We definitely can't ignore all of the personification in "Parting at Morning." And all that personification makes it seem as if man and nature are one and the same. The sun is personified as a man projecting a path of gold and peeking over the mountains, while the speaker prepares to embark on his own path. Even the mountains feel oddly reminiscent of the world of men. There's no doubting then that all of the vivid imagery in the poem is meant to bridge those gaps between man and the natural world.
Questions About Man and the Natural World
- Why does the speaker appear to blend all aspects of nature (earth, sun, sea, air) in such a short poem? What's the effect of this?
- How does parallelism contribute to this blending of man with nature?
- Why is the sun personified as a guy in this poem? Is it just because the speaker is a guy or is there something else going on here?
- What's the significance of the sun's "path of gold," which is followed immediately by the speaker's need of a "world of men"?
Chew on This
Man is part of the natural world, but in "Parting at Morning," he's so much so that even nature appears to look a bit like a guy.
The natural world has its own purpose and path just like the speaker who's reminded of that "world of men" which he is inextricably a part of.