William Shakespeare – Macbeth
Style Analysis | Mind Map
To Counter Malthus
At first comes the title, it describes perfectly what we are about to read in the poem. Margaret Avison opposes Thomas Malthus’ idea of population growth.
None us in this so
burdened earth has known
how to live, let alone
who is too many.
In this first stanza it is shown the poet’s concern about the world. She admits this planet is not easy to live in. It is difficult and unpleasant sometimes but we, human being, manage a way to survive. There are some things about life nobody could have taugh us, thats why each person has her own way to deal with things, and we are all different, there is no right or wrong. The comma used in this poem introduce an idea, the one which asks for people to respect each other. This understanding between people is so hard to achieve, is like a dream almost impossible. We are born with this need to overcome limitations and we often do whatever it takes to conquer our goals.
Presence, each day
afresh, you give a
purifying signal to
sting us alive.
Here the Presence represents Christ and the word comes before a comma meaning everything that follow will be related to this. The Presence here is strong, is what gives life a reason and it is strong every day ever since the sun rises. Is what makes us feel alive and pure.
Vast territories and seashores
still bear these thronging
strangers. May none die
without somebody caring.
I believe these strangers are all those people living on the edge of the society, the less privileged ones. We all live in the same world and for that there should be no differences between people, no segregation or discrimination. In this stanza she talks about how people lack on accepting and carrying for one another. The land is big enough for all of us to live in harmony, so it is very possible for people to share their goods with everyone and do then live a fair life. The last sentence is very appealing, it seems like she put herself and us, the readers, in the poem and ask us not to feel alone, not to consider ourselves alone in the world because we are all connected.
To know even one other is
costly. And being known.
Alive, among so many
more now? a concern…
This stanza is full of punctuation. They are used in order to pause and give independent sentences with strong significations. Avison starts with an important issue to be discussed, it is about population growth. The number of people has considerable increased over the past years so this represents a problem for society. We worry if the means of subsistence would be enough as well as the land. Many of us act selfish about things and never think of getting only what is enough for our survival. Many people are alive and more people are born every day, according do Malthus’ theory the solution to this is birth control at any cost. For Avison that may not be the solution for everything could be easier only if human beings would share. But is it trully a concern, and the ellipsis at the end demonstrade it is an endless one.
Hunger makes men desperate, threatens
to congeal the quandary. Yet
Presence abides untouched
in the churn of Quantity.
This las stanza is about how low men can get. Some attitudes which would seem rather impossible are now possible in this modern world. There is a dilemma here and people do not know what to do in this difficult situation, they began pretending they are alone so they would not have to think about other people’s problem. The Presence is mentioned again showing that Christ stand untouched and solida because He is the one to help and give solution to all problems.
