On the vanity of Earthly Greatness Summary
On the vanity of earthly greatness summary of poem by Arthur Guiterman
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On the vanity of Earthly Greatness - Arthur Guiterman
The poem's title has ironical meaning because the title suggests that it is useless to achieve big in our life. The poet says it is useless to achieve big because due to the cruelty of time, all of our big achievement, name and fame will turn to dust.
Form wise, the poem comprises of four couplets, with each couplet consisting of the two lines. The first couplet mentions about great swords made out of invaluable elephant tusks and were used to win famous battles. The swords should have been kept in a museum so that people can pay their respect, tribute and homage to these swords. Instead, people have turned those swords into Billiard balls and are playing with them. Thus, the irony involved in the first couplet is that instead of paying respect to the swords we are playing with them.
The second couplet mentions about the sword of the great emperor Charlemagne the Just. The sword of a sense of awe (fear and respect). However, when the people look at this sword, they feel sorry for it, because it has been completely eaten away by rust. Thus, the irony involved in the second couplet is that people feel sorry for the sword instead of the sword generating a sense of pity.
In the third couplet, the poet mentions about the grizzly bear, regarded as the most aggressive animal in the world. The poet humorously notes if the grizzly bear embraced us, it would suggest an end of our life. However, with the passage of time, with the invention of modern weapons, people have started killing grizzly bear for sports and for its rich fur. Thus, once people were afraid of the powerful hug of grizzly bear but now they hug or embrace grizzly bear almost every night as they have made blankets out of its rich skin or fur, which in foot is the irony involved in the third couplet.
In the last couplet, the poet mentions about another great Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar who is regarded as one of the most powerful kings human history has witnessed. There was a time when people were even afraid to pronounce the name of Caesar, but the poet now finds the great emperor, imprisoned helplessly inside a shelf, in the form of a decorative item. The poet thus thinks that if this has been the terrible and bitter fate of great things and great personalities he will be forgotten during his life itself. Bottom line : Time is most powerful factor in this world. In front of might of time, all frame and name will turn to dust
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