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The Symbols of Death in Everette Maddox's Closing Time

© Karen Powers Liebhaber

Everette Maddox’s “Closing Time,” though short, is loaded with meaning and symbolism. The most obvious symbol is that of death. This image is strengthened by the loneliness of the speaker and the noise of the bar.

Noise in the poem and the constant production of noise by the bar employees creates a strong contrast to the loneliness of the speaker. The speaker’s tone is one of complete aloneness, but it is apparent that other people are present in the bar. Though other people are present, obvious by the activity of closing the bar, the speaker appears to have no contact with them. He explains that it was “din din / din / When I was trying / to sleep” (Maddox, 1-4), but the other people in the bar do not appear to be trying to be quiet. The noise is keeping the speaker from sleeping. The speaker also describes that “cans & bottles / boxes / were banging & clunking / & ashtrays were / going however / ashtrays go” (7-13). Obviously, it is very busy and loud in the bar. The speaker continues to try to sleep while the bar employees pay him no attention and proceed with their loud closing process. Even the inanimate ashtrays have a noise of their own: “& ashtrays were / going however / ashtrays go” (11-13).

The loneliness of the speaker is painful. The image of him “trying to sleep / on the bench / in the bar” (3-6) while the employees work around him is a pitiful one. Added to this pity is the notion that no one seems to notice his attempt at sleep. The speaker comments on the noise and notes that “the only quiet / thing in the house / was my heart / which had given up / on you” (14-18). The loneliness of the speaker emits from this line. It seems obvious that no one else in the bar notices that the weary speaker has a broken heart. It is apparent that the lover has rejected or left the speaker. His heart has given up on the lover, showing that the lover is absent. Because his heart “had” (17) given up on the lover rather than “has” or “is,” it is obvious that the lover has been away for sometime. The speaker does not appear to expect the return of the lover.

It is important to note the lack of punctuation in the poem, especially at the end. This neglect displays the lack of importance that the speaker feels, as if no one would notice that his unimportant diction does not contain punctuation. By not including a period at the end, the speaker is left dangling forever in loneliness and heartbreak in a noisy bar where no one notices him. That the speaker tells the audience of his broken heart at the end confirms the speaker’s feelings of loneliness and unimportance. By not adding a period, the speaker’s heart will remain lonely and the lover will be absent for infinity.

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