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poem
Does anyone know what Emerson really means in his poem "days" thanks
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First of all, here is the poem.
Daughters of Time, the hypocritic Days,
Muffled and dumb, like barefoot dervishesAnd marching single in an endless file,
Bring diadems and fagots in their hands.
To each they offer gifts, after his will,--
Bread, kingdoms, stars, or sky that holds them all.
I, in my pleachéd garden, watched the pomp,
Forgot my morning wishes, hastily
Took a few herbs and apples, and the Day
Turned and departed silent. I, too late,
Under her solemn fillet saw the scorn.
now let's break it down. "Days" does not really mean days, it most likely means "fakes" or "actors"
hypocritic, meaning swift, describes the "actors"
they act like "barefoot dervishes" a dervish is somebody who possesses frenzied energy, wild.
they march "in an endless file" file, meaning they follow, trying not to step out of line.
they "bring diadems and fagots in their hands" diadems are crowns that symbolize royalty, and fagots are ciggarettes which are suppose to symbolize somebody mature, calm, and collective. This means the "actors" or "fakes" are try very hard to make themselves look like royalty, and look good towards society. They are jsut playing a role, therefore nobody sees them for them.
Now Emerson has learned something at the end of the poem taht has taken him a lifetime. He has learned that he has taken from life according to his own will -- meaning he has lived up his life as much as he wanted to. Realizing this he looks back and refers to the actors from the past as "daughters of time"
He then states in the last few lines that he saw the scorn. This means he saw the pain beneath the acting exterior
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