“A Learned Man Came to Me Once” (Stephen Crane)
A learned man came to me once.
He said, “I know the way, — come.”
And I was overjoyed at this.
Together we hastened.
Soon, too soon, were we
Where my eyes were useless,
And I knew not the ways of my feet.
And I clung to the hand of my friend;
But at last he cried, “I am lost.”
Searching for Meaning in a Meaningless System This poem dramatizes the conflict that arises when an individual seeks to find meaning in life. It attempts to uncover the supposed illusion that knowledge produces answers. The speaker begins in a subconscious state of inferiority and loneliness when a man of great understanding comes to give him advice and to show him the way to find hope. The speaker experiences an extreme joy to have a man of such great knowledge come alongside him to help to navigate life’s journey. Quickly the peculiar pair begins to run forward, but: “Soon, too soon, were we / Where my eyes were useless” (5-6). Realizing that he is now completely lost and fully dependent on the mercy of his learned guide, the speaker continues to grasp the hand of his supposed saviour. In the final line the speaker hears his newly found friend and only source of life cry out in emotionless tone: “I am lost” (9). In this way, the speaker understands and declares the despair and emptiness of trusting in human knowledge as a way to understanding life. Ultimately, the poet uses the speaker to state his personal worldview of nihilism. The poet’s
A famous short story, “The Quiet Man,” by Maurice Walsh, tells the tale of the protagonist, Shawn Kelvin, who must come to a resolution both internally and externally throughout the story. Shawn experiences a rollercoaster of up and downs during the story, around the 1950’s in Ireland. Shawn finds the women of his dreams and he marries her, but her brother, Big Liam O’Grady, is the man of the town. Traditionally, dowry is given from the bride’s family to the groom's family. Shawn has no respect from Big Liam O’Grady, or the town. Shawn wants to receive his respect from Big Liam O’Grady and love from Ellen. Shawn is willing to do anything for her, even it comes down to a fight. Shawn fights himself and others, internally and externally, to
When his beloved becomes lost in a world full of hardships, Baca refers to this poem as a spiritual guidance to help them find the right path to their destination. In addition, if Baca and his beloved ever crossed paths, he will provide her directions. Hence, the poem serves as a map to guide the reader a sense of comfort and
I Knew a Woman is about a woman who has more than just beauty. Theodore Roethke explains what he sees in this woman and the joy and pain about loving her. Roethke uses a
Furthermore, we have the use of first person, where the almost universal effect is to have an in-depth look into the character and their immediate response to a problem or dilemma. This poem no different, where in the first stanza we are ushered in with the use of anaphora in lines 2, 3 and 4 with the repetition of the word ‘’and’’. This specific use of anaphora is used to create the mindset and intelligible deduction of the traveller to the events and dilemma prescribed to him. Insofar as his immediate reaction be being presented with a choice. It shows his reaction of regret in that he is ‘’sorry he could not travel both’’ and explains what he wish he could do ‘’be two travellers’’ but also how he initiates his decision making process ‘’looked down one as far as I could’’. Also, the use of first person is used to connect with the reader, enforcing the affore-used notion that the reader substitutes their own personal truth into a positive
The small city of Brownsville is small in both population and mind. Even though there are individuals who commute morning and night from country to country, there is no unity. Growing up, I had never experienced a “diverse” city. In the city of Brownsville, Hispanics are the majority. As a result, individuals who saw somebody of a different race or ethnicity would make negative and offensive comments towards them. At times, these offensive comments were accidental. Other times, the offensive comments were on purpose and intended to appear humorous to friends. Apart from discriminatory remarks to outsiders, this happened amongst people of my Hispanic community.
In 1994, a conflict the US couldn't understand, between clans and tribes it didn't know, in a country where there were no national interests, occurred. The Rwandan War of 1994 did not deserve US intervention. There are four contentions on why the US should not have gotten involved in this Rwandan war. The Black Hawk Down incident, how the UN was there previously there, there being no Possible Gain, and having nothing to do with us. Through the examination of the novel, An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina, it is Obvious that these key points are valid.
