Character
One Sentence Summary
Summary
Long Question
Short- Question
1. Interpret the poem “Keeping Things
Whole”.
2. How does the poet view himself in the
field, in the air, and in the backdrop?
3. What does the last stanza suggest?
3. Keeping Things Whole
Mark Strand
Character
I : speaker, poet
Field, Air
One Sentence Summary
The speaker wants to move away from the place of centrality to the place of no significance to bring harmony (concord, unity) in the environment.
Summary
Mark strand is a surrealist. Therefore the image that he creates in his work seems alien or uncommon to us. However he always writes on common theme. Through the present poem also he wants to appeal for universal brotherhood a kind of wholeness against all the usual fragmentation that appears in our life.
The poet tells when he is in a field he finds himself absent there. It happens because he allows his own individual entity to submerge into a bigger entity in the field. By doing so he does not lose anything rather he is recognized as a greater body. According to him it is always the same case with him. Wherever he goes he finds himself absent there. However, it is the human tendency to make things apart rather than keeping it whole, such attempts can never succeed because the universe is one. He has given an example to prove his point when h walks in a field his body parts the air as it moves forward. But immediately after he moves forward vacuum created by his body is filled with air. Thus he is not able to part things at last. Rather he joins at his back too.
According to the poet everybody has some projects or goals in his life. His mission is to keep things whole.
Long Question
1. Write the poem’s Interpretation
and the central idea.
The poem, “Keeping Things Whole”
talks about the wholeness against the usual fragmentation which goes on in
life. The course of actions; incidents and happenings of our life are often
fragmented. Nothing is absolute in fragmentation and division. So the poet
stresses on wholeness. The poet claims that movement in the course of action is
the key to keeping things whole or undivided. The poet gives example of field,
he says if one presents or stays in the field; he takes some of the space of
field, thus the field is fragmented. But as he moves from there, the field will
be whole. Movement is thus necessary to keep things whole. The poet has a
distinguished (remarkable, eminent, notable) notion regarding the term
“wholeness” and it is essential, according to the poet, to think about the
perception of wholeness.
In the poem 'Keeping Things Whole' the poet, Mark strand asks the reader
to live a complete life. He says that a man needs a lot of things in his life.
The things are found at different places. So, a man moves from one place to
another place thinking about the necessary things they forget themselves. They
are absent at the place where he is, and his missing within himself. He gives
another example that, when he moves, he parts the air. And the air fulfils the
gap after him. Here, he means that, all the necessary things should be
together, and only then, they fulfil our life as air fulfils the gaps.
Short- Question
1. Interpret the poem “Keeping Things Whole”.
The poet misses himself in the fields. Wherever he goes, he misses himself. Wherever the poet goes, he parts the air. And the air fills the space of his body. For all reasons we move. The poet moves in order to keep all things whole, thinking that our life moves on purposelessly and mechanically. Nothingness is the central principle of man’s life. However, people move on continuously.
2. How does the poet view himself in the field, in the air, and in the
backdrop?
This poem has written in an ironically. In the field, the poet views himself as the absence of the field. In the air, he views himself as equal with air because when he walks and parts the air, the air takes the place of his body. I think in the backdrop, the poet views himself as someone who has lost his identity and whose existence as an individual has gone through disintegration. He is a person who moves on and does things in the hope of keeping things whole and gaining integrity in his existence. And their efforts are lack of purposes.
3. What does the last stanza suggest?
In the last stanza the poet says that we all have reasons for moving and that he moves to keep things whole. However, he seems to suggest that all humans do things and go through the monotonous process of life out of some purpose. Their life is busy but they have lost their identity and individuality that has been shattered. In spite of that they move on and on and repetitively follow things that are hollow and purposeless. Thus, the people have meaningless reasons to move on. However, the poet knows the dilemma of the modern men and the loss of their identity and individuality due to the usual fragmentation going on. He says that he moves on to regain the lost identity and to keep things whole. So the last stanza somehow hopeful.
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