Analysis of The Eternal Question (A Retort to a Son’s Search For Meaning)
Karl Constantine FOLKES 1935 (Portland)
How can the part comprehend
the whole of which it is a part?
A part apart —
from the whole…
that, being blinded by its own
centrality…
as an individualized part,
is constrained to discover
in its eternal pursuit
perchance the thought …
its own integral wholeness
in the Whole?
| Scheme | XA AB XX AX XX XB |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 110101 01111101 0101 101 11010111 0100 11010001 1011010 0101001 0101 1110010 001 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 291 |
| Words | 59 |
| Sentences | 2 |
| Stanzas | 6 |
| Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
| Lines Amount | 12 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 18 |
| Words per line (avg) | 4 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 37 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 8 |
About this poem
The Lingering Mystery of the Singular ‘Self’ Seeking to Comprehend Its Collective SELF: Several hours after posting on line this poem, “If You Do Not Stare You May Yet See,” my son, a practicing attorney in New York, puzzled by the message of the poem, and at the same time struggling to make sense of it, forwarded a text message to me that read as follows: “What is this that feels like a fragment in time? Are we all one, everywhere at all times? Is this a journey with synchronized movement? Or am I staring, looking too hard and missing the point?” My son’s text message generated my own response, entitled “The Eternal Question” which, although not representing a full robust response to my son’s earnest question, is the title of this newly submitted poem. more »
Written on October 25, 2021
Submitted by karlcfolkes on October 26, 2021
Modified by karlcfolkes on September 24, 2022
- 17 sec read
- 318 Views
57 fans
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Eternal Question (A Retort to a Son’s Search For Meaning)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/112775/the-eternal-question--%28a-retort-to-a-son%E2%80%99s-search-for-meaning%29>.
Discuss this Karl Constantine FOLKES poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In