"Once there came a man"

by Stephen Crane

 

 

Once there came a man

Who said:   

“Range me all men of the world in rows.”

And instantly   

There was a terrific clamor among the people

Against being ranged in rows.

There was a loud quarrel, world-wide.

It endured for ages;

And blood was shed

By those who would not stand in rows,

And by those who pined to stand in rows.

Eventually, the man went to death, weeping.

And those who stayed in the bloody scuffle

Knew not the great simplicity. 

 

 

On my first read through the thing that popped out to me was," Range me all men of the world in rows." I did not know that the word "range" could be used as a verb. After a deeper read through I feel that Crane is talking about the pointlessness of religious conflicts. Crane says," those who stayed in the bloody scuffle knew not the great simplicity." This refers to that all modern religions at their core are pretty much the same. Hurting and killing people is bad. It is just when people bring on their own opinions that trouble starts, like how in the poem," By those who would not stand in rows, And by those who pined to stand in rows." Crane uses a lot of loaded words such as ages, blood, death and weeping. He really drives home how long and deadly these conflicts have been. He also uses the word scuffle. Scuffle brings up thoughts of small meaningless fights, like two kids wrestling on the playground. This  contrast in word choice emphasizes how bloody, but yet stupid these religious conflicts are.

A Dream Within a Dream

By Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow —

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone? 

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! Can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

 

I picked this poem becasue the title reminds of Inception. This poem has some pretty striking imagery in the second stanza. I think Poe is talking about how time is precious but it slips past you like sand in your hand, and no matter how hard you try you cannot keep the things that matter to you. By saying that everything is a dream within a dream Poe means that things we take as important are actually meaningless and that our lives are also meaningless. Poe seems like kind of a downer. Even if our lives are meaningless or not real that does not mean a person could not enjoy their life.