[ book tip by Den danske Bibliotek ] A requiem is a mass for the dead, and death is a central theme in "Butterfly Valley", but it is also a tribute to a life of vulnerability.
The poems are written in the classical rhymed sonnet form, consisting of fourteen lines. Each sonnet fills a single page, and has two stanzas of four verses and two stanzas of three verses. The sonnets are bound together into a sonnet cycle consisting of fifteen sonnets, where the final verse of a sonnet becomes the first verse of the next. All fourteen beginning verses are repeated in the fifteenth sonnet, the master sonnet, which both consolidates the entire poem into a type of conclusion and opens it to new interpretations. The form is ancient and extremely strict, but the repetition of so many lines and the changing contexts and thereby meanings give the poem impetus.

The poem opens with a fabulous vision of butterflies, winging up in the midday heat of a southern European valley. It shimmers with colour and heat. The flying butterflies awaken childhood memories in the narrator, thus introducing the central themes: reminiscence, nature, love, life and death. The narrator sees herself in nature and realises that she is a part of it.
The butterfly goes through a special biological metamorphosis; it is also  an ancient poetic symbol of life's beauty and transitory nature. There exists a duality and a number of levels of meaning in the relationships between nature, poetry and language. The many species of butterflies are named, and there are both butterflies and moths.
It is fascinating reading, and many layers can be unveiled in the dense language.
The contrast between the strict composition and the light, fluttering butterflies is quite elegant.
The awareness of death increasingly progresses. The narrator reflects on life and death. In the final sonnet she reconciles herself with death and can looks it in the eye, but the world is multitudinous and rich in moments of joy.

Recommended by Vibeke Hove Hansen, librarian at Roskilde Library

[ book info ] Christensen, Inger: Sommerfugledalen . (Butterfly Valley). (original language: Dansk) Brøndum, København , 1991 . ISBN: 978-87-11-14027-7.