The Cloak, the Boat and the Shoes
The Cloak, the Boat and the Shoes - meaning Summary
Sorrow Made Visible and движ
The poem personifies Sorrow as a figure who is clothed, transported and shod by crafted objects—cloak, boat and shoes—presented as beautiful, swift and silent. Each stanza stages a maker answering what they create for Sorrow, suggesting sorrow moves through the world visibly, relentlessly and imperceptibly. The repeated responses imply inevitability and the everyday presence of grief, framed as both ornamental and functional in human life.
Read Complete Analyses'What do you make so fair and bright?' 'I make the cloak of Sorrow: O lovely to see in all men's sight Shall be the cloak of Sorrow, In all men's sight.' 'What do you build with sails for flight?' 'I build a boat for Sorrow: O swift on the seas all day and night Saileth the rover Sorrow, All day and night.' What do you weave with wool so white?' 'I weave the shoes of Sorrow: Soundless shall be the footfall light In all men's ears of Sorrow, Sudden and light.'
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