Critical Appreciation of “The Meaning of Existence” by Les Murray
Les Murray was considered to be the leading Australian poet of his generation. His
full name was Leslie Allan Murray. He was born on October 17, 1938, in Bunyah,
New South Wales, Australia. He is also known as the “Bard of Bunyah” or the
“Bush-Bard.” He composed many poems, and “The Meaning of Existence” is one
of them. It was published in 2002. He passed away on April 29, 2019.
In this short poem, Les Murray focuses on the meaning of existence, which he
believes lies beyond the reach of human understanding and language.
The poet begins by stating that the exact meaning of existence is unknown to
“language” and that it lies beyond its range. According to him, the meaning of
existence is understood only by nature—by “trees, planets, rivers, [and] time.” He
means to say that these elements of nature do not speak the language of man. They
live peacefully in the lap of nature, enjoying their individual existence.
Trees grow from seeds and develop silently, without the need to explain how they
grow or in which direction they take shape. Similarly, rivers flow naturally along a
specific path, without any pretension. They simply follow the path before them and
eventually merge into the ocean. In the same way, planets obey the natural laws of
the universe by performing their duties with discipline. Likewise, time plays its
role silently in the grand scene of existence. All these elements of nature fulfill
their roles in a regular and disciplined manner. The poet says that they express the
meaning of existence “moment by moment as the universe.”
In the concluding stanza, Les Murray mocks the foolishness of the human body,
which “lives it in part.” In the poet’s view, the human body could have attained
“full dignity” if it had not relied on language. He believes that the true meaning of
existence must be felt and experienced through the soul—not through the physical
body. The poet also criticizes the “ignorant freedom” enjoyed by the human mind,
which is always trapped in words and thoughts. Language, then, becomes the
biggest obstacle in truly understanding the meaning of existence.
Full of ambiguity and complexity, Les Murray uses very few figures of speech in
this poem. The phrase “talking mind” is an example of personification. The
imagery in the poem is found in the references to “Time, planets, rivers.” The
poem is subjective in nature and is divided into two stanzas.
Les Murray was considered to be the leading Australian poet of his generation. His
full name was Leslie Allan Murray. He was born on October 17, 1938, in Bunyah,
New South Wales, Australia. He is also known as the “Bard of Bunyah” or the
“Bush-Bard.” He composed many poems, and “The Meaning of Existence” is one
of them. It was published in 2002. He passed away on April 29, 2019.
In this short poem, Les Murray focuses on the meaning of existence, which he
believes lies beyond the reach of human understanding and language.
The poet begins by stating that the exact meaning of existence is unknown to
“language” and that it lies beyond its range. According to him, the meaning of
existence is understood only by nature—by “trees, planets, rivers, [and] time.” He
means to say that these elements of nature do not speak the language of man. They
live peacefully in the lap of nature, enjoying their individual existence.
Trees grow from seeds and develop silently, without the need to explain how they
grow or in which direction they take shape. Similarly, rivers flow naturally along a
specific path, without any pretension. They simply follow the path before them and
eventually merge into the ocean. In the same way, planets obey the natural laws of
the universe by performing their duties with discipline. Likewise, time plays its
role silently in the grand scene of existence. All these elements of nature fulfill
their roles in a regular and disciplined manner. The poet says that they express the
meaning of existence “moment by moment as the universe.”
In the concluding stanza, Les Murray mocks the foolishness of the human body,
which “lives it in part.” In the poet’s view, the human body could have attained
“full dignity” if it had not relied on language. He believes that the true meaning of
existence must be felt and experienced through the soul—not through the physical
body. The poet also criticizes the “ignorant freedom” enjoyed by the human mind,
which is always trapped in words and thoughts. Language, then, becomes the
biggest obstacle in truly understanding the meaning of existence.
Full of ambiguity and complexity, Les Murray uses very few figures of speech in
this poem. The phrase “talking mind” is an example of personification. The
imagery in the poem is found in the references to “Time, planets, rivers.” The
poem is subjective in nature and is divided into two stanzas.
