THE MAN WITH THE HOE
LINE BY LINE SUMMARY
ADDITIONAL ENGLISH (CLASS-10 MBOSE)
STANZA - 1
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.
EXPLANATION:
These lines from Edwin Markham's poem "The Man with the Hoe" describe a laborer worn down by a life of relentless toil and suffering.
"Bowed by the weight of
centuries he leans / Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground"
The man is hunched over from years, even centuries, of hard, dehumanizing
labor. He stands leaning on his hoe, staring at the ground, symbolizing
exhaustion and despair.
"The emptiness of ages in
his face, / And on his back the burden of the world"
His face shows the emptiness caused by endless suffering and lack of hope. It’s
as if he carries the weight of all the world’s injustice and hardship on his
back.
"Who made him dead to
rapture and despair, / A thing that grieves not and that never hopes"
The man has been robbed of the ability to feel joy (rapture) or even
sadness (despair). He has been reduced to an emotionless being, like a
machine or tool.
"Stolid and stunned, a
brother to the ox?"
He has become dull and unresponsive, like an animal used for farm work,
stripped of his humanity.
"Who loosened and let
down this brutal jaw? / Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow?"
The poet asks who is responsible for deforming him physically and
emotionally—who turned him into this broken and oppressed figure?
"Whose breath blew out
the light within this brain?"
The man’s spirit and intelligence have been extinguished by relentless
oppression. He has been denied the chance to think or dream.
"Is this the Thing the
Lord God made and gave / To have dominion over sea and land"
The poet wonders if this degraded man is the same being God created in His
image, meant to rule the earth and explore the mysteries of life.
"To trace the stars and
search the heavens for power; / To feel the passion of Eternity?"
Humans were intended to pursue lofty goals, like understanding the universe and
experiencing deep, eternal passions. This man’s condition stands in stark
contrast to that divine purpose.
"Is this the Dream He
dreamed who shaped the suns / And marked their ways upon the ancient
deep?"
The poet questions if this broken man reflects God’s original vision for
humanity, which was full of grandeur and purpose.
"Down all the stretch of
Hell to its last gulf / There is no shape more terrible than this"
The poet declares that no image of suffering or horror—no matter how
hellish—could be worse than this man’s state.
"More tongued with
censure of the world’s blind greed"
The man’s condition is a powerful condemnation of the greed and cruelty of
society, which exploit the poor for selfish gain.
"More filled with signs
and portents for the soul"
His plight serves as a warning to humanity, suggesting that such suffering will
have grave consequences for the world.
"More fraught with danger
to the universe."
The poet implies that ignoring or perpetuating such injustice threatens not
just individuals but the moral balance of the entire universe.
In essence, these lines paint a tragic picture of a man who
has been dehumanized by a lifetime of exploitation and hard labour. The poet
uses him as a symbol of humanity’s failure to honour the divine potential
within every person.
STANZA - 2
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. EXPLANATION:
These lines from "The Man with the Hoe" by
Edwin Markham highlight the immense suffering and oppression of the working
class, represented by the man burdened by relentless labour.
"What gulfs between him
and the seraphim!"
This compares the man to seraphim
(angels) and says that the difference between them is vast, like a gulf. It
emphasizes how far removed his life of suffering is from anything divine or
heavenly.
"Slave of the wheel of
labour, what to him are Plato and the swing of Pleiades?"
The man is a slave to hard,
monotonous labor. Things like the teachings of philosophers (like Plato) or the
beauty of the stars (like the Pleiades constellation) have no meaning or
relevance to him because his life is consumed by toil.
"What the long reaches of
the peaks of song, the rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose?"
The man cannot appreciate or
connect with art, music, nature's beauty (like the dawn or a red rose), because
his existence is dominated by suffering and exhaustion.
"Through this dread shape
the suffering ages look;"
The man’s bent and broken body
symbolizes the suffering endured by countless oppressed people throughout
history.
"Time’s tragedy is in
that aching stoop;"
His bent posture reflects the
tragedy of humanity—how systems of oppression have exploited people across
time.
"Through this dread shape
humanity betrayed, plundered, profaned, and disinherited,"
The man represents humanity that
has been betrayed, robbed of its dignity, and stripped of its rightful place or
inheritance.
"Cries protest to the
Judges of the World, a protest that is also prophecy."
The man’s suffering is a silent
but powerful cry for justice, directed at those in power. This cry is not just
a demand for fairness—it also predicts future change, hinting that the
oppressed will rise and demand justice.
In short, the poem criticizes the exploitation of the
working class, portraying the man with the hoe as a symbol of humanity’s
suffering under oppressive systems. His very existence becomes both a plea for
justice and a warning of change to come.
STANZA - 3
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, immedicable woes?
EXPLANATION:
"O masters, lords and
rulers in all lands,"
The speaker is addressing those
in power—leaders and rulers from all over the world.
"Is this the handiwork
you give to God,"
The speaker is asking if the
condition of the suffering worker (the man with the hoe) is the kind of
creation or offering they present to God.
"This monstrous thing
distorted and soul-quenched?"
The speaker describes the man as
a tragic figure, physically deformed and emotionally crushed by hard labor,
asking if this is what rulers have turned him into.
"How will you ever
straighten up this shape;"
The speaker questions how the
damage done to this man—his body and spirit—can ever be repaired or corrected.
"Touch it again with
immortality;"
The speaker wonders how the
divine essence or eternal dignity of the human soul can be restored to this
broken man.
"Give back the upward
looking and the light;"
The speaker asks how the man's
lost hope, aspirations, and sense of purpose (symbolized by "light")
can be returned to him.
"Rebuild in it the music
and the dream;"
The speaker calls for the
restoration of the man's joy, creativity, and ability to dream of a better
life.
"Make right the
immemorial infamies, Perfidious wrongs, immedicable woes?"
The speaker demands justice for
the ancient wrongs ("immemorial infamies"), betrayals
("perfidious wrongs"), and deep sorrows ("immedicable
woes") that have plagued people like the man with the hoe for generations.
In essence, the poet is critiquing the powerful for their
role in dehumanizing the working class and questioning how they will rectify
the immense suffering they have caused.
STANZA - 4
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
EXPLANATION:
"O masters, lords and rulers in all lands,"
The poet addresses the powerful people of the world—leaders, kings, and those
in authority everywhere.
"How will the Future reckon with this Man?"
The poet asks how future generations will judge the way these powerful people
have treated the common man (represented by the overworked laborer, "the
Man with the Hoe").
"How answer his brute question in that hour"
The poet wonders how the world will respond to the worker’s silent but forceful
demand for justice when the time of reckoning comes.
"When whirlwinds of rebellion shake the world?"
The poet warns of potential uprisings or revolutions that might happen if the
oppressed workers rise against their unjust conditions.
"How will it be with kingdoms and with kings—"
The poet questions what will happen to governments and rulers when the
oppressed demand answers for their suffering.
"With those who shaped him to the thing he is—"
The poet holds the powerful responsible for turning the laborer into a broken
and overburdened being through exploitation and neglect.
"When this dumb Terror shall reply to God"
The poet envisions the laborer (referred to as a "dumb Terror"
because he has been silent and oppressed) finally presenting his suffering and
grievances to God.
"After the silence of the centuries."
The poet emphasizes that the laborer’s suffering and silence have lasted for
countless years, but now there will be a moment of divine or historical
accountability.
The central idea is a call for justice and reflection on the
consequences of exploitation by those in power. The poet foresees a time of
reckoning when the oppressed demand answers and justice, whether from humanity
or God.
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