|
Please read Tennyson's "Flower in the crannied wall" (copied below). According to this poem, what is the essence of all things?
FLOWER
in the crannied wall,
|
|
|
I
pluck you out of the crannies;—
|
|
|
Hold
you here, root and all, in my hand,
|
|
|
Little
flower—but if I could understand
|
|
|
What
you are, root and all, and all in all,
|
|
|
I
should know what God and man is.
|
|
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe essence of all living things is that we are all connected. Flowers are tiny, and can be found virtually anywhere. If one could understand how it was put together or how it came to be, one might have a better understanding of how we all came to be. The flower, though feeble in comparison to what surrounds it, is a part of the whole and embodies the whole. Life itself is a miracle, so why wouldn't something as a simple as a flower be? Understanding that you are no different than the flower is essential to understanding who we and God are, because the smallest pieces of the puzzle are no different than the rest. In the end they all come together to form something far more complex and beautiful, than a single piece could form on its own.
ReplyDeleteOK
DeleteI think in this poem by Tennyson, the essence of all living things is represented by this flower and the roots connected to it. The meaning behind it seems to be that God made us all like flowers, born as such and given roots to connect us to other things besides ourselves. Our roots were given to us to connect ourselves with other people and even other things, such as nature and all of its inhabitants and creatures. I think in the last sentence, Tennyson is trying to say that he should realize that just as the flower is attached to its roots, so is mankind with God. He says that he should try to understand the connection between men and God, just as he wishes the flower to understand its connection to its roots.
ReplyDeleteThe essence in the poem, "Flower in the crannied wall" is the connection of nature. It describes that if the poet understands the creation of flower and the relation of the flower to the root, plants, nature and so forth; by relating them to something more general and broad, he would be able to understand man and God. The poem sounds like the poet was interested in the creation of nature done by God. He thinks that just by looking at one flower in the universe, he could see the connection between all the creations in life and understand the reason why God had created such natural sources that exist in the universe. It focuses on the connections that man and nature has on Earth.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though the author believes that the flower is just as mysterious as the meaning of life. I think the essence of all things is nature, literally this is true because everything derives from natural resources, but figuratively it makes sense as well because everything is connected to nature, and spiritually nature can be connected to everything too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else regarding the theme of the poem, however I'm not sure that Tennyson is presenting any sort of revelation/conclusion, it seems to me to be more of what Ms B would refer to as waxing philosophical. That having been said, I believe Tennyson to be describing the essence of all things to be just that, all things. The essence of existence is shared by all living things, be it a planet, a flower, a human, or arguably, a rock. The characteristic of godliness, not necessarily the christian/judaistic representation of "him" (although I know nothing of Tennyson's religious alignment) but the universal binding quality that relates every speck of matter to every other. Tennyson appears to believe in the oneness of being to be spread out across all things, equally. The line " I could understand
ReplyDeleteWhat you are, root and all, and all in all" may imply that he is in fact not capable of understanding the flower, and therefore understanding god. It is certainly a jump of inference to say that this is part of the meaning in his poem, but perhaps Tennyson is not sure that humans are capable of making direct contact or understanding of the divine quality of the flower, and also of course the godliness of universal matter.
In this poem, Tennyson is trying to say that everything in the world is a mystery. One cannot simply understand where something came from just by looking at its roots because there is more information that we can never know about it. The essence of all things could either be explained from a scientific point of view or a religious point of view. If one were to explain why the flower is the way it is from a religious stand point, one would say that everything God creates is a mystery. Sometimes, there are not any logical explanations. If one were to explain it scientifically, they would examine the root of the flower with a microscope in order to actually see where it came from. In a technical sense, things are made in some way, shape, or form, and can be looked at until its origin makes sense. The religious way of thinking usually results in the understanding that God creates many crazy things without reason. In the poem, it is clear that the poet cannot explain the essence of life any better than we can. He explained that if he really knew the explanation of why the flower was the way it was, then he could have understood the whole world.
