Summary of On The Vanity of Earthly Greatness | The Magic of Words

UNIT SIX :

LIFE AND DEATH

ON THE VANITY OF EARTHLY

GREATNESS

ENGLISH | THE MAGIC OF WORDS

Arthur Guiterman
“On the Vanity of Worldly Things” is a poem written by Arthur Guiterman, an American poet and journalist, is best known for his humorous verse. Through humour, he has tried to depict the reality of human beings and animals caused by the change in time.

It shows the bitter reality that the power of animals or human beings doesn’t remain same when time and situation change. We always run after reputation and prestige. We become or want to be great and we think it will remain the same forever.

We earn reputation and prestige and we think it will remain the same forever. We earn reputation and we think that the credit won’t be lost but actually we won’t think that is
destroyed in due course of time. Our greatness is dismissed by time. So, ti
me laughs at our blindness and pride.

Time is such a thing on which we cannot get victory. The nature has given us limited time to live and exercise our power. Beyond that time, we cannot move according to our desire. Only in favourable time and situation we can perform our actions or activities.
The “vanity” actually means the degrading value of reputations of any persons and animals in the world. To clarify this point the writer has presented few examples. Julius Caesar was a great warrior and a famous general statesman. He earned a great name and fame in his time through his strength and power. But that power lost its value with the change in the time and situation. He does not posses any arm and power to show his power of the past. His head is on the shelf and weapons and other things belongings are only in the museum in the form of history.

The roman emperor Charlemagne was a great in his time by his sword, power. But the power of his sword also became meaningless due to the change in time. Now that sword has been rusted and is kept useless in the museum. Not only the great kings and warriors, but there is also good presentation of powerful animals whose value has been decreased. Grizzly bear, whose embrace was very dreadful, has become nothing more than a rug to give warmth. Tusks of mighty brawls of mastodons have been changed into playing things like billiard balls.

All the given examples are concerned with the greatness but the greatness has been turned and reduced to valueless things. The vanity human greatness and animals’ strength have become a good subject to present irony. That irony makes one feel unwell and quite indifferent to the person.
Everybody becomes great in his time and situation but later on he becomes helpless and valueless.

All reputation and achievements will be dismissed quickly. So, it is useless to take pride in one’s power as everything decays and fades away in due course of time.