Article #579-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from The Poems of Sidney Lanier, by Sidney Lanier

____
Sunnyside, Georgia, August, 1874.

The Symphony.

"O Trade! O Trade! would thou wert dead!
The Time needs heart -- 'tis tired of head:
We're all for love," the violins said.
"Of what avail the rigorous tale
Of bill for coin and box for bale?
Grant thee, O Trade! thine uttermost hope:
Level red gold with blue sky-slope,
And base it deep as devils grope:
When all's done, what hast thou won
Of the only sweet that's under the sun?
Ay, canst thou buy a single sigh
Of true love's least, least ecstasy?"
Then, with a bridegroom's heart-beats trembling,
All the mightier strings assembling
Ranged them on the violins' side
As when the bridegroom leads the bride,
And, heart in voice, together cried:
"Yea, what avail the endless tale
Of gain by cunning and plus by sale?
Look up the land, look down the land
The poor, the poor, the poor, they stand
Wedged by the pressing of Trade's hand
Against an inward-opening door
That pressure tightens evermore:
They sigh a monstrous foul-air sigh
For the outside leagues of liberty,
Where Art, sweet lark, translates the sky
Into a heavenly melody.
Each day, all day' (these poor folks say),<br /> In the same old year-long, drear-long way,
We weave in the mills and heave in the kilns,
We sieve mine-meshes under the hills,
And thieve much gold from the Devil's bank tills,
To relieve, O God, what manner of ills? --
The beasts, they hunger, and eat, and die;
And so do we, and the world's a sty;
Hush, fellow-swine: why nuzzle and cry?
"Swinehood hath no remedy"
Say many men, and hasten by,
Clamping the nose and blinking the eye.
But who said once, in the lordly tone,
"Man shall not live by bread alone
But all that cometh from the Throne?"
Hath God said so?
But Trade saith "No:"
And the kilns and the curt-tongued mills say "Go!
There's plenty that can, if you can't: we know.
Move out, if you think you're underpaid.
The poor are prolific; we're not afraid;
Trade is trade."'"
Thereat this passionate protesting
Meekly changed, and softened till
It sank to sad requesting
And suggesting sadder still:
"And oh, if men might some time see
How piteous-false the poor decree
That trade no more than trade must be!
Does business mean, Die, you -- live, I?'<br /> Then Trade is trade' but sings a lie:
'Tis only war grown miserly.
If business is battle, name it so:
War-crimes less will shame it so,
And widows less will blame it so.
Alas, for the poor to have some part
In yon sweet living lands of Art,
Makes problem not for head, but heart.
Vainly might Plato's brain revolve it:
Plainly the heart of a child could solve it."

Explanation

Sidney Lanier’s "The Symphony" (1874) is a powerful poetic critique of industrial capitalism, written during the Gilded Age—a period of rapid industrialization, economic inequality, and social upheaval in the United States. Lanier, a Southern poet, musician, and scholar, was deeply concerned with the dehumanizing effects of unchecked commercialism and the erosion of artistic and spiritual values in a society increasingly dominated by materialism. This excerpt, framed as a musical allegory, uses the structure of a symphony—with its harmonies, dissonances, and shifting voices—to explore the tension between Trade (industrial capitalism) and Art (human creativity, love, and spiritual fulfillment).

Context & Themes

Historical Context:
- Post-Civil War America was marked by industrial expansion, wage labor, and extreme wealth disparity. Factories, mills, and mines exploited workers (including children) in dangerous conditions for meager pay.
- Lanier, a former Confederate soldier who later worked as a lawyer and professor, witnessed the commodification of human life and the suppression of art and beauty in favor of profit.
- The poem’s setting (Sunnyside, Georgia, 1874) grounds it in the rural South, where agricultural and industrial labor often overlapped under oppressive economic systems.
Central Themes:
- Trade vs. Art: The poem personifies Trade as a ruthless, dehumanizing force and Art (represented by music, poetry, and love) as the redemptive counterbalance.
- Exploitation of the Poor: Lanier highlights the physical and spiritual suffocation of workers trapped in cyclical poverty.
- Moral and Spiritual Bankruptcy: The poem questions whether a society built on material gain can ever satisfy the deeper human need for beauty, love, and meaning.
- The Failure of Intellect Alone: Lanier suggests that logic and economics ("head") cannot solve social ills—only compassion ("heart") can.

