The Carpenter's Son - A. E. Housman
Alfred Edward Housman usually
known as A E Housman was an English classical scholar and poet, best known for
his ‘A Shropshire Lad’ poems. He established his reputation publishing as a
private scholar and, on the strength and quality of his work, was appointed
Professor of Latin at University College London and later at Cambridge. His
publications of ‘Juvenal’, ‘Manilius’ and ‘Lucan’ are still considered
authoritative.
‘The Carpenter’s Son’, Housman uses imagery to reflect upon Jesus
Christ’s last few hours as he dies uopon a cross. Careful examination of this
poem, one can feel of Housman’s satirical toward this event. However, before
delving into the symbolic nature of this poem, some background information is a
great aid in deciphering its meaning and theme
On March 26, 1859, Alfred Edward
Housman was born in Fockbury, Worcestorshire, England. He was born into an
ancient family of farmers and preachers. His family was very religious, and
this was mostly because his paternal great-grandfather was an evangelical
preacher. Housman continued to live a pious life until the death of his mother.
Apparently, Housman prayed for weeks, asking the god to spare his mother from a
sickness. However, when she died on his twelfth birthday, he slowly began to
reject his church ad the religion affiliated with it.
B. J. Leggett suggests that
Housman’s rejection of the church and the other troubles he had endured during
his life played a major role in the creation of his poem, The Carpenter’s Son.
It is due in part to these reasons, Housman’s writings relate to the “unhappy
and painful experiences serve as a defensive function”. By creating a satire of
a specific painful concept – that the death of Jesus Christ provides mercy and
salvation for all – Housman is able “to deal in imagination with this situation
which might cause pain, and thus strengthen his ability to cope with it.”
The careful perusal of the poem,
one can see that Housman is writing about Christ’s crucifixion. The title refers to the son of a carpenter,
and Biblical records show that Saint Joseph, Jesus Christ’s human father, was
indeed a Carpenter. In his poem, Housman describes Christ as a common man being
hung, and to do this he assumes the persona of the Lord and speaks in first
person.
In the past, men guilty of crimes
were hung for their transgressions. Within the first stanza, Housman introduces
the central theme of his poem. He tells his readers,
“Fare you well, for
ill fare I;
Live, lads, and I will
die.”
This is repeated later in the
final stanza. This is a direct allusion to Jesus Christ’s sacrifice of himself
to provide everlasting life for all who followed him. The Bible teaches that He
died on a cross to save all from sin. In this first stanza, the hangman shoving
Jesus on a cross comes to mind. Jesus tells His followers, who are his best
friends, hat his end will bring eternal life to them all. However, Housman
satirizes this scene by giving his readers the impression that Jesus is
regretting what has brought him to this end. By regarding the Lord as a mere
carpenter’s son, and not as the Son of Man, Housman suggests that all of
Christ’s work was in vain, Again, this relates back to his frustration with the
Church itself.
In the second stanza, Housman
creates an image of Christ lamenting his misfortune. Christ considers what
would have happened had He become an apprentice to his father. He wishes that
He had “stuck to plane and adze,” the wood and tool used in the trade of a
carpenter. He says that He would not have been lost, had He simply followed his
father’s example. However, He now knows that he will be crucified for His
rejection of a passive stance in life. Here, one may draw a parallel between
Housman and Christ. Both men regret their faith and contemplate other paths
that they may have chosen, in Housman’s case, the path which led toward
atheism.
In the third stanza, Christ
laments that if he had become a woodworker Himself,
‘Then
I “might have built perhaps
Gallows-trees
for other chaps,
Never dangled
on my own,
Had I but
left ill alone.”
Again, satire shows through as
Christ questions his actions. Housman has the Lord wishing that He had abandoned
his cause to escape the pain through which He had to go.
In the fourth stanza, Christ
continues speaking to his followers. He tells them about how his hanging brings
many spectators. Again, Housman makes it obvious that Christ was not well liked
among his neighbours in his time. He claims,
And the
people passing by
Stop to shake
their fists and curse.
These lines bring to mind the
treatment Jesus received on his way to Calvary and as he was nailed to his
cross. According to the Bible, spectators would spit at Jesus, slap him, and
throw refuse across his path on his way to his death. He was treated even more
terribly in his dying than he had been treated during his lifetime. Here,
Housman takes this into account: “So ’tis come from ill to worse.” In saying
this, the poem shows its satiric edge once again as Christ doubts his actions.
In the fifth stanza, Housman
illustrates the scene after Jesus Christ has been nailed to his cross. The
Bible explains, “When they came to the place called the skull, they crucified
Him and the criminals there, one on His right, the other on His left” (Luke
24:33) While all three will die in the same way, their crimes are very
different. At this point, Housman compares their plight, as he says,
Two poor fellows hang for the theft.
Though the midmost hangs for love.
Later on, Housamn continues with
his satirical tone. In the voice of Jesus, he tells his friends to live a
normal life, implying that they should not tamper with the norms of society.
The Christian faith teaches that its followers should do just the opposite,
that they should do what is good and just. Jesus tells his to walk away from
him, without looking at him, to….
Walk henceforth in other ways;
See my neck
and save your own:
Comrades all,
leave all alone.
This is yet another reflection of
his denunciation of religion.
In the final stanza of “The
Carpenter’s Son” Housamn continues his instruction towards Christ’s followers.
He tells them to avoid his fate, and “Make some day a decent end” instead of
ending up as He does. In conclusion, He says goodbye once again, and asks them
to live their lives as they have before as he dies.
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