Language and Meaning

Modern poetry has long been considered a rarified form of expression, accessible only to those trained in the "art" of interpretation. In this sense, it can be seen as a code needing deciphering. "Smart and Final Iris" alludes to poetry's reputation as a difficult art by making a poem out of the very subjects of obscurity and codes. The title of the poem highlights this fact. Just as the U.S. military uses words bearing little discernible logic to the events they signify, so too does Tate use a title with no seeming logical relationship to the poem it names. In copying the military's naming tactics, however, Tate makes poetry out of them. Although "Smart and Final Iris" alludes to a chain of grocery warehouses— something most readers would not know—it is also a somewhat fitting image for nuclear apocalypse. The image of the nuclear...