Literary Devices & Structure

Lanier’s poem is symphonic in form, using musical terminology and structure to mirror its content. Key devices include:

Personification & Apostrophe:
- Trade is addressed directly ("O Trade! O Trade! would thou wert dead!") as a malevolent entity.
- The violins (representing Art) "speak" in protest, while the mightier strings (lower-pitched instruments like cellos) join them in solidarity, symbolizing a collective cry for justice.
- The poor are given a voice through direct quotation ("Each day, all day..."), making their suffering immediate and personal.
Imagery & Symbolism:
- Musical Imagery: The poem’s structure mimics a symphony, with dissonance (Trade’s harshness) and harmony (Art’s beauty) in tension.
- Industrial Imagery: "Kilns," "mills," and "mine-meshes" evoke oppressive labor, while "blue sky-slope" and "heavenly melody" symbolize freedom and art.
- Wedding Imagery: The strings "ranged them on the violins' side / As when the bridegroom leads the bride" suggests a union of Art and Humanity against Trade’s tyranny.
Contrast & Juxtaposition:
- Trade’s Cold Logic vs. Art’s Emotional Appeal:
  - Trade speaks in calculating, dismissive terms ("Move out, if you think you're underpaid. / The poor are prolific; we're not afraid").
  - Art responds with passionate, moral urgency ("Does business mean, `Die, you—live, I?'").
- Childlike Heart vs. Platonic Intellect:
  - The poem rejects philosophical abstraction ("Vainly might Plato's brain revolve it") in favor of innocent, intuitive morality ("Plainly the heart of a child could solve it").
Biblical Allusion:
- The line "Man shall not live by bread alone" (Matthew 4:4) contrasts with Trade’s "No", framing capitalism as a denial of spiritual truth.
- The reference to "the Throne" (God’s providence) underscores the moral failure of a system that ignores divine justice.
Tone Shifts:
- Defiant Protest → Pleading Despair → Resigned Sorrow:
  - The poem begins with a rebellious outcry ("O Trade! O Trade! would thou wert dead!").
  - It shifts to a mournful realization of the poor’s suffering ("They sigh a monstrous foul-air sigh").
  - It ends with a weary, almost hopeless question ("Makes problem not for head, but heart").

Line-by-Line Explanation

"O Trade! O Trade! would thou wert dead!"
- The poem opens with a direct attack on capitalism, framing Trade as a destructive force.
"The Time needs heart—'tis tired of head: / We're all for love," the violins said.
- The violins (Art) argue that the era is over-intellectualized and lacks emotional and spiritual depth.
"Grant thee, O Trade! thine uttermost hope: / Level red gold with blue sky-slope..."
- Even if Trade accumulates infinite wealth ("red gold" piled as high as the sky), it cannot buy true love or joy ("the only sweet that's under the sun").
"Look up the land, look down the land / The poor, the poor, the poor, they stand..."
- A repetitive, incantatory rhythm emphasizes the ubiquity of suffering. The poor are physically trapped ("Wedged by the pressing of Trade's hand").
"Against an inward-opening door / That pressure tightens evermore..."
- The door symbolizes escaping poverty, but it opens inward, making escape impossible—the harder they push, the more they’re crushed.
"They sigh a monstrous foul-air sigh / For the outside leagues of liberty..."
- The poor long for freedom ("liberty") but are choked by industrial pollution (both literal and metaphorical).
"Where Art, sweet lark, translates the sky / Into a heavenly melody."
- Art (the lark) transforms the natural world ("sky") into beauty ("melody"), offering an alternative to Trade’s ugliness.
"The beasts, they hunger, and eat, and die; / And so do we, and the world's a sty..."
- Workers are reduced to animals ("swine") in a filthy, dehumanizing system ("sty").
"Hush, fellow-swine: why nuzzle and cry? / 'Swinehood hath no remedy'"
- The resignation of the oppressed—they’ve been convinced their suffering is inevitable.
"But who said once, in the lordly tone, / 'Man shall not live by bread alone...' / Hath God said so? / But Trade saith 'No:'"
- Trade directly contradicts divine law, positioning itself as a false god.
"The kilns and the curt-tongued mills say 'Go!... / Trade is trade.'"
- Industry dismissively rejects moral appeals, prioritizing efficiency and profit over human life.
"Does business mean, 'Die, you—live, I?' / Then 'Trade is trade' but sings a lie..."
- If capitalism is survival of the fittest, it’s not trade but war—a miserly, selfish conflict.
"Alas, for the poor to have some part / In yon sweet living lands of Art..."
- The solution isn’t economic theory but compassion—giving the poor access to beauty and creativity.
"Vainly might Plato's brain revolve it: / Plainly the heart of a child could solve it."
- Intellect alone fails; only innocent, loving wisdom can heal society.

