Question

I saw a Sower walking slow

Across the earth, from east to west;
His hair was white as mountain snow.
His head drooped forward on his breast.

5 With shriveled hands he flung his seed,
Nor ever turned to look behind;
Of sight or sound he took no heed;
It seemed he was both deaf and blind.

His dim face showed no soul beneath,
10 Yet in my heart I felt a stir,
As if I looked upon the sheath
That once had held Excalibur.1

I heard, as still the seed he cast,
How, crooning to himself he sung.
15 'I sow again the holy Past,
The happy days when I was young.

'Then all was wheat without a tare2,
Then all was righteous, fair, and true;
And I am he whose thoughtful care
20 Shall plant the Old World in the New.

'The fruitful germs I scatter free,
With busy hand, while all men sleep;
In Europe now, from sea to sea,
The nations bless me as they reap.'

25 Then I looked back along his path.
And heard the clash of steel on steel,
Where man faced man, in deadly wrath,
While clanged the tocsin's3 hurrying peal.

The sky with burning towns flared red,
30 Nearer the noise of fighting rolled.
And brothers' blood, by brothers shed,
Crept curdling over pavements cold.

Then marked I how each germ of truth
Which through the dotard's4 fingers ran
35 Was mated with a dragon's tooth
Whence there sprang up an armed man5.

I shouted, but he could not hear;
Made signs, but these he could not see;
And still, without a doubt or fear,
40 Broadcast he scattered anarchy.

Long to my straining ears the blast
Brought faintly back the words he sung:
'I sow again the holy Past,
The happy days when I was young.


Select ALL the correct answers.
Which two statements express themes of the poem?

a. People tend to believe that bygone days are better.
b. Wars are never truly won because of their human cost.
c. The elderly dwell on the strength of their younger days.
d. The things visible to the eye are not as they seem.
e. Actions intended for good do not always yield goodness.

Answer 1

The poem reflects themes that people romanticize the past as better times and that good intentions may lead to negative outcomes, challenging perceptions of actions that seem benevolent.

Step-by-step explanation:

The poem presents the theme that people often romanticize the past and believe that earlier times were better, as depicted by the sower who sows "the holy Past" and reminisces about the "happy days when [he] was young". This reflects the idea that people tend to believe that bygone days are better. The poem also explores the theme that actions intended for good do not always yield goodness. The imagery of seeds turning into men with weapons suggests that while the intentions of the sower may have been pure, they ultimately led to conflict and destruction. The conflict between intention and outcome indicates that the things visible to the eye are not as they seem, as what appeared to be a peaceful act of sowing seeds resulted in violence."