Welcome, fellow explorers of language and meaning, to a journey into one of the most powerful and thought-provoking poems in English literature: Edwin Markham’s “The Man With The Hoe”. This poem, inspired by Jean-François Millet’s world-famous painting, speaks volumes about human dignity, social justice, and the profound impact of labor on the human spirit. Let us begin by immersing ourselves in Markham’s profound words.
The Man With The Hoe
By Edwin Markham
Written after seeing Millet’s World-Famous Painting
God made man in His own image,
in the image of God made He him. —Genesis.Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans
Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground,
The emptiness of ages in his face,
And on his back the burden of the world.
Who made him dead to rapture and despair,
A thing that grieves not and that never hopes,
Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?
Who loosened and let down this brutal jaw?
Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow?
Whose breath blew out the light within this brain?Is this the Thing the Lord God made and gave
To have dominion over sea and land;
To trace the stars and search the heavens for power;
To feel the passion of Eternity?
Is this the Dream He dreamed who shaped the suns
And marked their ways upon the ancient deep?
Down all the stretch of Hell to its last gulf
There is no shape more terrible than this—
More tongued with censure of the world’s blind greed—
More filled with signs and portents for the soul—
More fraught with danger to the universe.What gulfs between him and the seraphim!
Slave of the wheel of labor, what to him
Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades?
What the long reaches of the peaks of song,
The rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose?
Through this dread shape the suffering ages look;
Time’s tragedy is in that aching stoop;
Through this dread shape humanity betrayed,
Plundered, profaned and disinherited,
Cries protest to the Judges of the World,
A protest that is also prophecy.O masters, lords and rulers in all lands,
is this the handiwork you give to God,
This monstrous thing distorted and soul-quenched ?
How will you ever straighten up this shape;
Touch it again with immortality;
Give back the upward looking and the light;
Rebuild in it the music and the dream;
Make right the immemorial infamies,
Perfidious wrongs, immediate woes?O masters, lords and rulers in all lands,
How will the Future reckon with this Man?
How answer his brute question in that hour
When whirlwinds of rebellion shake the world?
How will it be with kingdoms and with kings—
With those who shaped him to the thing he is—
When this dumb terror shall reply to God
After the silence of the centuries?
The Man With The Hoe Summary: Unveiling the Poem’s Core Message
Edwin Markham’s “The Man With The Hoe” is a profoundly moving poem, published in 1899, that sprang from his observation of Jean-François Millet’s iconic painting of a peasant laborer. This poem resonated deeply during a time of immense social change, as industrialization brought both progress and widespread exploitation of the working class. It serves as a powerful meditation on the dehumanizing effects of relentless toil and the spiritual cost of societal neglect.
At its heart, “The Man With The Hoe” questions the very essence of humanity and its divine creation. Markham masterfully uses vivid imagery and a series of challenging rhetorical questions to portray the laborer as a broken, spiritless figure, stripped of joy, hope, and intellectual curiosity. The poem’s central idea is a scathing indictment of any system that allows for such degradation, and it issues a passionate plea for the recognition of every human being’s inherent worth and dignity.
This poem is not merely a historical artifact. It remains remarkably relevant today, serving as a timeless reminder of the crucial importance of social justice, empathy, and a collective commitment to uplifting those marginalized by societal forces. It encourages us to look beyond the surface and consider the profound impact of our actions and inactions on the lives of others.
The Man With The Hoe Analysis: A Deep Dive into Meaning and Craft
Understanding the Poem’s Historical Context and Structure
To truly appreciate “The Man With The Hoe”, it is essential to understand the era in which it was written. The late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States were marked by dramatic social and economic upheaval. The rapid rise of industrial capitalism led to harsh working conditions, grueling hours, and widespread poverty for many. Markham’s poem became a powerful voice for the voiceless, articulating the anxieties and frustrations of a nation grappling with these profound inequalities.
The poem is structured into five distinct stanzas, each building upon the previous one to develop its central argument. Markham employs blank verse, which means the lines are written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. This metrical pattern, characterized by ten syllables per line with an alternating pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables (like a heartbeat: da-DUM da-DUM), gives the poem a natural, conversational rhythm while maintaining a sense of gravitas and elevated discourse. This choice allows Markham to create a tone that is both prophetic and deeply emotional, perfectly mirroring the weight of his subject matter. The consistent use of rhetorical questions and direct address further amplifies this effect, creating a powerful sense of urgency and moral outrage.
Exploring Key Themes and Poetic Techniques
The Dehumanizing Effects of Labor
The poem’s most striking image is the stooped, utterly exhausted laborer, whose body is described as “Bowed by the weight of centuries”. This is far more than mere physical exhaustion; it represents a profound spiritual and intellectual crushing. Markham emphasizes the man’s complete lack of joy, hope, and intellectual curiosity, asking:
Who made him dead to rapture and despair,
A thing that grieves not and that never hopes?
The line “Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?” powerfully compares the man to an animal, stripping him of his inherent human dignity and suggesting he has been reduced to a beast of burden. This dehumanization is directly linked to the relentless and unceasing nature of his labor. The man is depicted as a “Slave of the wheel of labor”, utterly disconnected from the beauty and wonder of the world around him. Markham highlights this deprivation of intellectual and aesthetic nourishment with poignant questions:
What to him
Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades?
What the long reaches of the peaks of song,
The rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose?
