No Social Conscience
No Social Conscience - meaning Summary
Defence of Individual Sincerity
Kavanagh praises a solitary, self-directed man whose refusal to bow to public opinion marks him as admirable. The speaker admires the man’s sincerity and private integrity, set against a hostile, moblike Public prone to hysteria and spectacle. The poem values individual authenticity over social usefulness or recognition, portraying the egoist as morally robust precisely because he seeks no public role, reward, or conformity.
Read Complete AnalysesHe was an egoist with an unsocial conscience, And I liked him for it though he was out of favour, For he seemed to me to be sincere, Wanting to be no one’s but his own saviour. He saw the wild eyes that are the Public’s Turned on the one man who held Against the gangs of fear his ordinary soul – He did no public service but lived for himself. His one enthusiasm was against the hysteria, Those dangerous men who are always in procession Searching for someone to murder or worship – He never qualified for a directorship or a State pension.
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