Shadow the beauties of Hamlet and Dante arose. Gibran, 1947, stanza 18, line 1-5
‘Lust’ is attributed with human ability that sweeps ‘one thousand processions of the soul of woman’. It is depicted as a person who has made
thousand women live in suffer which can be seen in the line “...into the pit of shame and Horror”. At the same time, ‘Solitude’ is also portrayed as if it was a
person. The way ‘We’ treat ‘Solitude’ by embracing it indicates the personification toward it.
‘Lust’ and ‘Solitude’ are two contradictory things in which each of them explain about ‘You’ and ‘We’. In the stanza, it is said that ‘You’ lie down under
‘Lust’ and ‘We’ embrace ‘Solitude’. The poet personifies ‘Lust’ as a person who has a power and ‘Solitude’ as a weak person. These personifications imply the
meaning that ‘You’ live under the control of ‘Lust’ and ‘We’ live as the group of people who have nothing but silent and in the silent they find themselves feel
peaceful. g.
You curry for the favor of Greed, and the sharp Swords of Greed have shed one thousand rivers
Of blood Gibran, 1947, stanza 19, line 1-3
‘You’ is described as the worshiper of ‘Greed’. The lines “…have shed one thousand rivers Of blood prove that ‘Greed’ is personified as a killer person
who has killed many people with its swords. By giving a form of human attribute, the poet gives a great illustration about how cruel ‘Greed’ can be if it lives around
the people. Like the others personification in the previous part, this one also gives an explanation about the characteristic and the quality of ‘You’. Clearly, this
personification shows the greedy of ‘You’ can torture other people in the society of the poem.
4. Symbols
a. Enlightening Darkness
But you cannot see us, for we are tarrying In the enlightening darkness.
Gibran, 1947, stanza 4, line 3-4 First thing first, it is important to know what kind of darkness which mean
in this symbol. Quoting from Dictionary of Symbolism in umich.edu, about the meaning of darkness,
It can encompass a primitive class and power of that chaos. It’s not essentially evil, yet it’s largely associated with death and destruction,
captivity and spiritual darkness. The gloom which preceded the Fiat Lux traditionally represents the states that give rise to chaos. Darkness can also
be linked to the time spent in the womb and seed germination, both of which take place in the dark Protas, 2001.
From the quotation above, darkness is not always about evil things. It is related to the meaning of this symbol which manifests something different with many usual
interpretations. In the symbol ‘enlightening darkness’, the word ‘enlightening’ gives the clue that ‘darkness’ has a positive meaning. The line “darkness can also
be linked to the time spent in the womb and seed germination, both of which take place in the dark” means ‘darkness’ has a certain relation to the process of life.
Then, it leads to the interpretation that ‘enlightening darkness’ symbolizes the spirit of being alive or to get rid of the hard situation.
b. Eyes of Night, the heart of Dawn
When we cry, our tears fall into the Heart of Life, as dew drops fall from the
Eyes of Night into the heart of Dawn
Gibran, 1947, stanza 8, line 4-6 This stanza tells about the way ‘We’ lamenting their situation
metaphorically. It shows the comparison between ‘tears’ which fall into the ‘Heart of Life and’ ‘dew’ which fall from ‘eyes of Night’ into ‘the heart of Dawn’. There
are two symbols state in this metaphor, ‘eyes of Night’ and ‘the heart of Dawn’. These two symbols are similar in which both of them illustrate the part of day,
night and dawn, with having the part of body, eyes and heart. To understand them, it is necessary to elaborate each of these symbols.
The first is ‘eyes of Night’. Literally, night is part of day when the sun has gone down and the skies have become dark. There are such gloomy and
melancholic situations that involve through night. From that reason, ‘Night’ can be construed as the symbol of desperation. Moreover, the word ‘eyes’ has its own
specific meaning. As the part of body that produces tears, eyes surely can be related to idea of sadness. Tears which come from eyes stand as the expression of
sadness and eyes stand as the “source” of sadness itself. So, it can be concluded that ‘eyes of Night’ is the symbol of sadness and desperation.
The second is ‘the heart of Dawn’. ‘Dawn’ is the opposite of ‘Night’, definitely. It is the time when the light of the sun first appears. It is the beginning
of a brand new day. The light of the sunrise in dawn arises some pleasant feeling for those who see it. Based on the literal meaning of dawn, it can be said that
‘Dawn’ is a symbol of happiness, enlightenment and hope. Then, the word ‘heart’ symbolizes life by referring to the function of heart that very vital among other
organs. When heart stops beating, life is also gone. In short, ‘the heart of Dawn’ is the symbol the life of happiness, enlightenment and hope.
