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Summary Moving through the silent crowd - Stephen Spender
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In depth summary of Moving through the silent crowd by Stephen Spender IEB 2024
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The men are depicted as idle,The speaker navigates a group
of people who are silent,
1 moving through the silent crowd suggesting a lack of purpose or
implying a sense of despondency direction.
"Idle in the road" indicates both
or resignation.
The crowd is characterized by 2 Who stand behind dull cigarettes physical and metaphorical
stagnation.
their passive smoking, with "dull The phrase "sense of falling
cigarettes" suggesting
monotony and lack of vitality. 3 Those men who idle in the road, light" conveys a feeling of
diminishing hope or energy.
This imagery sets a somber The juxtaposition of idleness
tone, reflecting the overall
mood of weariness and 4 I have the sense of falling light. with "falling light" emphasizes a
mood of decline and
stagnation. despondency
Line 5 portrays the idle Line 7 portrays a
men positioned at
street corners.
It suggests a casual and
5 They lounge at corners of the street symbolic action of
revealing empty
aimless demeanor pockets, suggesting
financial hardship and
among these men.
Their choice of location
6 And greet friends with a shrug of shoulder destitution.
implies a lack of The phrase "cynical
gestures" implies a
purpose or direction.
Line 6 depicts their
7 And turn their empty pockets out, resigned and bitter
indifferent attitude attitude towards their
own poverty.
towards social
interactions. 8 The cynical gestures of the poor. It critiques societal
The "shrug of shoulder" indifference towards
indicates a nonchalant the poor, where such
or disinterested manner gestures are seen as
in greeting others. commonplace or
expected.
9 Now they've no work, like better men
This line contrasts idle men The phrase "sleep long
with those in white-collar nights" suggests a
jobs. 10 Who sit at desks and take much pay leisurely lifestyle,
It suggests a hierarchy possibly indicating
unemployment or lack
based on work and pay.
"No work" implies 11 They sleep long nights and rise at ten of structured daily
routines.
unemployment or low- "Rise at ten" implies a
income jobs.
"Better men" implies societal 12 To watch the hours that drain away. late start to the day,
contrasting with
value tied to job status. typical work schedules.
It highlights the disparity in "To watch the hours
lifestyles and opportunities. that drain away"
The speaker expresses evokes a sense of
envy towards the idle
men's time, described as
13 I'm jealous of the weeping hours passivity and wasted
time, highlighting a
"weeping hours," feeling of resignation
implying wasted or
sorrowful moments.
14 They stare through with such hungry eyes. or despair.
"Weeping hours" The repetition of "haunted"
suggests a profound
emotional weight or
15 I'm haunted by these images, emphasizes the narrator's
intense preoccupation with the
loss associated with images and emptiness
their idle existence.
The phrase highlights a
16 I'm haunted by their emptiness. described.
It suggests a persistent and
contrast between the troubling presence that
speaker's perception of affects the narrator deeply.
time and that of the "Images" refers to visual
idle men, emphasizing a representations or memories
longing or yearning. that linger in the narrator's
The use of "hungry mind.
eyes" implies a deep, "Emptiness" likely symbolizes a
unfulfilled desire or profound sense of
longing within the idle meaninglessness or void felt by
men as they pass time the idle men.
aimlessly.
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