The Ghost Land
The Ghost Land - meaning Summary
Ghostly Suburban Motion
The poem depicts a lifeless, soulless landscape where routine replaces vitality. Kavanagh contrasts outward movement with inner emptiness: people hurry to offices, homes, clubs and pious meetings, yet their actions feel mechanical and spiritually dead. The repeated negatives emphasize absence of feeling or revolt, portraying modern social life as a ghostly world of locked souls and chastity graves. It reads as a critique of conformity and the loss of genuine human passion.
Read Complete AnalysesNot a stir, not a stir in the land, The cloudless sky Of a ghost world – Businessmen hurrying to their offices, Businessmen hurrying to their homes, Businessmen hurrying to their golf clubs, Their souls locked in their cars. Not a kick, not a kick in the heart Of the land, But only a slow desperation – Girls hurrying to their sodality meetings, Girls hurrying to the theatre, Girls with girls Walking to their chastity graves. Not a kick, not a stir In heart or in air.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.