“I can consider a tree,” Martin Buber states in his book I and Thou, “I can subdue its actual presence and form so sternly that I recognize it only as an expression of law” (22). This idea of Buber’s that humanity’s classification demeans the true value of an item or individual is a motif that the writers of the poems “Adam’s Task” and “Naming the Animals” employ in response to the creation myths of Genesis. In both of the response poems, John Hollander and Anthony Hecht focus upon the task of naming the animals appointed by God unto Adam. By concentrating on this undisclosed event of the creation myth within their works, they form their own representations of how that affair possibly occurred, and with ironic and anticlimactic language they
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Within the story that he weaves with his poem, the way that Adam approaches the assignment is with a careless, whimsical nature. Hollander writes of Adam’s nonchalant work as, “half-measuring, half-humming, / … as serious as play” (Lines 16, 17). The statement that Hollander is making about the character of humanity with this portrayal is that it will never reach the sanctity of the divine’s work, so it is fitting that he depict Adam not attempting the undertaking with solemnity. Continuing with this theme, the author chooses to use diction that is fanciful and repetitive. Some of the quirky names that Hollander has Adam give to the animals are, “paw-paw-paw,” “whitestap,” “awagabu,” “kabasch” and “flisket” (Lines 2-12). These names illustrate the arbitrary nature of Adam’s work because of the author’s decision to not use the formal names of the animals. This implication is also done for the names that Adam reuses for multiple animals: “glurd” and “spotted glurd;” “three types of grawl;” “greater / Wherret” and “lesser one” (Lines 2-19) The duplication of these names could imply a slight disinterest in Adam’s approach to what he is doing because of their lack of …show more content…
However, unlike Hollander’s interpretation, his depiction of Adam’s demeanor is one of reverence and not nonchalance to overtly show this divergence of stature. Hecht uses repetition of Adam’s uncertainty and anxiety to express how nonsensical God’s appointing Adam to name the animals is along with an anticlimactic ending. Hecht uses words such as “vexed,” “addled,” and “bottomless dismay” to describe how this allotted duty made Adam feel when approaching this job (Lines 5-12). Additionally, Hecht writes of Adam’s reaction when he was given the task: “he took thought / Of all the miracles the Lord had wrought / Now to be labeled, dubbed, yclept, indexed” (Lines 6-8). The sentiment represented within these lines is alike Buber’s by implying that the classification of these animals in essence takes away from God’s original mastery. In other words, the grace of their design and creation is being reduced down to one term that cannot do God’s work
Within the story that he weaves with his poem, the way that Adam approaches the assignment is with a careless, whimsical nature. Hollander writes of Adam’s nonchalant work as, “half-measuring, half-humming, / … as serious as play” (Lines 16, 17). The statement that Hollander is making about the character of humanity with this portrayal is that it will never reach the sanctity of the divine’s work, so it is fitting that he depict Adam not attempting the undertaking with solemnity. Continuing with this theme, the author chooses to use diction that is fanciful and repetitive. Some of the quirky names that Hollander has Adam give to the animals are, “paw-paw-paw,” “whitestap,” “awagabu,” “kabasch” and “flisket” (Lines 2-12). These names illustrate the arbitrary nature of Adam’s work because of the author’s decision to not use the formal names of the animals. This implication is also done for the names that Adam reuses for multiple animals: “glurd” and “spotted glurd;” “three types of grawl;” “greater / Wherret” and “lesser one” (Lines 2-19) The duplication of these names could imply a slight disinterest in Adam’s approach to what he is doing because of their lack of …show more content…
However, unlike Hollander’s interpretation, his depiction of Adam’s demeanor is one of reverence and not nonchalance to overtly show this divergence of stature. Hecht uses repetition of Adam’s uncertainty and anxiety to express how nonsensical God’s appointing Adam to name the animals is along with an anticlimactic ending. Hecht uses words such as “vexed,” “addled,” and “bottomless dismay” to describe how this allotted duty made Adam feel when approaching this job (Lines 5-12). Additionally, Hecht writes of Adam’s reaction when he was given the task: “he took thought / Of all the miracles the Lord had wrought / Now to be labeled, dubbed, yclept, indexed” (Lines 6-8). The sentiment represented within these lines is alike Buber’s by implying that the classification of these animals in essence takes away from God’s original mastery. In other words, the grace of their design and creation is being reduced down to one term that cannot do God’s work