The Idiot
The Idiot - meaning Summary
Solitude and Brief Connection
The speaker describes profound isolation from people and nature, feeling unknown and unloved as he wanders the world. He insists that no tree, friend, beast, or maid has welcomed him. That solitude is interrupted once during a dangerous sea voyage from Gibraltar to Cape Horn, when fellow mariners, the waves, and the boat’s struggle create a fleeting sense of fellowship. The poem contrasts enduring loneliness with a temporary bond formed in crisis.
Read Complete AnalysesO how this sullen, careless world Ignorant of me is! These rocks, those homes Know not the touch of my flesh, now is there one tree Whose shade has known me for a friend. I’ve wandered the wide world over. No man I’ve known, no friendly beast Has come and put its nose into my hands. No maid has welcomed my face with a kiss. Yet once, as I took passage From Gibraltar to Cape Horn I met some friendly mariners on the boat And as we struggled to keep the ship from sinking The very waves seemed friendly, and the sound The pray made as it hit the front of the boat.
from The Tennis Court Oath (1962)
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