Review of Al Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace

                The Pro-technology themes within the poem begin with his first line of each stanza, “I like to think”.  The wording signifies his desire for a world in which the mutual harmony between nature and machines exists as he writes. The imagery of comparing the relationship between mammals and computers to images, such as “like pure water touching clear sky” and “as if they were flowers with spinning blossoms”, shows his belief in the beauty that combining animals and machines could create. He uses both similes and metaphors to describe the possible beauty he imagines. He concludes his poem by describing the benefits of cybernetic ecology will make us “free of our labors” and that we will be watched over by “machines of loving grace”.

                The Anti-technology themes within the poem mostly rely on assuming that the author was employing a large amount of irony and satire. Themes for anti-technology also begin with the trend in the first few lines, except that he is critiquing the way people view technology and technological advancement. The “I like to think” lines and the phrases in the parentheses following them are a form of parody of the general population’s mentality. He represents people’s impatience, desire for immediate gratification, and overly optimistic view of what machines can do and what they are.

                Along with a changed perspective on the first lines of each stanza, the final stanza’s meaning completely changes. The return he speaks of in the last stanza to our mammal brother and sisters would be considered a decay of human thought and ambition. He argues that if we allow machines to control us, we will become no better than animals. Finally, at the end of the poem, he describes machines as having loving grace. He uses irony to describe exactly why machines and technology are wrong, because they lack both the ability to love and feel.           

                Brautigan uses irony and sarcasm to make his stance less definitive, but overall he has an anti-technology theme to his poem. The anti-technology theme is more convincing because it is not explicitly told. By writing from the perspective of an extreme pro-technology perspective, he allows the reader to see the flaws of expanding technology.

D.L
-wonder if he would approve of writing about his poetry in an online blog?