I need help too!

[wrestlingtaker]

Can you guys help me translate this poem?

Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I 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.

[ennison]

By translate do you mean 'understand'? Probably the poet refers to the ultimate unknowability of the essence of existence or the inability to go much beyond the sensations of experience. The flower is whole but plucked out and removed from even the feeble hold it has in a crack in the wall it is removed from its growing position and is in fact dying. Experiences follow eachother in rapid succession each lasting but a short while. Thus do all things- pain, pleasure, daily routine pass through our hands. If we could comprehend them at all the levels of our being we could comprehend the nature of existence. All we can do is look at the flower, feel it, describe it but we know it and we die.
Does that help?

[wrestlingtaker]

No.What does that have to do with the poem?!

[Scheherazade]

Wrestlingtaker,

Could you please be more specific with your help request? Into which language will you translate this poem?

[wrestlingtaker]

Can you traslate this poem so that I can understand

[ktd222]

Ok, let me put it in my words.

Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I 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 person has just “plucked” the flower that has somehow managed to blossom through a crack in the wall, and holding this flower in his/her hand, the speaker ponders this:

but if I could understand
What you are,root and all,and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.

The “you” is identified as the flower, but it is also not described as an “it” - but a “you”; which means what is being looked at can be identified as a person, also. The very act that the I “plucked” this naturally blossoming flower(which is an action of this man), out of a wall(which is a man-made thing), leads me to believe the “you” that is being pondered by the speaker is also the word “God”. I say the word, because if you look at this excerpt, two statements can be created:
1)“but if I could understand what you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God is.”
2)“but if I could understand what you are, root and all, and all in all, should know what man is."
Both statements reference to this: that if what is in the hand is “understood”, then the speaker will know exactly what “God” IS, and what “man” IS. The two words, “man” and “God”, are treated almost as symbols, as if to say that “understanding of what is in hand” will lead to the identification of what the word “God” symbolizes, and “man” symbolizes. Since, by act, by action, and by this man-made wall, we can already get a sense of what “man” symbolizes. So what is being pondered is the symbolic meaning of “God”. The fact that despite this barrier(the wall), this flower had managed to maneuver its way passed the wall, and blossom. So the speaker is in a way pondering the qualities that afford the roots of this flower to survive underneath this barrier, and pondering the qualities that allow for such mechanisms and structural alterations that allowed the flower to find its way passed the wall. The speaker seems to be blind to his/her actions which identifies the symbolic meaning of “man”, yet thinking that by identifying what “God” symbolizes, he/she can identify what “man” symbolizes.
It’s also funny(not ha, ha, funny) that the image created by this poems puts the speaker in a position of an All Knowing, an All Powerful. By the speaker’s abrupt action to pluck, ending the life of this flower, to the viewpoint of this speaker inspecting the roots of this flower(which was in the ground below the speaker), to the speaker inspecting the now “little flower” in his hand, truly marks the symbolic meaning of “man”.

If you have any questions, post it here and I'll try to answer them.

[wrestlingtaker]

1)What does the flower symbolize?
2)How can a flower grow in a crack?!
3)"Little flower-but if I could understand" In this stanza why does he want to understand a flower?

[ennison]

Flowers grow in cracks in rocks. In rock gardens. On cliff faces. Plants grow in the most inauspicious of places. A 'cranny' is a little narrow crack or ledge.Life flourishes in unexpected places. Are you a learner of English?

You can see from ktd 222's reply how much can be read out of the poem.

Well the poet wants to understand something about life and existence. Is there more to this poem? It has a Victorian feel to me.

[ktd222]

1)What does the flower symbolize?
2)How can a flower grow in a crack?!
3)"Little flower-but if I could understand" In this stanza why does he want to understand a flower?

For questions 1 and 3:
Just reread my post and ponder what I said is the symbolic meaning of "man"; then extrapolate this idea over to the word "God," which seems to be the opposite of what "man" symbolizes, and you shall come up with idea(s) of what "God" represents.:)

For question 2, refer to ennison's post.

[wrestlingtaker]

If you guys don't know,don't HELP!You're just confusing me.

[ktd222]

I've done half of it for YOU. I've laid out the information for you. All you have to do is do a little thinking yourself:)

[Scheherazade]

If you guys don't know,don't HELP!You're just confusing me.Wrestlingtaker,

If you are unable to appreciate others' efforts to help you with your homework (especially because they are under no obligation to do so), maybe you should not seek help on here.

Every single post in this thread has aimed to be helpful; you will have to make some effort too.

[wrestlingtaker]

I do,but you people use big words.

[Adudaewen]

Sometimes using a dictionary can come in handy. Everyone has given really good answers for you, and its okay if you feel confused. Poetry is one of the hardest things to understand when you don't have very much experience with it. Reading poetry isn't a race, it takes time. Sometimes you have to just take it piece by piece, try breaking it down into sentences and don't move forward until your comfortable with that sentence.
A person can be given all the tools to understand something, but its up to that person to employ those tools.

[wrestlingtaker]

A person can be given all the tools to understand something, but its up to that person to employ those tools.


ok........

[Adudaewen]

ok........

words to live by, baby. ;)

[wrestlingtaker]

words to live by, baby. ;)


Can I report you for that?:eek2:

[kathycf]

Can I report you for that?:eek2:

Why would you report that? Adudaewen didn't do anything worth reporting.

When folks here gave you excellent material in answer to your request, you complained that you could not understand the words used. To me, Adudaewen is suggesting that you take some responsibility and get a dictionary and look up the words you don't know. You have what you need in this thread; it is up to YOU to do the work.

People here can help with assignments or questions, as they wish. They are not obligated to help you. They do it because they want to help, which is kindness on their part...and help doesn't mean doing everything for you, and may I add, your chances of receiving any future help with questions are slim indeed when you treat people who are trying to be nice to you so rudely.



I suppose this is a bit harsh, and probably will be edited by a moderator. In that case my apologies to Scher, Logos and Jay, for giving them an extra post to edit.

Here is a link to several online dictionaries, I hope you find them useful.

http://dictionary.reference.com/

http://www.yourdictionary.com/

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

[Asa Adams]

If you guys don't know,don't HELP!You're just confusing me.

To quote the great sunscreen song
"Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it."
I feel that you should accept the advice and thank those who give it. :) :thumbs_up
Asa Adams

[wrestlingtaker]

[QUOTE=kathycf;338589]



I suppose this is a bit harsh, and probably will be edited by a moderator. In that case my apologies to Scher, Logos and Jay, for giving them an extra post to
edit.


Can I be a mod? :idea:

[wrestlingtaker]

Here is a link to several online dictionaries, I hope you find them useful.

http://dictionary.reference.com/

http://www.yourdictionary.com/

http://www.merriam-webster.com/


I won't.