Hymn By A. R. Ammons: Poem Analysis

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What is the relationship between the self, death, and nature? In his poem, “Hymn,” A.R. Ammons explores the speaker’s position in the world in relation to the other forces that surround him/her daily. S/he seems to be in search of the larger force that controls the smaller natural operations around him. It is unclear as to whether or not the speaker believes that this larger force is a traditional “God” figure, but the title of the poem connotes a praise for a larger being. In addition, Ammons takes on a transcendentalist style in this poem—the belief that a divine spirit composes everything around the speaker. This spirit is “partial and entire” (Ammons 19), “inside of everything and on the outside” (20). There is a significant tension …show more content…

The stanza continues with the speaker “inspecting with thin tools and ground eyes” (13). It is unclear what exactly “ground eyes” are, but the phrase appears to be a significant metaphor in the poem. “Ground eyes” compares the eyes to the ground by showing that the speaker's body may be becoming a part of the ground—part of the natural processes behind death. This idea is echoed in the last line of the stanza: “and going right on down where the eye sees only traces” (18). The speaker takes this a step further by “trusting the microvilli sporangia and simplest/coelenterates” (14-15). These three things are not directly related, but all of them are made up of a complex system of cells and are not directly visible to the human eye. The speaker is able to acknowledge that this life force resides in things that humans cannot always see, and the idea of “trusting” further plays into the speaker’s faith that this divine presence is around him/her even when s/he is unable to actively notice this divine presence’s role. On the other hand, the speaker not only acknowledges that this larger force is present in all of these things, but is “trusting” them because the larger force that may be guiding him/her to death is a part of all of these …show more content…

This stanza highlights the turn created by the previous couplet by beginning with “I walk down the path down the hill where the sweetgum” (21), which strays from the anaphoric “If I find you” that is found through the beginnings and lengths of the previous stanzas. The speaker observes the sweetgum trees and notices the “spring sap” (22) coming from the tree. Spring typically symbolizes life or rebirth. The speaker not only observes the natural beauty of springtime around him, but the life that comes with it as well. The speaker then notices the bark on the tree with great details, and how its cracks are “chasmal to my ant-soul” (24). The “ant-soul” is a beautiful metaphor here in which the speaker compares him/herself to an ant running through the chasms of the cracks in tree bark. Though the speaker is clearly human, s/he seems to feel small compared to the depth of the nature around him/her. The speaker is overwhelmed by the life and complexity held by the environment surrounding him/her. Moreover, the poem finishes “and if I find you I must go out deep into your/far resolutions/and if I find you I must stay here with the separate leaves” (25-27). In these final lines, the speaker returns to his/her quest or possible death entailed with finding this larger force. The concept of going “into you/far resolutions” is quite abstract. It is difficult to dissect this because it is not

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