The Age Demanded
by: Ernest Hemingway
The age demanded that we sing
And cut away our tongue.
The age demanded that we flow
And hammered in the bung.
The age demanded that we dance
And jammed us into iron pants.
And in the end the age was handed
The sort of shit that it demanded.
Analysis:
I think that this poem has a very true ending. And a "bung" is like a cork or stopper that would be in a keg or bottle. All of the things that the age demands would normally be quite easy but with the restriction it is suddenly all but impossible. I think that this poem is talking about all of society, with society being the age. Because in society there are rules for everything and rarely are things easy. So when whoever cannot do what they are asked of by society or the age, they are not doing the best that is possible. Without the restrictions, they would be able to do everything to the best of their abilities. So what are the people to do when they cannot do what is asked of them.
Ernest Hemingway uses a central metaphor in the poem, with "The Age" being society and all of the things "The Age" demands as situations in life where people in general cannot provide adequate results. And the last two lines of the poem demonstrate this by saying, "And in the end the age was handed/ The sort of shit that it demanded" (7-8). Those lines might make you think that the age was asking for bad results but then again, the age might just be stupid. Society might be stupid at times, the right choices are not always made, and bad things happen. This poems speaks a lot of truth, dancing with iron pants on would be extremely difficult...
Sorry about the "language".
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2 comments:
I agree with your analysis. However, I think that this is more of a critique of societies leaders rather than just discussing society. He talks a lot about how the age demanded all these things, then proceeded to make them impossible. He is criticizing the one who is demanding these actions the most
I don't know if I quite like this poem, but it is interesting. I think the refrain "The age demanded" holds more significance that you noticed, and i dont think the age is another way of saying society rather when one gets to a point at which something is required of them, they encounter obstacles and can fail easily.
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