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Aug 7, 2023 · Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.
- Summary
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Detailed Analysis
- Similar Poetry
‘The Vagabond’ by Robert Louis Stevenson is a thoughtful poem about living a simple, free life. The poem starts with the speaker asking someone, likely God, to allow him to live a life that he loves. He wants to be free and walk on the solid road, with the sky above him. He’s uninterested in the things that inspire most men and women, such as wealt...
‘The Vagabond’ by Robert Louis Stevenson is a four-stanza poem that is divided into eight-line stanzas. The poem uses a loose rhyme scheme of ABABCDCD alternating end sounds from stanza to stanza. There are a few examples of the pattern breaking though. For example, the first stanza rhymesABABBCBC. Throughout the piece, Robert Louis Stevenson also ...
Throughout this poem, the poet makes use of several literary devices. These include but are not limited to: 1. Enjambment: occurs when the poet cuts off a line before its natural stopping point. For example, the transitionbetween lines three and four of the first stanza and lines three and four of the second stanza. 2. Juxtaposition: can be seen wh...
Stanza One
In the poem’s first stanza, the speaker begins by asking that they be given the “life” they love. They are seeking out a life filled with joy, their particular joy. He asks that the “lave” or stream goes by him and that he be given the ability to traverse the world as he pleases. His description of a bed furthers this in the bush and “stars to see.” He wants to live as a vagabond, as the title suggests. He’ll be attached to nowhere and always on the move. He notes that this is the “life for a...
Stanza Two
In the next lines, the speaker adds that he doesn’t mind whether the “blow,” or death, falls sooner or later. Besides what he’s already asked for, he doesn’t care what is going to happen to him. He’s not looking for wealth or anything specific. He’s seeing not “hope” or “love.” These are the common experiences that most people are looking for in their everyday life and as the goal of their actions. He also dismisses the idea that he’d like a friend to know him. He’s happy to travel the world...
Stanza Three
In the third stanza, the speaker presents the intended listener of the poem, likely God, with another option. Similar to what he asked before, he hopes that autumn is going to fall on him when he is “afield.” He speaks these lines with confidence. Even when he alludes to winter through the line “Biting the blue finger.” He knows that winter is a cause for concern for someone living outside or constantly traveling, but he also says that he’s not going to yield to it. He’s willing to face it if...
Readers who enjoyed this poem should also consider reading some other Robert Louis Stevenson poems. For example: 1. ‘Winter-Time’ – depicts the winter season from a child’s perspective. His imagination comes through clearly in his depictions of what all there is to see and experience, negative and positive. 2. ‘The Land of Story-Books’ – describes ...
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- A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This rhyming poem is the spark that can reignite the fires within you. It challenges you to go out and live your life in the present moment as a “hero” and leave your mark on this world.
- The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Life is made up of a succession of choices. This famous poem begins at a fork in a wooded path and ushers the reader along one “road” as a means of explaining that we must choose one way or another and not dilly-dally in life.
- If— by Rudyard Kipling. Life will challenge you – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. This poem calls out for you to endure, keep going through, and rise above the adversity you will face.
- Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas. Death is inevitable, and as this poem states (‘death’ being ‘dark’), it is right. But the author urges us not to yield to death too easily and to fight for life ‘til our last breath.
Explanation of the famous quotes in Man's Search for Meaning, including all important speeches, comments, quotations, and monologues.
Viktor Frankl – excerpts from “Man’s Search for Meaning”. Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life . . .
‘A Psalm of Life‘ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow describes the purpose of life, and how one should handle the sorrow and struggles along the way. The poem begins with the speaker contradicting a listener who wants to explain life to him as a matter of number and figures.
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Whether poetry is a ‘criticism’ of life, poems about life itself – about the business of living, about what it means to live a full life, and about what ‘lived experience’ might be – abound. Here are ten of the greatest poems about life and living. 1. Sir Walter Raleigh, ‘What Is This Life’.