Significance & Legacy

Critique of Capitalism: Lanier’s poem foreshadows later socialist and labor-rights movements, echoing Marxist critiques of alienation and exploitation.
Art as Resistance: The poem argues that music, poetry, and beauty are not luxuries but necessities for human dignity.
Southern Perspective: Unlike Northern industrial apologetics, Lanier (a Southerner) sees both slavery and wage labor as moral failures.
Influence on Later Writers: His musical poetics influenced modernists like T.S. Eliot, while his social criticism resonates with Whitman’s democratic idealism and Dickens’ industrial novels.

Conclusion: The Symphony’s Message

Lanier’s "The Symphony" is a lyrical jeremiad—a mournful prophecy warning that a society built on Trade alone will crush the human spirit. The poem’s musical structure reinforces its argument: harmony requires balance, and when Art is silenced, life becomes a dissonant, mechanical nightmare. The final lines suggest that the answer lies not in complex systems but in simple compassion—a truth so obvious even a child could grasp it.

In an age of late-stage capitalism and AI-driven efficiency, Lanier’s 150-year-old protest remains hauntingly relevant, asking: What does it profit a society to gain the whole world if it loses its soul?

Questions

Question 1

The poem’s depiction of the violins’ protest and the subsequent alignment of the "mightier strings" primarily serves to:

A. illustrate the technical structure of a symphony as a metaphor for societal hierarchy.
B. contrast the fragility of artistic instruments with the durability of industrial machinery.
C. suggest that musical harmony is an unattainable ideal in an era dominated by Trade.
D. embody the collective human resistance to dehumanization through unified artistic expression.
E. critique the romanticization of music as an ineffective tool against systemic oppression.

Question 2

The line "Swinehood hath no remedy" functions most significantly in the poem as:

A. a biblical allusion to the Prodigal Son, emphasizing the potential for redemption through labor.
B. a moment of dark humor that undercuts the poem’s otherwise solemn critique of capitalism.
C. an example of the poor internalizing Trade’s rhetoric to justify their own suffering.
D. a rhetorical device that exposes the psychological resignation enforced by oppressive systems.
E. a literal description of the living conditions of industrial workers in 19th-century Georgia.

Question 3

The poem’s shift from "this passionate protesting" to "sad requesting / And suggesting sadder still" primarily reflects:

A. the poet’s loss of faith in the possibility of societal change.
B. a strategic retreat from confrontation to persuade through emotional appeal.
C. the exhaustion of the oppressed when faced with the immovable logic of Trade.
D. an ironic juxtaposition of the poor’s desperation with the indifference of the elite.
E. a formal requirement of symphonic structure, where tension must resolve into quietude.

Question 4

The assertion that "Plainly the heart of a child could solve it" is most effectively interpreted as:

A. a rejection of intellectualism in favor of simplistic, sentimental solutions.
B. an argument that economic problems are fundamentally moral rather than technical.
C. a critique of Plato’s philosophy as irrelevant to modern industrial society.
D. a suggestion that innocence is the only remaining refuge in a corrupted world.
E. an indictment of adult complicity in perpetuating systems that a child’s morality would instinctively reject.

Question 5

The poem’s use of musical terminology (e.g., "violins," "mightier strings," "melody") ultimately serves to:

A. frame Art as a dynamic, living force capable of transcending the static cruelty of Trade.
B. provide a structural scaffold that mirrors the rigid, mechanical nature of industrial labor.
C. emphasize the ephemeral nature of beauty in contrast to the permanence of economic systems.
D. suggest that music, like Trade, is a constructed system that ultimately serves the powerful.
E. illustrate the futility of artistic expression when confronted with material deprivation.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: D

Why D is most correct: The violins’ protest and the alignment of the "mightier strings" represent a collective, embodied resistance to dehumanization. The musical instruments are not merely symbolic but active agents—their unification ("ranged them on the violins' side / As when the bridegroom leads the bride") mirrors a human solidarity against Trade’s oppression. The poem explicitly frames this as a counterforce to Trade’s logic, using the symphonic structure to argue that Art (human creativity and love) is the antidote to mechanization.