“The Universe: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” by Tracy K. Smith anaysis
A soundtrack is an alternative medium of art that accompanies a film or movie; it expresses the unique peak and valleys, tumultuous, suspenseful, or harmonious, that a movie hosts, and elicits emotions that lend itself to sentiments and themes that are derived from that movie. Some of the greatest soundtracks are regarded by critics to be their own rightful piece of art, that while supporting visual and cinematic art are simultaneously able to convey strong meaning when experienced by itself. Tracy K. Smith’s “The Universe: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” follows these principles and initially, from the title alone, creates expectations of hearing in a musical form the sounds and feelings that accompany the entirety of what is known to exist by humans: the universe.
In a particularly sibilant beginning, the poem opens up with the creation of the universe through the Theory of the Big Bang; swinging music and rhythmic percussion explode from nothing and the rest of the poem is thrown into what then follows. Bustle, business, crude noise, “crinkle,” is the acceleration of then everything that precedes the development of an aware and curious humankind that is able to ponder the extent of the universe that is being expressed sonically in the poem. This disjointed, basic, and unthoughtful sound is the creation of the planets, solar systems, and stars; it is the evolution of life and rapidly expansion of technological advancement. After this, which is the “White noise,” what is left is “Black noise,” a momentary silence of built tension until it is realized that humankind has succeeded in perpetuating their innate curiosity. Humans are left to listen to and interpret this soundtrack, and even be integrated into part of it — we establish our territory by claiming planets with flags, and fly metal ships into the unknowns of the universe. But then, we reach the edge of the universe, and “The dark we’ve only ever imagined now audible.” Something always wondered and sought after is experienced; we reached the end of all that there is to reach, and the emptiness first is deafening in effect, “thrumming” and “marbled with static,” but it is realized that the noise is really just ourselves and our machines, and there is no sound. Our curiosity killed by this revelation, “Silence taunts” us, and all of our questions are answered: we see that our curiosity to reach the edge of the universe and see what is mind-boggling, unexpected, or enlightening has ended because the soundtrack is now silent. With nothing left to wonder or explore, all hope “disappears as if returning somewhere” and this somewhere is somewhere we cannot go, and the soundtrack is finished.
“still,” “swings,” “snare,” “sax,” “stratosphere,” “singe-out,” “soon,” “Synthesized strings,” “something like cellophane,” and “snagged”: the first part of the poem is ultimately conveyed through dominating sibilance that adds pattern and meter to a poem that itself is a soundtrack. The repetition of these sounds adds to the effect of being a vibrant succession of events that is the foundation of universe’s beginning and sequential development. It’s deterministic — one thing leads to another: “snares,” “sax,” and “strings” are the gradual building of an orchestra, full of rhythm and harmony. This is expanded on by the unique syntax of the piece. The speaker employs random arrangements of short phrases, long sentences, repeated words. Overall, this unpredictable pattern further adds to the complexity, for it is the universe, our reality of unknowns and minute details and unique arrangements that this is the soundtrack of. A distinct structure would contradict the nature of this topic. Something unique to note is the familiar characteristic to the metaphors throughout the piece. “cellophane,” “as if snagged by a shoe,” “dry as chalk,” “rode like cowboys,” and more all are everyday, comprehensible concepts that allow readers to fully understand the comparisons being made. But this also hints that this ‘soundtrack’ is not fully a ubiquitous or general soundtrack, but a more isolated and narrower perspective. This is further developed when describing the theme later in the analysis
What is particularly interesting about the overall tone of the poem is that is seems to recognize that the soundtrack is altered and biased by being perceived through ourselves; the speaker understands that we are not truly listening to the soundtrack of the universe, but our version of it. In reality, there was a dozen billion years of music before humans became part of the orchestra, but this portion of the poem is expressed as only busy noise: “Then something like cellophane \ Breaking in as if snagged to a shoe.” Then a shift occurs: “So much for us. So much for the flags we bored \ Into planets dry as chalk.” This references humanity’s quiet downfall, its “drop, like metal shavings \ Into molasses.” Through the history of the universe, a loud, swinging melody had driven humans to understand its hidden secrets and wonders. But this tonal change precedes the description of the downfall of human curiosity. It’s a lack of acceptance for defeat — indignation that there is nothing left for us in the universe, and all the progress that had been accomplished had resulted in disappointment. This also leads to the overall theme that can be inferred from the soundtrack, which brings into question the title of the piece.
The title then brings about a whole new level of interpretation: is this truly the original soundtrack of the entire universe? Who is there other than us to make that claim? The soundtrack helps initiate one of the most daunting questions on human experience: is it ever truly possible to perceive the universe as it is, and not as an altered perception perpetuated by the self-involved and self-centered nature of life itself? Will humans always place themselves as the center of the universe, when reality is trying to tell us we are smaller specks on a small speck revolving around a small speck in an absolutely random point in the universe? This is the ultimate meaning behind the poem — it demonstrates we are tailored to think the music of all of reality is supposed to play by our tunes (“So much for us”) when actually humans are conforming to the limitations of the reality we live in, not the other way around. What is the true, original melody of the biggest entirety we know?
