The Universe: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2011

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Related Poems

“The Universe as Primal Scream” by Tracy K. Smith (2011)

This poem exists in a much more intimate setting than “The Universe: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.” But the poem uses many of the same techniques, and it asks similar existential questions about existence, life, and the purpose of humanity. In the poem, Smith describes two children screaming at the top of their lungs for no apparent reason. Their screams take the speaker on a metaphysical journey alluding to history, theology, and evolution. The speaker uses the screams as a launching point into a speech about welcoming eternity and seeking purpose. The poem ends on uncertain terms as the speaker wonders if the screams will ever meet whatever it is the children are screaming for.

“The Galaxy” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1893)

In this sonnet, Longfellow employs historical and mythological imagery to describe his wonder when looking up at the night sky. Longfellow alludes to Saint Christopher, Christopher Columbus, and the Greek myth of Phaethon to describe various figures who either looked to the sky for guidance or who rode across the sky. The poem transitions into Longfellow’s own feelings about the night sky, saying he does not see history or mythology in the sky, but only the beauty of stars and galaxies that exist beyond the endless black. This poem presents a view of the universe more centered in artistic sentiment than in scientific curiosity, but it serves as a nice companion piece to Smith’s contemporary view of the universe.

Cosmic Background Radiation

This video is a recording of cosmic background radiation. While not a poem, this sound is the echo of the origin of the universe, which heavily features in Smith’s poem. Similar to white noise, cosmic background radiation is a constant drumming of empty sound that represents the energy left over in the millions of years after the Big Bang. It is one of the literal sounds Smith’s poem describes.

Further Literary Resources

“Epic Science” by Anna Lena Phillips (2010)

In this article for American Scientist, Phillips traces the history of science in poetry. Starting with the 1700s, Phillips explains how some Enlightenment poets personified plants when writing scientific verse and how in the 1800s, poets used the new language of science to inspire them in ways classic tropes inspired them in the past. Most of these poems were epics, but by the 1900s, most epic poems disappeared. Phillips says there are a number of reasons for this, and many scholars have been investigating why science and poetry split so fast and suddenly. One hypothesis is that the sciences and humanities became distinct academic fields, resulting in poets going one way and scientists another.

Tracy K. Smith, then, is a bit of a throwback. Her focus on science in poetry is almost the product of a bygone era.

“Cosmic Microwave Background Explained” by PBS Space Time (2015)

This video from PBS provides a basic summary of what the cosmic microwave background is, the science of it, and how it formed. The video explains how the early universe created microwave radiation over the course of millions of years as the plasma from the early universe red-shifted and then eventually entered a visual spectrum impossible for humans to see, thus leaving the night sky black.

“Tracy K. Smith’s Poetry of Desire” by Hilton Als (2018)

In this review of some of Smith’s poetry, Als lauds Smith as a unique voice who embraces love poetry and who symbolizes a tradition of Black women who have been bold in presenting their bodies in poetry. Smith analyzes a handful of passages in Smith’s work and connects the work to Smith’s upbringing with a religious mother and a scientific father. Als illustrates a lot of the dualities present in Smith’s work with specific focus on Smith’s religious conception of sexuality and her more scientific approach to life. Als also comments on Smith’s emphasis on her identity as a Black woman.