can someone help me analyse this poem or a part of this poem?

Its Man by Henry Vaughan.

WEIGHING the stedfastness and state
Of some mean things which here below reside,
Where birds like watchful Clocks the noiseless date

And Intercourse of times divide,     

Where Bees at night get home and hive, and flowrs 5

  Early, aswel as late,  

Rise with the Sun, and set in the same bowrs;

I would (said I) my God would give   

The staidness of these things to man! for these
To his divine appointments ever cleave, 10

And no new business breaks their peace;  

The birds nor sow, nor reap, yet sup and dine,

  The flowres without clothes live,  

Yet Solomon was never drest so fine.

Man hath stil either toyes, or Care,      15

He hath no root, nor to one place is ty’d,
But ever restless and Irregular

About this Earth doth run and ride,  

He knows he hath a home, but scarce knows where,

  He sayes it is so far   20

That he hath quite forgot how to go there.

He knocks at all doors, strays and roams,    

Nay hath not so much wit as some stones have
Which in the darkest nights point to their homes,

By some hid sense their Maker gave;   25

Man is the shuttle, to whose winding quest

  And passage through these looms    

God order’d motion, but ordain’d no rest.

Answer #1

That’s a pretty good one. I like it. Okay, here we go. I’ll give you the general gist, but you’ll have to find the proof in the poem itself. The poem says that the world has a sort of rhythm to it, clocks, rising with the sun, and Vaughan asks why God didn’t give man the same rhythm and sense of peace. The birds don’t work, but they eat, so why do people have to work as they do? The flowers don’t have clothing, but even kings never look as beautiful as they do. People have things, but not a place of their own, as each creature does, even rocks do. People have lost their homes entirely. God ordered the men to “shuttle,” but gave them no room to rest.

Answer #2

Woah thanks! You’re really good at this! And at the end of the poem, “Man is a shuttle, to whose winding quest And passage through these looms God ordered motion but ordained no rest” What are the two first lines there reffering to? I thought maybe it’s an image drawn from weaving?

Answer #3

A shuttle is pretty much something that moves from place to place, although it is a word used with weaving sometimes, you’re right, and “looms” tips that off. I think it’s a play on words, it’s using both definitions. It’s pretty much saying that men are never satisfied and move from place to place because “God ordained motion”, but not rest.

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