FREE ESSAY ON EPISODE OF HANDS

EPISODE OF HANDS

The first thing that comes to mind upon reading this poem is a sense of calmness and
relaxation. Described well is an attempt at reminiscing at one's past, and how it may
have affected life at present. It is a poem of truth, and the joy that comes with the
realization of one's self, the inner being. In the poem is a character who has injured
himself during work, and has taken a recess to tend to the wound. During this time the
character is able to find it within himself to discover a truth within that reveals more
to him of his life than his life itself could do, having seen its entirety. It gives
evidence of having lived two separate lives, one on top of the other, but neither owning
the upper hand at any time. It is a poem of change, and how things never change as they
are expected to do, nor do they change before our eyes as we would believe, but instead
change us in a way that makes us blind to ourselves. As the fingers of the factory
owner's son, That knew a grip for books and tennis; here is described the man's
childhood, and here, As well as one for iron and leather,-, is described his adulthood,
with responsibilities and duties to perform. 
The style of Hart Crane is nearly unmatched. Here he uses a free verse structure, written
as a Blackwood Article, in a story that depicts an event which is the theme and the
subject of the poem. He uses little rhyme, with any structure, but the words flow from
frame to frame as though a rhyme scheme had been used quite frivolously. There is also a
great deal of imagery. A good amount of emphasis is placed upon the hands, the lifeblood
of our interaction with the world, and as the hands are described against the sunlight we
can nearly see a picture perfect masterpiece within our minds that helps us along in the
story. There is also a well hidden hint at imagery here; His own hands seemed to him Like
wings of butterflies, means quite clearly, that he has most recently undergone a form of
metamorphosis. Any child can see similarities between the hands and the wings of a
butterfly, but it is taken much further here, and stands for a change that has taken
place in his life. The knots and notches, is more great imagery here, describing the
characteristics of his hands (scars, old wounds) that stand for who he has become, and
what he takes pride in.
And in the end, the one hand does win over the other. The larger, quieter hand, held by
the hand recently injured from work in his Father's factory, holds something more dear
and meaningful to him; a memory of a lost childhood perhaps. This all makes for quite a
serene mood, an atmosphere of peace and rest, and joy at having discovered oneself again.
And as the bandage was tightened The two men smiled into each other's eyes. Obviously, as
can easily be seen now, the two men spoken of are his hands; one of them, the injured, is
him now in adulthood, and the other is who he once was, and all he has ever forgotten of
himself.
If there is an attitude of the poem it is as I have already said, Peace. It gives a sense
of relaxation to read the poem, as well as an insight into the similarities between not
only ourselves and our former lives, but to each other, as we can all relate to this
poem. Hart Crane was a genius, and I see that now.