On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness : Arthur Guiterman

 

On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness

(Arthur Guiterman: The Poet)

1.The summary of the poem:

The main Message of this poem is that it is useless to be proud of our earthly greatness and achievements. No human achievement is permanent. The only permanent element  is time, before which every body has to bow down. 

This poem describes what happens to powerful people and animals after they die. It shows how greatness, power, and achievements continue only for a short time. 

 

(The most powerful mastodons : fighting)

The tusks of mastodons used to fight powerful wars in the past. But now they  are playing objects. The tusks are now turned into billiard balls. 

[Formerly billiard balls were made of ivory, but now they are made of a combination of resin and plastic]

(Billiard balls)

 

Similarly,  everyone was afraid of the grizzly bear when it was alive . But now its fur has been used for sitting purpose. The sword of the most powerful king Charlemange has got rust now.

 (Great king Charlemange)

Finally, the great Julius Caesar was the most powerful general of his time. But now his armless statue  (bust)  has been used to decorate the room of the house. 

(Great Caesar's bust)

In the final line the poet indicates his own greatness will also be destroyed by the all powerful Time.

2. Question-Answers 

Question 1. Bring out the vanity involved in the last couplet.

Answer : Vanity is the pride in appearance or achievements. The poet is saying that it is useless to think we are powerful because we leave nothing behind our death. 

At the same in the last couplet we find it only to be the vanity of the poet to compare himself with great people like Caesar or Charlemagne. He knows his own vanity will also be washed away by the Time.

Question  2. Summarize the poem in one sentence.

Answer : It is all useless and vain to be proud of earthly greatness and achievements because all is vain and useless before the mightiest time which brings everything to an end.

Question 3. What is ironical about the poem ?

Answer : Irony is a method or device of literature where words are used to show the opposite of what they appear to mean. This poem is ironical.

As we read the poem, we find that it is not about greatness. It is about weakness. The mastodons are not mighty. Bears are not potent. In fact their power is only short lived. They same is the case with with the powerful kings and rulers of the world. They are in fact very weak and short lived before time.

Question 4. Describe the examples with which the poet has illustrated the vanity of human greatness in this poem .

Answer : The poet has presented examples related to the irony of showing the vanity of earthly great ness. The examples are both related to powerful animals and powerful people.

The second and the fourth stanzas are related to the vanity of human greatness.

In the second stanza we find the example of Charlemagne and his sword. He was a powerful emperor and had fought and won many wars. But now neither the emperor is there, nor his sword remained powerful. It has been rusted.

In the fourth stanza we find the example of Julius Caesar. He was also  very mighty and powerful. But now he is no more in the world. Rather his greatness is turned into a bust.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.Short Analysis of the Poem/ Some Extra Information About the Poem

a. The poet : Arthur Guiterman (November 20th, - January 11th, 1943)

b. Main theme of the poem:

 1. Everything decays and nothing lasts except time.

 2. It is useless to be proud of our earthly greatness.

c. Genre: It is a Lyrical poem

d. Structure of the Poem :

• There are four stanzas in this poem: two lines per stanza
• It has rhyming couplets, for example, 'brawls-balls' , 'Just-rust' etc.
• The first stanza is about a powerful animal, mastodons, and has lost its power now
• The second stanza is about a powerful emperor, Charlemagne the Just, whom everybody feared at his time. But now he is no more in the world, his sword has been rusted
• The third stanza is again about another powerful animal, the grizzly bear. it used to be so powerful, that even its on hug was enough to kill somebody/ animal. But now it has left the world, and its skin is being used as a rug.
• The fourth stanza is again about another powerful person, Julius Caesar. He was a great historical ruler. Ironically, he is also no more now, and people have made busts of him.
• Conclusion: Nothing is permanent in this world. So never be proud of your greatness. Only time is the permanent element in this world

e. Tone of the poem: It has a serious tone, but presented in a playful way to make it a little lighter.

f. Some poetic devices used in this poem:

• Irony
• Paradox
• Alliteration : 'billiard balls'
• Onomatopoeia : 'Clash'

(All Image Credit : Google)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------