Man and Woman

by Victor Marie Hugo 

Man is the highest of creatures.
The woman is the most sublime of ideals.
God made for man a throne for the woman an altar.
The throne exalts, the altar sanctifies.

Man is the brain.
The woman’s heart.
The brain produces the light, the heart produces the Love
Fruitful Light, Love resurrects.

The man is strong by reason.
The woman is invincible by tears.
The reason convinces, tears moving.

Man is capable of all heroism.
Woman of all martyrdom.
Heroism ennobles; sublimates martyrdom.
Man has supremacy.

The woman’s preference.
Supremacy is strength, represents the right preference.
The man is a genius.
The woman an angel.
Genius is immeasurable, the angel indefinable.

The aspiration of man is supreme glory.
The aspiration of woman is extreme virtue.
The glory makes everything great, virtue makes everything divine.
Man is a code.
A gospel woman.
The code corrects, the gospel perfects.

Man thinks.
She dreams.
To think is to have a larva in the skull; dream is to have a halo on his forehead.

Man is an ocean.
The woman is a lake.
The ocean has the adorning pearl, the lake, dazzling poetry.

Man is the flying eagle.
She is the nightingale that sings.
Flying is dominate space. Sing is to conquer the soul.
The man is a Temple.
The woman is the Tabernacle.
Before the temple we discover ourselves, we kneel before the Tabernacle.

In short: the man is placed where the land ends.
The woman where heaven begins.

Summary of Man and Woman

• Popularity of “Man and Woman”: This poem was originally written in French by Victor Marie Hugo, a great French poet and novelist. It was perhaps written during the mid-1800s. Man and Woman is an inspiring literary piece explaining the creative differences between man and woman. The speaker wonderfully illustrated his ideas about God’s two different creations. It illustrates how men and women differ in various ways. Its popularity, however, lies in the fact that it explains the differences, giving logical examples.
• “Man and Woman” A Reflection of Poet’s Thoughts: This poem explains how and why man and woman cannot be judged by using the same yardstick. The poet gives several reasons to justify his stance. He argues that man and woman can never be equal, and to support his argument, he compares them with various things and gives reason for the unique comparisons. The poem begins when the speaker calls a man the highest of the creature and a woman the sublime of ideals. To him, God has bestowed man with supreme qualities; He has made him a warrior, a savior, and a strong creature.
  In contrast, a woman is created weak, fragile, and kind-hearted. Throughout the text, he compares them with many things to draw a line that separates them from one another. For instance, he compares man with the ocean, flying eagle, and temple. In contrast, a woman is a heart, angel, lake, dream, and nightingale. The choice of words suggests that man is the epitome of all power, while a woman has got some spiritual delight.
• Major Themes in “Man and Woman”: The difference between man and woman, God’s creation, and comparison are the major themes of this poem. This beautiful poem speaks about the distinct qualities man and woman possess. He starts this piece by stating it clearly that equality does not exist between man and woman; God has gifted them with different qualities. Man is genius, with a strong head and heart qualities, while the woman is invincible by tears. Their aspiration, goals, roles, and preferences are different. The speaker does not intend to portray the woman as an inferior or man as a superior being. He simply wants to state the differences that exist between them. To him, they hold two different identities that should not be coined as one.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Man and Woman”

Literary devices allow writers to create style and hidden meanings. These devices convey their ideas, feelings and emotions to the readers. Victor Marie Hugo has also employed some literary devices in this poem to speak his heart. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been discussed below.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /i/ in “The woman is invincible by tears” and the sound of /o/ in “Heroism ennobles; sublimates martyrdom”.
2. Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. The words “The aspiration of” is repeated in the middle of the poem to emphasize the point.

“The aspiration of man is supreme glory.
The aspiration of woman is extreme virtue.”

3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /r/ in “The glory makes everything great, virtue makes everything divine” and the sound of /l/ in “Genius is immeasurable, the angel indefinable.”
4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

“The brain produces the light, the heart produces the Love
Fruitful Light, Love resurrects.”

5. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “In short: the man is placed where the land ends”, “The ocean has the adorning pearl, the lake, dazzling poetry” and “The woman is a lake.”
6. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different in nature. Throughout, the poem, the poet compares man and woman with different objects such as; “The man is a Temple”, “The woman is the Tabernacle” and “Man is a code.”
7. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. “The flying eagle”, “temple” and “ocean” symbolize the immeasurable strength of the man.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Man and Woman”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1. Couplet: There are two constructive lines of verse in a couplet, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme. This poem ends with a couplet, which reveals the central idea of the poem. For example,

“In short: the man is placed where the land ends.
The woman where heaven begins.”

2. Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
3. Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here first, second and fourth stanzas are quatrain.
4. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are ten stanzas in this poem with each comprises a different number of verses.

Quotes to be Used

The lines stated below can be used in speeches while reflecting upon the different roles of mankind.

“Man is the highest of creatures.
The woman is the most sublime of ideals.
God made for man a throne for the woman an altar.
The throne exalts, the altar sanctifies.”