Life happens in time

“Skunk Hour” seems to resolve Robert Lowell’s Life Studies sequence in that it brings you in a full circle, just as life does. The sequence begins with Lowell as a young child, five years old, spending his last afternoon with his Uncle Devereux Winslow. Lowell at this point is remembering his childhood and reflecting on all of the people that helped to mold him into who he is.

He makes mention throughout his Life Studies sequence of his father and his father’s connection with the navy. In “Commander Lowell” we see his father, booming “Anchors aweigh,” in the bathtub. These lines show his father’s feeling of defeat in his professional life after leaving the Navy.

While put away for bouts of manic depression, Lowell describes in “Waking in the Blue,” his feeling of belonging to the “house of the mentally ill.” It is here that Lowell first accepts what and who he is. This poem seems to demonstrate Lowell’s ability to deal with certain aspects of life whereas his father had previously given up.

In “Home after Three Months Away,” Lowell has made the transformation from self into father. He now is able to stand in his father’s previous position and understand the complexities of life that drove him to quit. “Dearest I cannot loiter her/and lather like a polar bear,” makes reference to the attempt to stand still in life. Even if one could stand still in life, life cannot nor will not stand still for you.

Throughout the Life Studies sequence, Lowell uses imagery to reflect the natural world. In doing this, he is able to help resolve the study with “Skunk Hour” by representing the natural world as cyclical, coming back to the first poem of the sequence, “My Last Afternoon with Uncle Devereux Winslow,” with the mention of “our Alpine, Edwardian cuckoo clock.” This image of the clock seems to help the overall message of “Skunk Hour” by the pure representation of time passing. Lowell is reflecting upon his life and all that has contributed to his life.

The skunks seem to represent Lowell himself. He has spent his life searching for something, battling his inner self, just as the skunks are searching through the garbage for their next meal. Lowell relates to the skunks in their search, recognizing it is not just a search for food, but for life. In his search for life, Lowell has been in a manic state, unable to stand back and observe life happening. In this moment of observing skunks rummage through garbage, Lowell is able to step outside of his head for a moment and realize that life does happen. The moment that Lowell is able to separate himself from his dizzying mind, he is able to experience life in a way that he has been unable to do previously. He is able to achieve an objective point of view and enjoy life. In this moment of relating to the skunks, Lowell gets a moment of salvation from his manic head and realizes that life is instinctive survival, and that the weak are the ones who will not make it.