These two symbols are connected with the condition of ‘We’. The line “… as dew drops fall from the Eyes of Night into the heart of Dawn” clearly show
how the poet wants to describe the way ‘We’ change in terms of feeling, condition and situation by using the symbol ‘eyes of Night’ and ‘heart of Dawn’. Both
‘Night’ and ‘Dawn’ are written in capital and it must come for a reason. The poet wants to emphasize the contradictory between them that carry the meaning about
the changing life of ‘We’ from having no hope and desperate become being enlightened and having such a good spirit to live their life by capitalizing ‘Night’
and ‘Dawn’. These symbols are used to show the value of the sorrow ‘We’ face and the significant to their life.
c. Gold
We cry, and sympathize with the miserable Wanderer and distressed widow; but you rejoice
And smile at the sight of resplendent gold. Gibran, 1947, stanza 9, line 1-3
The symbol appears in the description that gives some information about ‘You’in the society of the poem. When ‘We’ struggle with all the sorrow they
face, ‘You’ live happily around their richness. It is obvious that ‘gold’ is the symbol of wealth and luxury. The poet portrays ‘gold’ as a thing that ‘You’ desire
for. Similar with the other figurative language, through this symbol the poet wants to compare two different kinds of condition among ‘You’ and ‘We’. Thus, by
referring to this symbol the readers can understand the social class of each of them in the society of the poem.
d. Wine Goblets
We cry, for we listen to the moaning of the Poor and the grieving of the oppressed weak;
But you laugh, for you hear naught but the Happy sound of thewine goblets
Gibran, 1947, stanza 10, line 1-4
This stanza tells how inconsiderate ‘You’ are toward the condition of ‘We’. The first and second line tell about the sadness of the people who live as
‘the oppressed weak’ in poverty, while in the last two lines, the third and the fourth line tell about the life of ‘You’ with their happiness without having any
care to the people who live in their miserable life. It compares two different kind of condition, poor versus rich, which is illustrated by the word ‘cry’ and ‘laugh’.
However, in the last line there is a symbol ‘wine goblets’ mentioned by the poet and it is important to be explained because it has a particular meaning in
describing the condition of ‘You’. In some culture, wine goblet is associated with party and celebration. In
this stanza, the poet wants to bring another meaning and ideas which bound up with ‘wine goblets’. The line, “Happy sound of the wine goblets” Gibran, 1947,
stanza 10, line 4 implies the idea that ‘wine goblets’ stands as the “source” of happiness of ‘You’. This can be related to the literal association of wine goblet in
which it is used to celebrate something. ‘Wine goblets’ symbolizes the joyfulness of having wealth and glory and it also symbolically describes the social status and
condition of ‘You’. Once again, the poet seems to create a comparison between ‘We’ and ‘You’ through this symbol.
e. Pyramids
You have built the Pyramids upon the hearts Of slaves, but the Pyramids stand now upon
The sand, commemorating to the Ages our Immortality and your evanescence.
Gibran, 1947, stanza 13, line 1-4
Referring to the shape of pyramid itself, ‘Pyramids’ represents the form of the social structure in the society. Like the shape of pyramid, the people in the
society of the poem have been organized into different stages or level from the lowest to the top. In a simple word, ‘Pyramids’ manifest the hierarchy in the
society of the poem. The word ‘Pyramids’ is also written in capital letter. Apparently, the poet wants to strengthen the idea of hierarchy in the society.
f. Palaces, graves
We build palace for you, and you dig graves for us…
Gibran, 1947 stanza 22, line 1-2
As the place of the royals, palace also has the connotation of a monarchy government. Yet, ‘palace’ brings out another meaning that related to the ruler of
society. It is simply to understand that ‘palace’ demonstrates the meaning of power. Grave, whereas, is the place for those who have died and not exist
anymore. When someone says about ‘grave’, the first thing which comes up is death. However, if it is associated with some kind of society system˗˗because the
whole poem is about a kind of society and its system˗˗it evokes the interpretation that ‘grave’ is the symbol of being eliminated from the society.
These two symbols prove the position of each character of ‘You’ and ‘We’. Like any interpretation in the previous types of the figurative language,
