A Warning to Children Quotes

Quotes

"For who dares undo the parcel Finds himself at once inside it.’’

The poet

The poet admits that the pull the parcel has on those who see it is almost irresistible. Those who see the parcel feel the need to find what lies beneath the layers described by the poet and that person would do anything to discover the parcel’s secret. However, discovering the secret is not as easy as one would think and the person who wants to find the secret must make efforts to untie the parcel. Once the parcel is revealed, the person who untied the string might find himself in the position of being inside the parcel, becoming one with the secret without really discovering it.

''And, if he then should dare to think

(…) he then unties the string.''

The poet

Towards the end of the poem, the poet describes the manner through which a person can discover the secret of the world: all a person has to do is to think about the greatness and "muchness’’ of the world and then, suddenly, he will find himself standing in the middle of nowhere with a string in his hand, the string that used to hide the secret of the world. What the poet points out through this is the idea that while many believe that finding the truth about the world is a complicated and complex process, all a person has to do is to think about wanting to discover the secret and then the secret will be found.

''Strip the husk and pare the rind off: In the kernel you will see Blocks of slate enclosed by dappled...''

The poet

While uniting the string is not described as being a complicated process, the end result may seem disappointing for many. Instead of finding the answer to the biggest questions in the world, the person who deconstructs the natural order of the world finds himself in an endless loop, discovering and rediscovering over and over again the same things. Thus, in the end, a person may reach the conclusion that there was no secret to be discovered in the first place and that the secret was in the journey they had to take, not in the final result.

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