the speaker’s vision evokes the universal question
of the meaning and purpose of people’s lives.
Cycle of Life and Death
To compliment the poet’s musings on existence
and meaning, images of the natural world are
used to illustrate the cycle of life and death. The
landscape surrounding the village is described
as brown hills in need of rain. In the streets,
hens scratch at dry manure. This scene is taking
place in a dry period during the summer. How-
ever, when rain comes, nature will be replen-
ished. Even the somewhat unpleasing image of
manure can be considered life-affirming as
manure contains seeds to feed hens and as it
decays it fertilizes the earth. As summer turns
to fall and fall to winter, the cycle of death and
rebirth within the natural world continue. The
certainty and unchanging nature of this cycle
contrast with the lives of the wedding couple
and people in general who, despite their efforts
to control their destinies, ultimately do not sur-
vive just like creatures in nature, such as the
deer and hens. The suggestion is that the
speaker believes the order of nature is greater
than the human lifespan. However, when peo-
ple die, their bodies finally merge with the phys-
ical world, as they are buried and the bodies
decompose.
Dualism: Flesh versus Spirit
Various images within the poem hint at the phi-
losophy of dualism, that human beings are com-
prised of two irreducible elements—matter
(flesh) and spirit. The village houses are made
of clay; a literal reading is that clay is an earthy
material used to form brick, tile, and pottery.
However, clay is often referred to as the human
body, apart from its spirit. The structure of the
home (clay/body) may house the spirit within,
but it is a separate entity. The speaker notes that
when death occurs, it is the end of the body,
which is buried in the earth. Once the body
ceases to exist, the spirit is released, as demon-
strated with the image of music continuing after
those conducting it have perished.
The spirit’s freedom from the confines of the
earthly body suggests that the speaker is explor-
ing ideas concerning the afterlife. Although it
cannot be proven that the spirit attains eternal
life after death, a widely accepted religious belief,
it is clear that the spirit is superior to the body, as
evinced through the speaker’s description of its
release resulting in victory.
Style
Personification
Through the use of personification, a figure of
speech which attributes human qualities to
abstract ideas, animals, or inanimate objects,
the flute is described as emitting wails, rather
than the pleasant tones associated with this
instrument. The image of a crying flute as it
accompanies a newly wed couple disrupts what
should be a happy moment for the bride and
groom. The music animates the imagined and
remembered scene, seemingly testifying to the
life force that permeates the natural world and
perpetuates its life-death-life cycles.Imagery
The images presented in the poem appeal to one
or more of the five senses. The sound of the
mourning flute is auditory, and the houses
made of clay set against a brown, dry landscape
are visual. Images of nature continue as hens
peck at piles of manure, eliciting an earthy
scent and sound. The earth is presented as a
burial ground. In the midst of this scene set to
music, the bride and groom are described solely
through the colors of their attire—the folds of
white satin starkly contrasted with the stiff blackA flute being played(Image copyright Svemir, 2009. Used
under license from Shutterstock.com)In Music