The City - Human Vices
In the poem “The City”, the city symbolizes human vices and bad habits that keep people from living a happy and successful life. “You” blames the city for their unhappiness, stating that whatever they do, nothing ever bears fruits and mourning the time and opportunities they have wasted in the city. Instead, they believe that once they have moved someplace else, they will suddenly find happiness and success.
The speaker berates “you” for trying to blame their circumstances, and points out that “this city will always pursue you” (l. 10). The city symbolizes the bad habits and vices of “you”, which won’t change wherever they go. They carry the city inside, inescapably, and will always end up walking the same streets (behaving the same way) and staying in the same houses (following the same values) without change and thus won’t end up happier anywhere else.
The Wall - Being Different
In the poem “Walls” the speaker has been isolated by the people around him. They’ve sneakily built a wall between the speaker and themselves and he is unable to overcome this wall. The wall in the poem symbolizes being different from society because of something one cannot change, such as one’s sexuality or color. The speaker does not wish to be isolated from society. He feels lonely and desperately wants to be included and active. Yet, he cannot overcome or tear down the wall they have built around him. He cannot change what society decided will keep him away from them.
The Window - Change
In the poem “The Windows” the speaker is trapped in a dark room. Initially, he tries to find a window, but when those efforts are futile, he abandons the plan, stating that it is probably better if he doesn’t find a window after all.
Windows in the poem symbolize change. The speaker is trapped and appears unhappy. Given an alternative path in finding a window however, he backs away. At first he claims that windows appear not to exist in the room at all, but then corrects himself and says that he simply cannot find them. In the next line, he finally commits that he doesn’t want to find the windows. They would change his situation and that bears the risk of making it worse. Instead of taking the risk, the speaker would rather stay in the unhappiness he knows than potentially face something worse.
A Kingship – Security
In the poem “Alexandrian Kings” the speaker witnesses Cleopatra’s three sons receiving kingships in a grand spectacle on a sunny, beautiful day in Alexandria. The ceremony has a large outcome, mainly though because the day is nice and the Alexandrians wants to be entertained by it. All the children, described as rather little and fragile, receive several kingships with their oldest brother standing out as “King of Kings” (l. 19). The speaker however, makes it clear that everyone in the audience knows that these kingships are empty and don’t mean anything.
Those kingships symbolize security. Cleopatra’s young children, especially the oldest one, need protection from the dangerous world and making them kings is supposed to give them power, authority and ultimately safety. The audience however, the common folk of Alexandria, is fully aware that these titles won’t keep the children safe when it counts.
The Oracle – Authority
In the poem “Envoys From Alexandria” the ancient oracle in Delphi receives envoys full of gifts from two rivaling kings to settle a dispute between them. The priest deliberate all night on how to proceed only for the envoys to quickly leave again once they hear, unbeknown to the priests, that the dispute has been settled elsewhere.
The oracle here symbolizes authority. In the first line of the poem, it is established that the oracle hasn’t been asked to settle a fight for several years, showing its decreased importance and authority. While this situation appears to be changing again now, this is negated by the last lines of the poem which show where the true authority lies: in Rome. Once the envoys have received the Roman ‘oracle’, they immediately abandon Delphi.
