Essay Questions

What is an example of biblical allusion in the poem and what is its purpose?

In the second stanza, the poem takes a sudden turn as the speaker’s focus veers from wondering what is behind the children screaming to hoping that it is the most unlikely possibility she imagines. The leap from the possibility of a parental experiment in the destructive capacity of sound to the potential for the children to hit a decibel capable of making the entire building lift into the sky like a rocket is pretty extreme. It is this image of a rocket riding toward the heavens, however, that inspires the speaker’s allusion to the biblical story of Elijah who was said to have ridden to heaven in a chariot of fire. While the imagery of the chariot of fire and the building taking off like a rocket corresponds nicely, the real significance of including Elijah in the text is that he was one of the great prophets of the Old Testament. Thus, the allusion to Elijah is not just limited to the imagery of riding into the sky. It also allusively suggests that the children may be prophets and their screaming is either a reaction to or the instigator of a prophetic foretelling.

Why is “Dawn of Man” capitalized in the last stanza and why it is important to know the answer?

The “dawn of man” is a generic phrase used as a metonym to cover the beginning of the era in which prehistoric ape-like ancestors first began evolving into the human species. In multiple interviews, the author has admitted to binge-watching science fiction films during the composition of this poem and others collected alongside it in the book Life on Mars. She is also on record and asserts that 2001: A Space Odyssey is situated at the top of her list of the most important science fiction films ever made. Although the bulk of that film is set in what was at the time the near future, it opens with an extended sequence titled The Dawn of Man set at the very moment that human evolution commenced. That evolution begins with the sudden appearance of a huge black monolith which the pre-human apes react to with scream-like howls of confusion, uncertainty, wonder, and fear. The comparison of the children screaming is not simply to some generic pre-evolutionary moment, but quite specifically to this scene in the film. A failure to realize or acknowledge that fact is not likely to create an interpretation that goes completely off the rails, but it will be missing an important element the author purposely planted into the narrative in order to guide analytic comprehension.

What philosophical message does the phrase “What teases us with blessings bends us with grief” convey?

In the third stanza, the speaker is contemplating heaven. She imagines that it could be the ancient portrait of dead people walking around in robes just as easily as it could be a portal opening up to reveal the massive unending infinity of space. It could also very well wind up looking more like the conventional idea of hell. She then makes an odd confession that it really doesn’t matter what form heaven takes, all she wants from it is the inability to “keep anything for long.” At this point, she makes the philosophical assertion about blessings and grief are inextricably tied together. It is an observation of the nature of possession. We seek them based on the promise that they will bring contentment (blessings) but only condition that we may experience sorrow if we lose them. Possessions in this case are applicable far beyond consumer goods to include everything from the non-purchasable tangibility of romantic relationships to the utterly abstract like religious faith. Loss of any possession is not necessarily inevitable, but it is potentially part of the deal that must be accepted. No matter how great the contentment that possessions bring, it always comes with the potential for also bringing grief at their loss. Ultimately, this metaphysical condition extends to life itself. Even the happiest and most problem-free life comes with this incessant and relentless understanding that the blessings are fated to come to an end. The message conveyed by this philosophical contemplation can even be interpreted to assume that the most blessed existence will also bend that sharpest under the heavy weight of the profound grief inspired by the thought of inevitably losing that contentment.