Tear it Down

“Tear It Down” can be likened to a poetic instruction guide on reconceptualizing life in order to find greater meaning. It is written in first person and the speaker of the poem is unnamed, though it may be assumed the speaker is the actual poet. The overall mood is serious and insistent, adding to the urgency of the conveyed message. Although an intense poem, it is meant as a means of guiding the reader toward thoughtfully considering their life and how delving into the minutiae one may take for granted—the morning, love, the constellations—offers a more rich and complete comprehension of the world in which everyone exists.

Gilbert employs both specific imagery and connotations throughout the poem. The speaker begins in a concise, declarative voice placing a more abstract image (the heart) with a more concrete one (the morning): “We find out what the heart knows only by dismantling what / the heart knows. By redefining the morning, / we find a morning that comes just after darkness” (Lines 1-3). Both conceptual and philosophical, these lines explain that through dismantling and redefining personal views, humans can create a fresh understanding of their hearts and circumstances.

Beyond the immediate denotation of “morning” (Line 3) and “darkness” (Line 3), the speaker suggests finding joy after sorrow through the practice of reconceptualizing what has occurred and what will occur. The same principle is used in Line 4: “We can break through marriage into marriage.” By redefining initial impressions of what marriage should be, the reader can “break through” (Line 4) into a more complete understanding of what marriage is—not a surface-level practice, but an endeavor rife with depth and subjective meaning to everyone who encounters it.

Lines 5-6 offer a paradox: “By insisting on love we spoil it, get beyond / affection and wade mouth-deep into love.” The use of the comma in these lines must be noted. If the speaker had used a period, there would have been two declarative statements. Instead, they offer a paradox: By spoiling love humans are able to “get beyond / affection” (Lines 5-6) and dive deeper into love. Seemingly, the speaker conceives of love as more than affection, though what is at the deep end of love is left for individual reader interpretation.

Line 7 offers another clue: “We must unlearn the constellations to see the stars.” The constellations are a collective, yet the stars have their own individual light and beauty to offer. By looking closer, the reader acknowledges this individuality and sees the stars in an altogether new and fresh manner. The stars and constellations here serve as a metaphor for the overarching themes within the work: To fully understand and appreciate most anything in life, one must “Tear It Down” (title) and examine the pieces comprising the whole.

The speaker notes “going back to our childhood will not help” (Line 8), suggesting that looking to or relying upon the past is not the answer. Furthermore: “The village is not better than Pittsburgh. / Only Pittsburgh is more than Pittsburgh” (Lines 9-10). These lines connect the ideas used in the first part of the poem and declare that only a thing itself can be more than what it is. Gilbert grew up in Pittsburgh and suggests that the smaller, more rural villages of his later life are not “better” (Lines 9-10) than the city in which he was born and raised. Instead of comparing and contrasting, to change perspective people must redefine their perspective. Though the diction varies, the message is the same: Only by redefining the heart, “morning” (Lines 2-3), cities, etc. can a full and complete understand be reached. The speaker does not offer any concrete answers on what lies beyond redefinition, only the notion that the reader can get there if they follow the poem’s instructions and “Tear it Down” (title). By leaving interpretation open ended, the reader is able to feel a more emotional impact and an insistence to listen to the speaker so they can arrive at a deeper understanding of their personal worlds.

The speaker next offers a metaphor:

Rome is better than Rome in the same way the sound

of raccoon tongues licking the inside walls

of the garbage tub is more than the stir

of them in the muck of the garbage. (Lines 11-15)

Comparing Rome, a great historical city, to raccoons in a garbage can creates an equaling of subjects. The prescription stays the same: By reconceptualizing everyday conceptions, clarity is achieved. No matter whether the reader is considering an ancient civilization or nocturnal animals rooting through garbage, the message remains: to understand and appreciate it, tear it down.

Toward the end of the poem, the speaker offers heavy declarative statements: “Love is not / enough. We die and are put into the earth forever” (Lines 14-15). Human mortality and the finality of what can be accomplished during life on earth should move people to act while they can. The speaker says, “we should insist while there is still time” (Line 16), meaning people should take the time they are alive to facilitate a better understanding of the world in which they live. Such understanding yields greater gratitude.

The poem ends with another declaration: “We must eat through the wildness of her sweet body […] to reach the body within the body” (Lines 17-18), implying that through physical intimacy with the tangible body humans may reach the spiritual body. The repetition of the word “body” and the variable meaning for each use shows once again that by redefining what is known, a deeper, more thorough understanding can be reached.

Summarily, the gist of “Tear It Down” lies in the title. Nothing should be taken merely at surface value and only once humans dismantle that which they think they know can a full comprehension of anything—from the human heart to the places of upbringing—be reached.