Ferlinghetti

Ferlinghetti Response

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, San Francisco's Poet Laureate, presents a variety of concepts to portray the city of San Francisco. One portrayal is that of a paradise-like view set in Golden Gate Park. In his poem “In Golden Gate Park that Day”, Ferlinghetti romanticizes the city by referring the park as “the meadow of the world”.

The content of the poem is a description of a couple in the park eating fruit and relaxing under a tree. The poem’s tone seems somewhat dreamlike through Ferlinghetti’s portrayal of objects he identifies. Some of the physical objects in the poem are an old flute, grapes which the wife hands out to squirrels, and trees which “seemed to have been waiting thru all time for them (the couple) which creates an imagery of a sort of fantasy land. Furthering this concept, there are birds which are “calling to each other in the stilly air as if they were questioning existence”. This thought seems to be parallel to the couple who are lying beneath the tree and implies a sense of wonderment which amplifies Ferlinghetti’s portrayal of a romanticized city.

This poem also seems to have the tail of Adam and Eve present. The couple seems to be alone in this “meadow of the world” with only animals as companionship. Also the imagery of the fruit which they both eat under the tree could represent the forbidden fruit. After eating the fruit and looking up at the birds which are questioning existence, the woman looks up at nothing, possibly because it is representing the beginning of time. In the conclusion of the poem, the woman looks at her husband with an “awful look of terrible depression” which could have been prompted by and number of motivations. Yet, the ending still leaves the reader with the feeling of a romanticized situation in a paradise setting.