The poem "The Man with the Hoe" by Edwin Markham describes a laborer who appears drained of spirit and bowed down by the weight of centuries. Through vivid imagery and rhetorical questions, the poem explores themes of labor, oppression, and unequal treatment of the working class. It challenges rulers and the upper classes to recognize their role in exploiting workers and to take steps to restore workers' dignity, hopes, and humanity.

1. OBSERVING OTHERS’
CIRCUMSTANCES

4. THE MAN WITH
THE HOE
By:Edwin Markham

5. •The Man with the Hoe by Edwin Markham is
inspired by a painting by Jean-François Millet titled
“L’homme à la houe” (“The Man with the Hoe”).
•This makes this poem anekphrasis (writing about
a work of visual art in great detail), or an example
of a poem inspired by, or that describes, a piece
of art.

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5B0DRHIHEVM/THE-
MAN-WITH-THE-HOE/

7. Themes;The Man with the Hoe
•The poem can also be considered a protest poem
•In ‘The Man with the Hoe,’ Markham engages with
themes of labor, equal rights, and suffering of the
laborers. Through his depiction of the laborer, who
represents all working men and women, he is able to
express the horrible unequal treatment across American
society (as well as the rest of the world).

8. Structure and Form
• ‘The Man with the Hoe’ is a five-stanza poem that is separated into
stanzas of different lengths. There are a total of forty-nine lines in the
poem.
• /There is no single rhyme scheme that structures the entire piece, but
there are several different examples of rhyme throughout the poem.
• It is written in blank verse, meaning that although it doesn’t rhyme, it
does use iambic pentameter. A rhythmic pattern that consists of 10
syllables per line, with alternating stressed and unstressed syllables. This
means that each line contains five sets of two beats.
• first of these is unstressed while the second is stressed. Like most
poems, there are a few moments where the pattern is broken. For
example, in the first line where “Bowed” is an obviously stressed
syllable, creating a trochee(one long or stressed syllable).

9. •Bowed by the weight of cent-u-ries he leans.

10. GROUP ACTIVITY

11. INTRODUCTION
•Inthepoem“TheManwiththeHoe”byEdwinMarkham,
thepoetvividlydescribesthetitularfigure,portraying
himasapitifulandburdenedindividual.
•Throughpowerfulimageryandrhetoricalquestions,
Markhamexploresthethemesoflabor,oppression,and
theinjusticesfacedbytheworkingclass.

12. Stanza One:TheWeight of Centuries
•Inthefirststanzaof‘TheManwiththeHoe,’thespeakerbeginsby
describingthemanmentioned inthetitle.
•He’s “Bowedbytheweightofcenturies” whileheworksinthefield.He
looksaroundhim,andanyonewhosawhimwouldread“emptiness of
agesinhisface.”
• Thisisadarkbeginning, onethatsuggests thatthismanhasbeen
throughagreatdeal.Themancarriesagreatweight,onethatthe
speakercomparestothe“burdenoftheworld.”

13. StanzaTwo: Questions of Purpose and
Destiny
•Thespeakerstartsaskingquestionsinthenextlines, somethingthat
continuesintothesecondstanza.Hewondershowthismancametobe
inthestatethathe’sin.Hecomparestheworkingmantoanoxandtoa
“thingthatgrieves notandneverhopes.”
•This manhasneitherhopenormoresorrowfulemotions.Heseems tobe
pastallofthat.
• Throughtheuseofseveral questionsandtheliterarydeviceisknownas
accumulation, thepoetprobesthesituationforananswer.Hewantsto
knowwho’sfaultitisthatthisman’slightisgone.

15. StanzaTwo: Questions of Purpose and
Destiny
•Inthesecondstanza,thequestionscontinue.Thespeakerasksthelistener,and
anyoneelsewhomighthaveananswer,ifthismancouldpossiblybethesame
noblebeingthatGodcreatedto“havedominion overseaandland.“Throughthese
questions,thisspeakeristryingtoemphasizehowinhumanthismanseems.
• ByaskingifthisisthedreamthatGoddreamed,thespeakerisimplyingthatno,
thisisnotwhatGodintended.Thereisnowaythatthisman’sterribleshapewasa
divinecreation.
• Thespeakeralsoexpresseshisopinion thatnowhereinhellcouldonefinda
shapeworsethanthisman’s.Hethinksthatthisman’sspiritualhealthisathreat
toeveryone.

