![]() ![]() When the poet steps into the poem in the closing stanza, the function is to remove an interpretative license, not to discourage creative interaction with the poem but to dispense with that function. Rather the poem unfolds with clear predictability: The blind men cannot see what is right in front of them the blind men are too-content with pretending their limited perception is a valid truth and the blind men refuse to communicate and share, each too intent on their own limited perception. ![]() Saxe’s poem is a story, the premise of which is contrived-no reason is given for why six blind men need to understand what an elephant is-and these men are not characters, that is, three-dimensional constructs with individual, signature psychologies, and complex motivations. The Fireside Poets sought to make clear the function and purpose of individuals within a society, and Saxe embraced that template. Poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) wrote about six men of Indostan, to learning much inclined, who went to see the elephant (though all of them were blind). ![]() At that time, poets held a treasured and valued public role: to give the nation its conscience. Saxe published this poem during America’s Gilded Age-relentless in its pursuit of bigger and better, pushed by the can-do spirit of a nation/culture just beginning to emerge into its majority. At Twinkl, we found the perfect combination of these elements in the poetic retelling of the Indian parable by John Godfrey Saxe I, The Blind Men and the. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |