To humans, the most essential part to living is communicating. We connect to one another through ways of expression such as music or literature. Poetry as a form of writing is a way to express feelings through rhythm and the use of specific words. In every poem, the author conveys a certain topic or emotion to the reader. The use of language, metaphors, and recurring themes is essential to the poet in sending the right message. When put together in a way that speaks to the poet and the reader, poetry can say a lot about humanity and the nature of the qualities we all share.
In Loren Eiseley’s And As For Man, one can infer many things about the poet and the way the poet views the human condition. The tone of this poem is mysterious, and full …show more content…
The poet is expressing the ways in which humans make their presence known on the earth and affect the surroundings. I think the poet is possibly speaking to human nature and the people that do what society says they cannot, and that those people are waiting for the time when they too can prosper. In lines eighteen through twenty, the poet says “Man would scythe them down if he could; man would poison them if he could reach so high, but they live, incredibly they live, between the tunnel’s darkness and the sky.” I think this can be directly applied to the fact that humans want control. Whether taken literally to mean that people want control over even the smallest of weeds in the man-made, bustling city they have created, or whether it is interpreted as the desire for people in society to have control over other people, the message is clear: when man lays down the law, obedience is expected.
Although obedience is expected, I do not believe that Eiseley intended for it to be the theme or main takeaway from this work. The more prominent idea is that the weeds in the poem were sprouting and spreading despite human oppression. The plants are described as “undaunted”- they are not intimidated by the human presence. In the final stanza of the poem, there is a sense of anticipation and restlessness, as if the plants, or metaphorically, the oppressed, are waiting for the time to come when they can grow freely and not have to wait or hide any
In Loren Eiseley’s And As For Man, one can infer many things about the poet and the way the poet views the human condition. The tone of this poem is mysterious, and full …show more content…
The poet is expressing the ways in which humans make their presence known on the earth and affect the surroundings. I think the poet is possibly speaking to human nature and the people that do what society says they cannot, and that those people are waiting for the time when they too can prosper. In lines eighteen through twenty, the poet says “Man would scythe them down if he could; man would poison them if he could reach so high, but they live, incredibly they live, between the tunnel’s darkness and the sky.” I think this can be directly applied to the fact that humans want control. Whether taken literally to mean that people want control over even the smallest of weeds in the man-made, bustling city they have created, or whether it is interpreted as the desire for people in society to have control over other people, the message is clear: when man lays down the law, obedience is expected.
Although obedience is expected, I do not believe that Eiseley intended for it to be the theme or main takeaway from this work. The more prominent idea is that the weeds in the poem were sprouting and spreading despite human oppression. The plants are described as “undaunted”- they are not intimidated by the human presence. In the final stanza of the poem, there is a sense of anticipation and restlessness, as if the plants, or metaphorically, the oppressed, are waiting for the time to come when they can grow freely and not have to wait or hide any