ReplyDeleteI think he is talking about the impossibly intricate and infinite detail of every part of nature, and how all this beauty might not just be coincidence. He is clearly trying to make a distinction between the explanation of god and he reaches of science, but I'm not sure that he comes anywhere close to a conclusion. He sees the flower petals and the color on the top, but he also admires and handles the roots of the flower. I don't think that he is really saying anything, He never really comes to any obvious conclusion.
ReplyDeleteIn "Flower in the Crannied Wall", Tennyson is speaking about nature and its relevance to God. He explains that everything in nature is connected. When he picked the flower, he sees all the parts of the flower; the petals, stem, roots. His poem explains that if someone can comprehend the beauty of the flower and marvel at its creation, then one would understand God’s infinite power. In the poem, he cannot understand where the flower came from and is perplexed how it could sustain life in a stone cranny. Tennyson is making the point that no one can comprehend God’s ability to control nature and our own existence.
ReplyDelete-Laura
I think the essence of all things is that you either believe that god created everything or that science did. I think that in this poem he is saying that if he understood where and how this flower came from then he could understand god and how people got here. I think that the flower growing out of a cranny, is showing that he believes that god created life. How could something that beautiful grow out of a cranny unless god was the creator. I also think the poem is showing that you have to deal with the good and the bad. For example, the flower is the beauty in life and the roots are the bad in life, but they go together to make something beautifl. Without the roots there would be no flower. In life how can you have good without bad. I think this poem is trying to make you see things trough relgious and scientific views.
ReplyDeleteI think that the essence of this poem is that even the tiniest creations of the universe, ones that could be found anywhere, are still a primary part of the whole of creation. If one had the ability to understand every aspect of it- to see how it functioned, how it was put together, and could fully respond to the miracle of its creation and its inherent charm- then they would finally be able to understand their own existence as well as God's.
ReplyDeleteAlong with many of the other poems that we have read, "Flower in the Crannied Wall" has a connection to nature. This poem is all about connections, those that we have with God, nature, and how they are related. How can such beauty and life come from this ugly stone, which seems dead? Where is it connected, and how does it thrive in this cold stone? These questions seems to perplex the author. If he understood them, then he would understand God, but unfortunately, he does not, and therefore the questions remain.
ReplyDeleteAccording to this poem, the essence all things is that everything is connected. When the poem was written, science was being newly introduced, and people were trying to understand basically THE question, what is life? They started to wonder how science and God can co-exist. If people could see how every little thing is beautifully created either by science or God,they would appreciate it a little more. It started a question to where they are starting to question how humans basically came along on Earth.
ReplyDeleteAccording to this poem, the essence all things is that everything is connected. When the poem was written, science was being newly introduced, and people were trying to understand basically THE question, what is life? They started to wonder how science and God can co-exist. If people could see how every little thing is beautifully created either by science or God,they would appreciate it a little more. It started a question to where they are starting to question how humans basically came along on Earth.
ReplyDeleteThe author is stating his confusion. About everything really, god and man, and he is putting it in a giant metaphor of picking a flower out of a wall. He uses a flower to symbolize how small one man really is in the whole picture of things. He can touch everything and see everything, but he simply cannot explain everything. He either knows there is a God, and cannot explain it, or he is agnostic. This man might be at a mid-life crisis, or a big turning point in his life, and he is deeply evaluating everything he thought he knew for sure.
ReplyDeleteby Keeley
DeleteI believe the essence of all things is to come to some understanding of our place in the universe. Such basic, yet deep questions (as a collective people) like "How did I get here?", "Where did I come from?", and "What is my true purpose?". It is an attempt to understand a part of the whole. The flower represents not only a person, but a people as well. Tennyson attempts to understand the part in order to possibly understand the whole. The flower (part) is representative of a subset of the wall (whole). The flower - wall relationship could be an atom to a molecule, or person to a people. The relationship could also be analogous as a planet is to the galaxy. In any case, I believe all things have an innate desire to be part of a whole, and understanding how they fit into that larger piece.
ReplyDelete