The poem "Money Madness" by D.H. Lawrence criticizes society's obsession with wealth and material possessions. It describes how the pursuit of money has made people collectively mad, isolating them from human qualities like sympathy. The poet suggests that society views a person's worth solely based on their financial status. If someone lacks money, they are treated with contempt and forced to endure humiliation. Lawrence argues that basic needs like food, shelter, and warmth should be universal rights, not privileges reserved for those who can pay. He calls for people to regain sanity regarding money before conflict and violence erupt over it.

1. Mahatma Gandhi Arts, Science & Late N. P. Commerce College,
Armori, Dist. Gadchiroli
Class :- B. Sc. – I ( Sem. – II )
Subject :- Compulsory English
Topic :- Money Madness
- D. H. Lawrence
- Prepared By -
Asst. Prof. Anil P. Raut

2. About the Poet:-
D. Lawrence (1885-1930) was a prominent and prolific twentieth-
century English writer. He has to his credit several novels, short stories,
poems, plays, essays, travel books and translations. Particularly noted for their
psychological bent, his novels, especially, Sons and Lovers ,Women in Love
and Lady Chatterley’s Lover have created a niche for him in modern English
Literature as works that deal with the complexities of human relationships.

3. About the Poet :-
“Money Madness” is a simple poem that deals with what Lawrence perceives
as the materialistic perspective of his fellow human beings, it is different from most
of his other poems in that it is an objective examination of a very relevant issue. The
poem was originally published in 1929 in the collection Pansies. It is widely
regarded as an indictment of the common notions of a capitalist society which is
immersed in the collective madness of materialism. The possession of money seems
to isolate people from each other and its absence terrifies them. Lawrence suggests
that money is capable of manipulating human beings into committing acts of
injustice and oppression.

4.  Theme :-
 Poet criticizes man’s obsession for wealth and world possessions at the
cost of human values.
 People have no regard for qualities such as sympathy and kindness.
 Money is required, but it should not become all important, this will only
have dehumanizing effect and lead to destruction.

5. Money Madness
Money is our madness, our vast collective madness.
And of course, if the multitude is mad
The individual carries his own grain of insanity around with him.
I doubt if any man living hands out a pound note without a pang;
And a real tremor, if he hands out a ten-pound note.
We quail, money makes us quail.
It has got us down, we grovel before it in strange terror.
And no wonder, for money has a fearful cruel power among men.
But it is not money we are terrified of,
it is the collective money - madness of mankind.
For mankind says with one voice: How much is he worth?
Has he no money? Then let him eat dirt, and go cold -

6. And if I have no money, they will give me a little bread,
So I do not die,
but they will make me eat dirt for it.
I shall have to eat dirt, I shall have to eat dirt
if I have no money.
It is that I am afraid of.
And that fear can become a delirium.
It is fear of my money-mad fellow-man.
We must have some money
To save us from eating dirt.

7. And this is wrong.
Bread should be free,
shelter should be free,
fire should be free
to all and anybody, all and anybody, all over the world.
We must regain our sanity about money
before we start killing one another about it.
It's one thing or the other.

8. Explanation:-
Money is our madness, our vast collective madness.
And of course , if the multitude is mad
The individual carries his own grain of insanity around with him.
I doubt if any man living hands out a pound note without a pang;
And a real tremor , if he hands out a ten-pound note.
We quail, money makes us quail .
It has got us down , we grovel before it in strange terror .
And no wonder, for money has a fearful cruel power among men .
The poet says that wherever we look there is madness for money; infact money can be termed as a
metaphor for the word madness. And this madness is not on small or individualistic levels; it is the madness of
the multitude, in numbers unimaginable and at levels incredible. And since the multitude as a whole is mad,
so every person in this world carries his share of this madness-- his share of this insane race after money. The
poet doubts that there exists a human in this world who hands out a pound note to someone without feeling a
pang at heart. No matter how noble he may feel while giving away that note, his heart always wishes if only
he could do all that good without having to take out a note from his own pocket. And when that note turns to
a ten-pound note, we experience real tremors within us. We tremble from inside while giving away that note,
as if we have been robbed. Money makes us kneel infront of itself. It makes us fearful, and a sense of
apprehension and stress grips us as we try to overcome a loss as materialistic and small as ten-pounds. It has
an exaggerating power to influence our life.

9. Explanation:-
But it is not money we are terrified of ,
it is the collective money - madness of mankind.
For mankind says with one voice : How much is he worth ?
Has he no money ? Then let him eat dirt , and go cold –
But in the broader sense, it is not the money that we terrified of. But it is the madness that
mankind shows for it-- the multitude madness-- that gives money such an undeserved
status in the society of today. And from here arises the feeling that money is all that
matters today; it means peace, of body and of mind. Every time the society sees the man,
no one cares for his moral values and behavior. All that decides his social status is that how
much is he worth? If he has no money, then he well deserves all the guilt, criticism and
blame that comes with poverty. Let him go cold, says the society
.

10. And if I have no money , they will give me a little bread ,
So I do not die,
but they will make me eat dirt for it .
I shall have to eat dirt , I shall have to eat dirt
if I have no money
It is that I am afraid of .
And that fear can become a delirium .
It is fear of my money-mad fellow-man.
We must have some money
To save us from eating dirt .
And this is wrong.
Bread should be free ,
shelter should be free ,
fire should be free
to all and anybody , all and anybody , all over the world.
We must regain our sanity about money
before we start killing one another about it .
It's one thing or the other

11. Explanation:-
The poet goes on to say that if one has no money, the World would give him little money,
only enough to perhaps buy a piece of bread, in the name of humanity. But even this small
offering doesn’t come for free. He has to eat dirt to get it, suffering through pains unheard
and criticisms unparalleled. The poet says it is this pitiful and inhumane situation that he
is afraid of. He fears that such madness for money might result in the world going
completely insane. It is this fear of money-mad fellow-men going into a state of delirium
that resides within him.
If we are to save ourselves from humiliations, criticism, guilt, and blames in this modern
day world, we must have money. Because money parallels power. And the poet strongly
criticizes such a morally and socially degraded state of the Modern day society. He
proclaims that bread, shelter, and fire should be free, to anybody and everybody all over
the world. We must regain our sanity when it comes to money. We must replace our
madness with logic. Otherwise soon enough we will start killing one another for the sake
of money. It is either one way or the other.

12. Thank
You