These lines underscore how his grueling existence has robbed him of the capacity to appreciate philosophy, astronomy, poetry, or the simple beauty of nature.
The Power of Imagery and Symbolism in “The Man With The Hoe”
Markham masterfully employs vivid imagery to create an emotionally resonant and unforgettable portrait of the laborer. The image of the “aching stoop” becomes a potent symbol of generations of suffering, oppression, and physical toll. The “burden of the world” carried on the man’s back represents the immense weight of societal injustice and the collective suffering of the downtrodden. The hoe itself is a powerful symbol of arduous, unending labor and the cycle of toil that traps the man.
The use of light and darkness is also profoundly significant. The man has lost “the light within this brain”, symbolizing the extinguishing of his intellect, spirit, and hope. The poem’s call to those in power to “Give back the upward looking and the light” suggests the possibility of redemption, restoration, and a return to human flourishing.
The contrast between the “seraphim” (heavenly beings) and the man is another powerful symbolic gulf, emphasizing how far humanity has fallen from its divine potential.
The Rhetorical Force of Questions and Direct Address
The poem is replete with rhetorical questions, questions not meant to be answered but designed to provoke deep thought and challenge the reader’s assumptions. For example:
Is this the Thing the Lord God made and gave
To have dominion over sea and land?
This question forces us to confront the stark discrepancy between humanity’s inherent dignity and divine purpose, and the grim reality of the laborer’s degraded existence.
The direct address, or apostrophe, to “O masters, lords and rulers in all lands” is a powerful rhetorical device. It directly holds those in power accountable for their actions and demands a reckoning. The poem’s chilling closing lines serve as a stark warning:
When this dumb terror shall reply to God
After the silence of the centuries?
This suggests that the oppressed, though silent for ages, will eventually demand justice, hinting at potential rebellion and societal upheaval.
Literary and Poetic Devices in “The Man With The Hoe”
Edwin Markham’s poem is a treasure trove of literary and poetic devices, each contributing to its profound impact:
- Allusion: The poem opens with a powerful Biblical allusion to Genesis, “God made man in His own image, in the image of God made He him.” This sets up a profound contrast between humanity’s divine origin and the degraded state of the man with the hoe. Further allusions to “Plato and the swing of Pleiades” evoke a world of intellectual and aesthetic beauty that is tragically inaccessible to the laborer, highlighting his profound deprivation.
- Anaphora: Markham effectively uses anaphora, the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, to build intensity and emphasize responsibility. Observe the repeated “Whose” in these lines:
Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow?
Whose breath blew out the light within this brain?This repetition powerfully directs blame and forces contemplation on the architects of the man’s suffering.
- Apostrophe: The direct address to “O masters, lords and rulers in all lands” is a clear example of apostrophe. Markham directly confronts those in power, holding them accountable and demanding a response to the injustice.
- Imagery: The poem is rich with vivid imagery that appeals to our senses and emotions. Descriptions like “Bowed by the weight of centuries”, “emptiness of ages in his face”, and “aching stoop” create a powerful and unforgettable visual of the man’s suffering.
- Metaphor: Markham uses powerful metaphors to convey complex ideas. The phrase “on his back the burden of the world” is a metaphor for the immense weight of societal injustice and the suffering of the working class. The man is also described as a “Slave of the wheel of labor”, a metaphor for the relentless and inescapable cycle of his toil.
- Simile: A striking simile directly compares the man to an animal, emphasizing his dehumanization: “Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?”
- Hyperbole: The poem employs hyperbole, or exaggeration, to underscore the severity of the man’s condition. Phrases like “the emptiness of ages in his face” and “the burden of the world” are not meant to be taken literally but convey the immense, overwhelming nature of his plight.
- Personification/Pathetic Fallacy: Markham gives human qualities to abstract concepts, as seen in “Time’s tragedy is in that aching stoop”. Here, “Time” is personified as having a tragedy, emphasizing the historical depth of the suffering.
- Irony: There is profound irony throughout the poem, particularly in the contrast between the Genesis epigraph (man made in God’s image) and the degraded reality of the man with the hoe. The potential for human greatness stands in stark opposition to his current, diminished state.
- Tone and Diction: The poem’s tone is one of righteous indignation, moral outrage, and deep sorrow. The diction is formal and elevated, lending a sense of gravity and importance to the subject matter. However, Markham also uses plain language and direct appeals to emotion, ensuring that the poem is accessible and impactful for a wide audience.
Quotes to Consider from “The Man With The Hoe”
The following lines are particularly powerful and encapsulate the poem’s central themes and enduring message:
“Through this dread shape humanity betrayed,
Plundered, profaned and disinherited,
Cries protest to the Judges of the World.”“O masters, lords and rulers in all lands,
How will the Future reckon with this Man?”“Time’s tragedy is in that aching stoop.”
“Whose breath blew out the light within this brain?”
“Is this the Dream He dreamed who shaped the suns
And marked their ways upon the ancient deep?”
Edwin Markham’s “The Man With The Hoe” remains a relevant and profoundly powerful poem today. It stands as a timeless call to empathy, social justice, and a recognition of the inherent dignity of every human being. By exploring its rich themes, understanding its historical context, and appreciating its masterful use of literary and poetic devices, we can gain a deeper understanding of the poem’s enduring message and its profound relevance to our own lives and the world around us. Let its questions continue to challenge us and inspire us to build a more just and compassionate future.