Poetry Anthology

Cassandra (Robinson Jeffers 1887-1962)

The mad girl with the staring eyes and long white fingersHooked in the stones of the wall,The storm-wrack hair and screeching mouth: does it matter,
Cassandra,Whether the people believeYour bitter fountain? Truly men hate the truth, they'd lieferMeet a tiger on the road.Therefore the poets honey their truth with lying; but religion—Vendors and political menPour from the barrel, new lies on the old, and are praised for
kindlyWisdom. Poor bitch be wise.No: you'll still mumble in a corner a crust of truth, to menAnd gods disgusting—You and I, Cassandra.

The story of Cassandra in Greek mythology is one of tragedy. According to mythology, Cassandra was given the power to foretell the future from the God Apollo. Hoping to win her affections, he became her teacher in the art of prophecy. Ultimately, he won her allegiance but not her heart. Insulted by her refusal, Apollo decided to turn her gift into a curse; from then on anyone who heard Cassandra’s truthful prophecies would automatically believe them to be lies. Cassandra’s burden was most evident during the battle of Troy. Cassandra knowing beforehand the Greek’s plan of attack, tried to keep the Trojans from accepting the infamous wooden horse. Unfortunately, her forewarnings were ignored and Troy and all those who inhabited it were destroyed. Many poets have written poems about Cassandra and her unwavering desire to tell the truth but I found this one, by Robinson Jeffers, to be the most poignant and irreverently honest of all the ones I read.
Understanding the story of Cassandra is key to understanding the significance of the poem. Without a clear understanding of her story it is impossible to read the amount of passion Jefferson has for relaying the truth in his writing. In the last line of the poem Robinson reveals that only he and Cassandra are the last two people who truly feel a need to tell the truth; she through her gift of foretelling and he through his gift of writing. This is significant because he knows she died for her cause. Therefore, in relating his cause with hers he admits he is willing to die for his own cause. He even alienates himself from other writers saying, “Poets honey their truth with lying.” This is significant because Robinson alienates himself in the same way Cassandra does by telling the truth. Jefferson’s Cassandra is so poignant because she not only foretells the destruction of her own civilization but she seems to foretell the destruction of our own society. Jefferson seems to end his poem with a haunting warning: If we continue to ignore the truth of our society, then we, like the Trojans, will meet our end.