So "The Sacred" isn't about being incarcerated. And we're not dealing with a poem about liberty and freedom and all that good stuff. But we are reading a poem about driving, hitting the road, leaving class behind, and turning up the music, and just… getting away from it all. That private place of the car is essential to this poem, and Dunn writes about it in a way that suggests it is freeing and liberating to have a sacred place that can take you beyond the confining limits of talking, as if driving is a sort of mediation. No yoga mats and stretching here—this is a straight up "pedal to the metal" poetry road trip all the way down the page. Buckle up, y'all.
Questions About Freedom and Confinement
- Is the car described as a confined space or a vehicle for escape? Could it be both? Why or why not?
- How does the speaker use language to describe the importance of getting beyond "the need to speak"? How is the speaker both free of, and confined to, language?
- Is the form of this poem confining or liberating? Why do you think so?
- How does Dunn use form as a way to make the poem become more than just a retelling of a classroom conversation about driving? How are the stanzas an enactment of the moving car that they describe?
Chew on This
Sometimes the best things in life are free. In this poem, the sacred place of a car in motion is the most liberating experience because it becomes a meditative celebration of what it means to be alive.
Dunn's poem, clever as it is, can't seem to slip from its own shackles. Although the speaker is revving his engine the whole time, talking about moving and getting beyond "the need to speak," he can't actually accomplish this with his poem. Because he's using language to talk about getting beyond language, he's forever trapped in using words to describe a place beyond words. E for effort, though, buddy.