This poem is found in Housman’s
Last Poems, it is poem number 37.:
These, in the day when heaven was
falling,
The hour when earth’s foundations
fled,
Followed their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead.
Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth’s foundations
stay;
What God abandoned, these defended,
And saved the sum of things for pay.
The poem with the stressed
syllables underlined:
These, in the day when heaven was
falling,
The hour when earth’s foundations
fled,
Followed their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead.
Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth’s foundations
stay;
What God abandoned, these defended,
And saved the sum of things for pay.
Analysis:
The idea of this poem seems to be the
irony that people who have no real
interest in an institution or system,
can be the ones that save it. Perhaps,
as an atheist, Housman was thinking
of himself in society and the
university he taught at. The value of
outsiders, and their ironic role as
tragic and unsung heroes is underlined
by them doing "for pay" when other,
more high-minded people, refused to act
according to their principles.
The rhythm is perfectly regular. In such
a sort poem, we should not expect more.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments welcome.