The Man with the Hoe

by Edwin Markham

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The Man with the Hoe

"The Man with the Hoe" by Edwin Markham critiques the dehumanizing effects of labor on the working class. The first stanza depicts the man as broken and oppressed. The second stanza questions the...

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The Man with the Hoe

Edwin Markham's "The Man with the Hoe" is a protest poem inspired by Jean-François Millet's painting, highlighting the dehumanization of laborers under oppressive conditions. The poem depicts a...

13 educator answers

The Man with the Hoe

In response to the question in "The Man with the Hoe," a "future" child would aim to empathize with the man's plight, treating him with compassion and offering fair compensation for his labor. The...

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The Man with the Hoe

The quote "what to him / Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades?" in "The Man with a Hoe" signifies the laborer's lack of time and energy to engage with higher thought and contemplation, such as the...

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The Man with the Hoe

In "The Man With the Hoe," Edwin Markham critiques the disparity between God's intended role for humanity and the harsh reality faced by laborers. God envisioned humans as beings with dominion over...

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The Man with the Hoe

In "The Man with the Hoe," Edwin Markham explores the misery of the poor, represented by the man with the hoe, who has lost hope and ambition due to systemic oppression by the privileged classes....

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The Man with the Hoe

Society treats individuals like "the man with the hoe" harshly, reducing them to mere laborers enslaved by their work. They are deprived of leisure time to engage in intellectual or natural pursuits,...

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The Man with the Hoe

Jean-François Millet’s painting, Man With a Hoe, depicts an exhausted peasant man working in a field. It was meant to highlight the plight of the working class and was considered very controversial...

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The Man with the Hoe

In "The Man with the Hoe," the "modern man" symbolizes the exploited laborer, enduring grueling work for the enrichment of society's elites. This depiction reflects the socio-economic disparity...

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The Man with the Hoe

The condition of the "man with the hoe" is attributed to the "masters and lords" or the wealthy and privileged, who exploit and overwork laborers, reducing them to a dehumanized state. The poem...

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The Man with the Hoe

The bent body of the man in "The Man with the Hoe" signifies his dehumanization and the crushing labor imposed by an unjust society. This posture symbolizes the immense burdens of toil, reducing him...

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The Man with the Hoe

The phrase "monstrous thing distorted and soul-quenched" refers to the dehumanizing effect of relentless labor on the man with the hoe. The speaker criticizes those in power for reducing a once...

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The Man with the Hoe

The phrase "a brother to the ox" in "The Man with the Hoe" signifies the dehumanization of the laborer. The worker, exploited and oppressed, has lost his individuality and ability to aspire for a...

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The Man with the Hoe

In "The Man with the Hoe," the light within the man's brain was extinguished by the "masters, lords and rulers in all lands." The poem uses a metaphor to suggest that the man's intellect and spirit...

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The Man with the Hoe

The line suggests that the laborer, symbolized by "the man with the hoe," is so consumed by physical toil that he has no time or energy to engage with intellectual pursuits or appreciate the beauty...

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The Man with the Hoe

The speaker in "The Man with the Hoe" raises questions about the man's suffering and dehumanization. They ask how he became so burdened and broken, what societal forces led to his despair, and who is...

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The Man with the Hoe

The phrase "a thing that grieves not and that never hopes" describes the dehumanized state of the man with the hoe, who has been reduced to an object by relentless labor. He is portrayed as devoid of...

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The Man with the Hoe

"The Man with the Hoe" highlights class distinctions by portraying the laborer as downtrodden and oppressed, contrasting sharply with the privileged, idle classes. The poem emphasizes the...

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The Man with the Hoe

"The Man with the Hoe" by Edwin Markham and Shakespeare's Sonnet 29 both address human suffering, but differ in focus. Markham's poem highlights the dehumanizing effects of labor and slavery,...

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The Man with the Hoe

In "The Man with the Hoe," Edwin Markham contrasts two social classes: the labor class and the land-owning or ruling class. The poem depicts the laborer as oppressed and dehumanized by "the world's...

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The Man with the Hoe

The laborer's protest in "The Man with the Hoe" is a prophecy because it foresees a future uprising of oppressed workers against their exploiters. The poem's angry and challenging tone criticizes the...

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The Man with the Hoe

Markham's attitude towards the common man in "The Man with the Hoe" is one of pity and empathy. He portrays the laborer as degraded and dehumanized, more like an ox than a man, lacking appreciation...

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The Man with the Hoe

In "The Man With the Hoe" by Edward Markham, the man is compared to an ox, highlighting his dehumanization and relentless labor. This analogy suggests he is more like a working animal than a person,...

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The Man with the Hoe

In "The Man With the Hoe," the man's spirit is taken away by the oppressive forces of society, particularly the unfair labor systems. Markham attributes the man's downtrodden condition to "masters,...

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The Man with the Hoe

The man in the painting is depicted as a laborer or farmer, pausing from his exhausting work in a field. He leans on a hefty iron hoe, indicative of the strenuous labor he endures. This painting,...

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