“The Man with The Hoe” by Edwin Markham: A Critical Analysis

God made man in His own image,
in the image of God made He him. —Genesis.

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.

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.

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?

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?

• Alliteration: Repetition of consonant sounds for emphasis and rhythm
•  “Bowed by the weight of centuries… the burden of the world”
• “Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow?”
• Allusion: Indirect reference to another work (literary, historical, etc.)
  • “God made man in His own image….” (Biblical allusion to Genesis)
• Anaphora: The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or clauses
  • “O masters, lords and rulers in all lands, …”
  • “How will you ever straighten up this shape; … How will it be with kingdoms…”
• Apostrophe: Directly addressing an absent or inanimate object/concept
  • “O masters, lords and rulers in all lands, … “
• Diction: The word choice of the poet, contributing to overall tone
  • Words like “burden”, “stunted”, “brutish”, “dread”, emphasize oppression.
• Enjambment: Lines running into each other without punctuation, influencing rhythm
  • “Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans / Upon his hoe…”
• Hyperbole: Exaggeration for emphasis and dramatic effect
  • “Down all the stretch of Hell to its last gulf / There is no shape more terrible than this”
• Imagery: Vivid sensory language to create mental pictures
  • “…a brother to the ox?” (animal comparison)
  • “The emptiness of ages in his face” (visceral image of despair)
• Inversion: Reversal of typical word order for emphasis
  • “Whose breath blew out the light within this brain?”
• Irony: When what is stated contrasts with intended meaning
  • The whole poem is ironic – the man is a far cry from God’s majestic creation.
• Juxtaposition: Placing contrasting elements side-by-side
  • “…slanted back this brow?” vs. “Whose breath blew out the light…?” (physical/mental destruction)
• Metaphor: An implicit comparison, stating one thing IS another
  • “…ages in his face” (the years are not literally contained in his face)
• Meter: The rhythmic pattern of stressed/unstressed syllables in verse (not strictly adhered to in this poem)
• Motif: A reoccurring image or idea that reinforces a theme
  • The theme of dehumanization is reinforced by the repeated ‘animal’ motif (ox, seraphim)
• Personification: Giving inanimate objects or ideas human qualities

• “Time’s tragedy is in that aching stoop”

• Repetition: Repeated words or phrases for emphasis and rhythm

• “How will you ever…?”

• Rhetorical Questions: Questions not meant to be answered literally, but to challenge the reader
  • “Is this the Thing the Lord God made…?”
• Simile: An explicit comparison using “like” or “as”
  • “Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?”
• Symbolism: An object or image representing a larger concept
  • The laborer symbolizes oppressed humanity
• Tone: The attitude of the speaker/poem, created through word choice and other devices
  • Markham’s tone is a blend of anger, lament, and a call to action

• To what extent is the man a product of his environment, and to what extent does he embody universal human suffering?
  • Quote: “Who made him dead to rapture and despair, / A thing that grieves not and that never hopes…”
  • Question: While social critique is undeniable, the poem raises questions about whether the man’s condition is solely due to oppression, or if he symbolizes a deeper, existential emptiness.
• How does the biblical allusion impact the poem’s trajectory – is it primarily a lament or a call to action?
• Quote: “God made man in His own image…”
• Question: The Biblical reference sets up a stark contrast. Does this push the poem towards religious despair over the fall from God’s grace, or does it fuel righteous anger that could inspire change?

• Does the poem’s focus on the suffering of one individual effectively convey the plight of an entire oppressed class?
  • Quote: “Through this dread shape humanity betrayed, / Plundered, profaned, and disinherited…”
  • Question: Is the single laborer effective as a universal symbol, or does the focus limit the scope of the poem’s critique of systemic injustice?
• How does the poem reconcile its bleak portrayal of the present with its undercurrent of revolutionary potential?
  • Quote: “…Cries protest to the Judges of the World, / A protest that is also prophecy.”
  • Question: There’s tension between utter hopelessness and hints of rebellion. Does this ambiguity strengthen the poem’s message, or does it lack a clear stance?

• Novels:

• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (1906): This novel shares Markham’s focus on the dehumanization of industrial workers and its scathing portrayal of societal indifference to their plight. Sinclair’s muckraking style similarly sought to galvanize social change.
• Germinal by Émile Zola (1885): Zola’s novel resonates with “The Man with the Hoe” in its unflinching depiction of labor exploitation and the stark contrast between the suffering of the working class and the apathy of those in power.
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939): Steinbeck’s novel parallels Markham’s concerns by humanizing the plight of those marginalized by economic systems, offering a powerful critique of social injustice.
• Poetry:
  • “The Cry of the Children” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1843): Echoing Markham, Browning’s poem employs vivid imagery and emotive language to address the horrors of child labor, urging the reader to confront societal failures.
  • **“Song of Myself” ** by Walt Whitman (1855): While Whitman’s work is often celebratory, sections of “Song of Myself” acknowledge societal disparities and elevate the common laborer. This aligns with Markham’s sense of interconnected humanity and the potential for change.
• Visual Art:
  • Works by Jean-François Millet: Markham’s poem took direct inspiration from Millet’s painting “Man with a Hoe.” Millet championed realist depictions of rural laborers, serving as a visual parallel to Markham’s social commentary.
  • Social Realist art movement: Artists like Käthe Kollwitz, Ben Shahn, and others emphasized the dignity of the working class and its struggles. Their work shares the spirit of Markham’s poem, visually highlighting social injustice.

These works align with “The Man with the Hoe” through their common themes:

• Dignity of Labor: They challenge the dehumanization of the working class.
• Critique of Social Injustice: They denounce exploitation and the indifference of the powerful.
• Call for Change: Whether subtly or explicitly, they suggest the need for social and economic reform.