Poetry Forum

Mud Flat at Low Tide


The chords swell like a wave far out at sea:
gulls ride the air above it. Then, the chorus
comes in at last. It talks of tide and fish,

but we expect the worst. And Peter Grimes
does not do well in company. The tide
will turn, the chorus sings, and that is so.

Orders and plans shape arias, while wind
and rain pull the libretto. Discords lash
like rain across the chorus. Peter Grimes

swims up before us, then fragments. A clear
sense of the man eludes us; words do not
much alter what the music has to say.

A good two hours, to learn that point. Defense
and prosecution speak. There’s no escaping
in this world from our actions, they define us –

this, Peter Grimes forgets. But it is right
to struggle, to contend with Fate – outside us
or inside if the difference matters here.

And what of beauty? Beauty of a sort
spells out this art, like brine, or seaweed, or
a mud flat at low tide. It is not earthly,

it drifts and jars. Here, everybody talks
across each other. Music fissures speech
like driftwood, or a rotting hull. And peace

of mind comes in when words fail. They do that
more than once. Then, wind and tide erase
all manner of sin. Not that of Peter Grimes.


Peter Grimes:

Hi John,

Now, Peter Grimes. I think I studied something from this piece during my Music A Level, but I don't remember much of it, apols. I like your title and the scene-setting in S1. Without much (if anything!) in the way of background knowledge, I'm a little at sea with "Peter Grimes / does not do well in company." But I like the description through S3. There's another sticking point with "Defense / and prosecution speak", as I don't know the specifics, but the comment is interesting. The brine, seaweed, and mud flat are a highlight, likewise the fissures. Of course W.-B. Yeats and I could watch the opera, but we're not sure when we'll have time! There seems to be a reasonable synopsis on Wikipedia, however, so perhaps we'll read this and return https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Grimes

Best wishes,
Fliss

Hi Fliss,

Thank you for your visit and your tohughtful comment! Peter Grimes is based on a poem by Crabbe, but Britten makes better art IMO: it's set around the trial of Grimes for the murder of his apprentice, who died at sea. Grimes is a crotchety and obsessive old fisherman who knew, they say, the sea was unforgiving, and sailed anyhow and would not turn back. The apprentice is as I recall swept to sea.
So, "defense and prosecution speak." Grimes finds the whole trial difficult. I forget whether he is acquitted at the end, but his guilt is inescapable. Guilt stains him. it's great stuff. Britten's partner Peter Pears played Grimes in Aldeburgh, where Crabbe wrote the piece, and Britten too - lots of mud flats in SUffolk, like that scene in David Copperfield.

CHeers,
John

You're welcome, John! Thanks for the notes on Peter Grimes. I like the name Peter Pears and also Suffolk's mud flats, which I recall from a family holiday. We had a better time of it than Peter Grimes, though

Bw,
Fliss