The poem’s structure as a sonnet allows the speaker’s feelings of distrust and heartache to gradually manifest themselves as the poem’s plot progresses. Each quatrain develops and intensifies the speaker’s misery, giving the reader a deeper insight into his convoluted emotions. In the first quatrain, the speaker advises his former partner to not be surprised when she “see[s] him holding [his] louring head so low” (2). His refusal to look at her not only highlights his unhappiness but also establishes the gloomy tone of the poem. The speaker then uses the second and third quatrains to justify his remoteness; he explains how he feels betrayed by her and reveals how his distrust has led him
A deeper level is achieved in the mind of the narrator when she acknowledges her own mental state and that she is eager to leave her sad mood. While the man is described as animal-like and savage, she stands “In moody sadness, on the giddy brink” (9) full of contemplation and reflection on her own worldview. The poet is quite self-aware while the lunatic is not, and through her intelligent banter, the reader can see the extreme difference in personality. The poet’s own self-conception, however, is ironic in that she is wishing for ignorance that can only be achieved by lack of a self-concept. The catch-22 she experiences is perplexing, both to her and the reader.
Flannery O’Connor, undoubtedly one of the most well-read authors of the early 20th Century, had many strong themes deeply embedded within all her writings. Two of her most prominent and poignant themes were Christianity and racism. By analyzing, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” these two themes jump out at the reader. Growing up in the mid-1920’s in Georgia was a huge influence on O’Connor. Less than a decade before her birth, Georgia was much different than it was at her birth. Slaves labored tirelessly on their master’s plantations and were indeed a facet of everyday life. However, as the Civil War ended and Reconstruction began, slaves were not easily assimilated into Southern culture. Thus, O’Connor grew up in a highly racist area that mourned the fact that slaves were now to be treated as “equals.” In her everyday life in Georgia, O’Connor encountered countless citizens who were not shy in expressing their discontent toward the black race. This indeed was a guiding influence and inspiration in her fiction writing. The other guiding influence in her life that became a major theme in her writing was religion. Flannery O 'Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, the only child of a Catholic family. The region was part of the 'Christ-haunted ' Bible belt of the Southern States. The spiritual heritage of the region profoundly shaped O 'Connor 's writing as described in her essay "The Catholic Novelist in the Protestant South" (1969). Many
The explication of the beginning of the poem is so bizarre. The first verse of the poem talks about the speaker’s loneliness. The speaker woke up from the sleep and he is trying to tell about his dream to his old friend. However, He addressed the darkness as his old friend and started to describe it which he had done before. Also, He is saying that when he was sleeping a vision left its seeds and it was deeply rooted in his brain. In this poem silence is the taboo, what he wants to speak about he cannot. The speaker is mentioning to all enlightened people in this poem. Its theme is man's inability to communicate with man.
John Milton’s’ poem “When I consider how my light is spent” is a great piece of art that he creates during his blindness. The sarcasm and the word choice in this poem also have a great impact on how he masts feel. Milton also presents us with a key point on how God plays an important part in his point of view and his life. One of the best thing of this poem is the tone and the feelings that where put into it. Looking at John Milton life through one of his best piece of art “When I consider how my light is spent.”
These four poems by Stephen Crane are all similar because they all seem like simple poems with simple concepts but their meanings actually require more thought. In "A Learned Man Came to Me Once," the narrator is offered a chance to learn. " He said, 'I know the way, -- come.' "
During his time, Walt Whitman was known as the father of free verse. In his work he incorporates his view on the importance of knowledge in the world. Showing different views in his work made it debatable to the audience and having a new outlook on education. He introduced a new way of learning, which is through experience. In this poem, the speaker mentions a time when he was presented a lecture from the wise astronomer, but did not gain the knowledge he needed.
The poem talks about a man- an anonymous “he”- a perfectionist whose poetry was understandable and who, himself, understood “human folly” and the human psyche like “the back of his hand”. He was
Love makes people become selfish, but it is also makes the world greater. In this poem, the world that the speaker lives and loves is not limited in “my North, my South, my East and West / my working week and my Sunday rest” (9-10), it spreads to “My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song (11). The poem’s imagery dominates most of the third stanza giving readers an image of a peaceful world in which everything is in order. However, the last sentence of the stanza is the decisive element. This element not only destroys the inner world of the speaker, but it also sends out the message that love or life is mortal.