world.
(I do take your point that they are *bad* reports though.)
And of course they will get better.
I think about this stuff whenever I’m texting. So often the next word turns out to be just what the device suggests.
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