16. StanzaThree:The Suffering Ages
•Thethirdstanzaofthepoemalsoincludesseveralquestions.Butfirst,thespeaker
beginswithanexclamation.
•Heexclaimsoverthedifferencebetweenthismanand“theseraphim,“ ortheangels.
Thepoetremindsthereaderthatthismanworkseverydayofhislife.Hehasnotime
forthewordsofPlato,norcouldhestudyastronomy.
•ThespeakeralludestoPleiadesasareferencetoastronomicalinformation. Art,
music,literature,noneofitcanreachthisman’smind. Heissufferinginawaythat
putsupawallbetweenanyoflife‘sgreatestpleasures.

17. •Intheseventhline,thespeakerdeclaresthatone canlookatthis man’sbody
andseethesufferingofalltheworkersandlaborersthroughouthistory.His
“dreadshape“isfrightening. Allthetragediesthroughoutthetimethat
workershavehadtoendurearein“theachingstoop.”
•Thepoetcontinueson,usingalliterationandmoreexamplesofaccumulation
tofullyemphasizehow darkanddreadfulthisman’s currentstateis. Hehas
beendenied,ordisinherited,fromafairshareofeverythingthatheworkedfor.
•According tothepoet,Thepowerfulandthehealthypeopleareresponsiblefor
thecondition orstateofthemanwithahoe.Hegivesasorrowfuldescriptionof
theirliveswithphrasessuchasstolentheirsouls,snatchedthejoyoutoftheir
livesandmadethemworsethananimals.

18. Stanza Four :The Silence of Centuries
• Inthelongfourthstanza, thespeaker addresses “masters, lords andrulers inalllands.” He
asked ifthisis whatGodintended. “Thismonstrous thing”can’tpossiblybeGod’s will.
• Heasked themtotakealookatwhatthey created andanalyzeifthey arethemselves doing
God’swill. Willtheyreally receivetheblessingsthattheydesirebyexploiting workers inthis
way?Heasksthemhowthey plantoreverse thedamagethatthey’ve done. Howwill this
beingsoulberevitalized? Morequestions follow.
• Thespeaker inquiresaboutthereturnof lighttothisworker’smind,andallthose tohe
represents, aswell astheirjoy, dreams, andhopes. How willyou, theupperclasses, those
whobenefitmost fromthelaboroftheworkingclass, rightthese wrongs?
• Inthe finallines, thespeaker reiterates hisquestions. Heasksthose listening, the ruling
classes, howfuture menandwomenwilljudgewhatthey’ve done. Thefuturewillseehow
“you”treated thisman.

19. Fifth stanza
• Thespeakeraskswhythelaborerappearstobedrainedoffeelingandspiritwhenhe,
too,ispartofGod’screation.Theexploitationofworkers,thespeakerthusargues,isn’t
justanaffronttoidealsofequalityandhumandecency;it’saninsulttoGod.
• Theconsequencesarepotentiallygrave.
• Attheendofthepoem,thespeakerinsiststhatsocietymustoneday“reckon”withthe
laborer’scondition—withthefactthatprofit-drivensocietyhaschanged“Man”to
“brute,”or,inotherwords,fromasensitivehumanbeingintoaviolentbeast.Thepoem
ultimatelypresentsastarkchoice:eithertherulingclasswillactinaccordancewith
Christianprinciplesbytreatingtheworkingclasswithdignity,orelsesocietywill
perpetuateacycleofsuffering untilthe“hour” ofdivinejudgmentarrives.Theworkers
classwillinevitablyriseupand"rebellion"will"shaketheworld"—andnoteven"kings"
willbesafe.
•

20. Lesson of the Poem
•Edwin Markham paints a poignant and powerful portrait of
a laborer burdened by the weight of history and the
injustices of society.Through vivid imagery and thought-
provoking questions, the poet invites readers to reflect on
the plight of the working class and the potential for
change.The poem serves as a reminder of the importance
of empathy and social justice, urging us to recognize and
address the struggles faced by those who bear the weight
of the world.