The Thing
The Thing - meaning Summary
Mistaken Significance of Signals
The poem describes a small, repeated sound that the speaker repeatedly misreads as addressed to them. They realize the bell is indifferent, not meant for anyone, yet its ringing binds people together in a shared, resentful duty. The short lines compress a moment of private expectation and communal obligation, suggesting how everyday noises can foster mistaken self-importance and collective, reluctant service.
Read Complete AnalysesEach time it rings I think it is for me but it is not for me nor for anyone it merely rings and we serve it bitterly together, they and I
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