T he metaphor is seen as the comparison between ‘sorrow’ and ‘cloud’. It
means the literal term ‘sorrow’ shares the same characteristic to figurative term
‘cloud’. Those lines show how ‘sorrow’ stands like a cloud which showers the earth with the rain while in this context
‘sorrow’ showers the multitudes with Knowledge and Truth. It is simply understood that this metaphor explains that
‘sorrow’ is not only about sadness but through sorrow people also can learn about any goodness such as knowledge and truth that come from it.
3. Personification
a. You are following Amusement, whose sharp claws
Have torn thousands of martyrs in the arenas Of Rome and Antioch . . . But we are following
Silence, whose careful fingers have woven the Iliad and the Book of Job and the Lamentations
Of Jeremiah. Gibran, 1947, stanza 17, line 1-6
There are two personifications in this stanza, ‘amusement’ and ‘silence’.
In these lines, they are attributed with human abilities. ‘Amusement’ is
personified as a beast that is described as the killer of many innocent people. While ‘Silence’ is personified as gentle person who has created such great works.
From these personifications, it is clear that the poet wants to make a contradiction of
‘You’ and ‘We’ by visualizing their situation, amusement and silence, into two different kinds of character.
b. ….Humanity
Walks as a sentry with iron weapons. Gibran, 1947, stanza 22, line 3-4
By giving human attribute ‘walks’, ‘Humanity’ is personified as a soldier with iron weapons. The readers might see the
existence of ‘Humanity’ in the
society of the poem by looking at the way the poet personifies ‘Humanity’. It surel
y has a reason why ‘Humanity’ is described as a sentry in human form. Guarding is the sentry’s duty, and when ‘Humanity’ is being compare as a sentry
who walks with the weapons, it can be said that ‘Humanity’ is always guarding
the society alertly, or in other words , ‘Humanity’ is defined in a positive way.
However, it gets different interpretation if it is related to the whole context. L
ooking back to the full stanza that mentions about ‘Humanity’, We build palaces for you, and you dig graves
For us; and between the beauty of the palace And the obscurity of the grave, Humanity
Walks as a sentry with iron weapons. Gibran, 1947, stanza 22, line 1-4
From the stanza above, ‘Humanity’ seems like a “barrier” between ‘You’ and
‘We’. This fact leads to the conclusion that ‘Humanity’ in the society of the poem is not
defined as positive as just guarding the society alertly, but ‘Humanity’ is limiting the interaction of
‘You’ and ‘We’. Moreover, when ‘Humanity’ is described as the sentry, it also can be sa
id that ‘Humanity’ belongs to ‘You’ as the “owner of the palace” because a sentry is just obeying the people who have the
power. c.
Truth slumbers fitfully. Gibran, 1947, stanza 23, line 3
In this line, ‘Truth’ is attributed with human ability and feeling. When ‘Truth’ is described as if it was a person who slumbers fitfully, literally, it means
that ‘Truth’ is in the condition whether ‘Truth’ is awake or not. Hence, this personification implies the interpretation that ‘Truth’ does not really exists in the
society of the poem.
+ ,
d. You place your hearts in the hands
Of Emptiness, for the hands touch to Emptiness is smooth and inviting.
Gibran, 1947, stanza 6, line 2-4
The poet attributes a human gesture to ‘Emptiness’ in which its hand’s
touch is smooth and inviting. In literal way, this stanza tells how ‘You’ is attached
with ‘Emptiness’ by putting their ‘heart’ in its hands. Generally speaking, this personification is simply about the empty heart of
‘You’ by visualizing ‘Emptiness’ as if it was a human. The personification of ‘Emptiness’ and the
relation to ‘You’ are obvious to be understood as the description of the quality
‘You’. e.
You reside in the house of Ignorance, for In his house there is no mirror in which to
View your souls Gibran, 1947, stanza 7, line 1-3
In terms of form, this personification is quite different from the other personifications. This one makes
‘Ignorance’ is defined as human being by using t
he pronoun ‘his’ that refers to ‘Ignorance’, so it makes a conclusion that the poet personifies ‘Ignorance’ as is it was a person. In terms of meaning, it is similar
tothe previous personification that ‘Ignorance’ is also related to ‘You’.
‘Ignorance’ is depicted as the owner of the house where ‘You’ live in. Surely, it is regarded as the way of the poet to show
the relation between ‘Ignorance’ and ‘You’. In short, this personification tries to visualize ‘Ignorance’ to human form
in order to portray the value of ‘You’.
f. You lie down with Lust, whose tempest has
Swept one thousand processions of the soul of Woman away and into the pit of shame and
Horror . . . But we embrace Solitude, in whose
- .
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
