Content
The first stanza opens with a rhetorical question,
“But what can be worthy of your life?”
Here, the poet is trying to explain to us the things that can make our lives worthwhile, meaningful, and significant.
According to the poem, these things are more important than the most precious things we have in mind.
“What dearer than the gems of your dreams:”
The poet explains further that it is the reason we are on earth. Wherever we are, we should endeavor to fly the flag of joy and spread love to the people around us.
We should also have feelings for those in one problem or the other to alleviate or solve their problems completely.
We should strive to extend the hands of friendship to the people around us wherever we are.
“To fly flags of joy, and, sail up streams
Powered by the breeze of love, your course
Chartered in the ink of compassion.
And, fling roses wherever you pause”
The poet concludes that, if we can achieve these, we shall be living on the earth as if we are in heaven.
“Heaven-on-earth your destination.”
In the second stanza, the poet identifies one major impediment to achieving those behaviors that could lead someone to “heaven-on-earth.”
It can even rob someone of his or her life. He identifies “Rage” as the major thing that can debar achieving the feat. “Rage” is referred to as the “Raider of the treasure trove” in the poem.
“Of things which would blot out that brief
Or, breach your sails with arrows unseen:
No! Rob you of your life, Rage is chief.”
He explains further that “Rage” takes good virtue away from somebody and puts somebody to shame.
“Rage drags rags after you.”
It steals away the attitude of kindness and liveliness. The person would then be unstable and would not be able to compose himself especially while under stress.
It spreads bad omens everywhere and can be calamitous.
In the third stanza, the poet pinpoints the main cause of “rage”. That is, what can easily push someone to uncontrolled violent anger.
He says that there are no definite rules for avoiding “rage” other than the way we react to challenges or any violent agitation, the way you take it, the way you react.
“As you think, so you feel.”
He advises that we watch the way we react to something because “rage” can ruin and send someone backward.
The last stanza expresses the mind of the poet on the topic. He says that he would show love and extend hands of friendship wherever he is. By doing these, his destination is “heaven-on-earth.”
“I’ll fling roses wherever I berth.
My destination is Heaven-on-earth.”
Themes
Moral Virtue: This is the conformity of behavior or thought with the strictures of morality; and good moral conduct. The critical study of this poem shows that it is didactic.
It stresses a lot the worth of somebody’s life to live the life of “Heaven-on-earth.” The poet talks about this in the first stanza that one should always be joyful, spread love, and be compassionate.
“To fly flags of joy, and, sail up streams
Powered by the breeze of love, your course
Chartered in the ink of compassion.
And, fling roses wherever you pause.”
Immorality: In the second stanza, the poet condemns immorality when he explains what can hinder someone from having good morals or achieving “Heaven-on-earth” as a destination.
He identifies “Rage” as the major immoral behavior that chases away good morals from somebody and replaces them with vices and spreads calamity.
“No! Rob you of your life, Rage is chief.
Rage drags rags after you. Of charity,
Laughter, sweetness and light, Rage is thief.
Enemy of Equanimity,
Rage spreads toxic fumes on every scene.
In essence, Rage spells calamity.”
Rage: This is the subject matter of the poem and it is a violent uncontrolled anger.
The poet describes it as the chief destroyer of human virtue and also a thief who steals away good morals from somebody. It spreads bad omen in every scene and causes calamity.
Thought: The poet identifies the main cause of rage in human beings in the third stanza.
He identifies our thoughts as a major cause of rage in human beings; the way we think and respond to challenges or problems confronting us.
The way we react to these challenges matters most because we feel the way we think.
“As you think, so you feel.”
He advises that we should be mindful of the way we think in our minds whenever we have any challenge so as not to allow “Rage” in our lives.
Reward of Virtue: Everything has its reward, including “Rage” that spells calamity. The reward of good behavior is also stressed in the poem in the first and the last stanza.
He advises in the first stanza that people should always live in joy, spread love, and be compassionate that at the end “Heaven-on-earth is the person’s destination.
Also, in the last stanza, the poet chooses the path of virtue wherever he is and says “Heaven-on-earth is his destination.
“I’ll fling roses wherever I berth.
My destination is Heaven-on-earth.”
Poetic Devices
Rhetorical Question: This is an expression in the form of a question and requires no answer. We can see these in the lines;
1- But what can be worthy of your life?
3- The reason you are here? Always strive
17- Its sole cause? Your perception of storms
21- Rage sets sail. Can ruin lag far behind?
Metaphor: The title of the poem is metaphorical, “Rage,” the subject matter is referred to as the “Raider of the treasure trove. We can also see this in the lines;
11- No! Rob you of your life, Rage is chief.
13- Laughter, sweetness and light, Rage is thief.
14- Enemy of Equanimity
15- Rage spreads toxic fumes on every scene.
17- – Its sole cause? Your perception of storm
22- I’ll fling roses wherever I berth.
Alliteration: This is a figure of sound. It is the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of two or more words in a line of a poem. Alliteration is used in lines;
1- But what can be worthy of your life?
2- What dearer than the gems of your dreams.
4- To fly flags of joy, and, sail up streams
5- Powered by the breeze of love, your course
9- Of things which would blot out that brief
11- No! Rob you of your life, Rage is chief.
12- Rage drags rags after you. Of charity,
13- Laughter, sweetness and light, Rage is thief.
15- Rage spreads toxic fumes on every scene
17- Its sole cause? Your perception of storms
19- There are neither snakes, deviants nor norms
20-As you think, so you feel. Watch your mind
21- Rage sets sail. Can ruin lag far behind?
22- I’ll fling roses wherever I berth.
Assonance: This is the repetition of a vowel sound in a line of a poem. This is used in lines;
12- – Rage drags rags after you. Of charity,
16- In essence, Rage spells calamity.
Personification: This is giving the attributes of a living thing to non-living things. In line 16, “Rage spells calamity,” the attribute of a living thing has been given to “Rage.”