Poem Analysis Essay
Rebekah Frost
LAL 153: Online
Summer 2015
Unit 14: Poetry Analysis Assignment
Poetry Analysis Essay
Due: 7-20-15
“Having a Mind to Change the World” By Howard Nemerov
The poem is about daylight saving time. Daylight Saving Time (DST) is an age-old practice where people would advance time by one hour to extend daylight time into the night. In effect, they would sacrifice sunrise time, also by one hour. People in the regions affected would adjust their clocks around the start of spring. They would change them back to normal time when summer ends. This practice has its root in early societies before the invention of the modern clock. Because most societies were agrarian at the time, and farm work was majorly dependent on daylight, people would plan their day and adjust their time according the length of daylight. Where daylight extended into the night, people would adjust their clocks to accommodate the new timeline, which, in this case, will also continue well into the night.
The poem focused on the controversy surrounding daylight saving. Winston Churchill sparked the debate on daylight saving time by sensationally claiming that daylight saving time gave the American people more opportunities to pursue happiness and good health. Most farmers and entertainment spot owners opposed DST vehemently and called for its immediate abolition. After 1919, most cities in the United States rejected the DST. New York was among the few cities that continued using DST. The poem "having a mind to save the world" explores the "impossibility" that was saving a few more hours from the regular day hours but which the world achieved by introducing the Daylight Saving Time. The poem states that it is only in Indianapolis that the people refused to agree to the use of Daylight Saving Time. The city was dependent on agriculture and DST would discourage normal working hours in the farms affecting productivity. In the poem, Howard likens the phenomenon to the biblical story of
LAL 153: Online
Summer 2015
Unit 14: Poetry Analysis Assignment
Poetry Analysis Essay
Due: 7-20-15
“Having a Mind to Change the World” By Howard Nemerov
The poem is about daylight saving time. Daylight Saving Time (DST) is an age-old practice where people would advance time by one hour to extend daylight time into the night. In effect, they would sacrifice sunrise time, also by one hour. People in the regions affected would adjust their clocks around the start of spring. They would change them back to normal time when summer ends. This practice has its root in early societies before the invention of the modern clock. Because most societies were agrarian at the time, and farm work was majorly dependent on daylight, people would plan their day and adjust their time according the length of daylight. Where daylight extended into the night, people would adjust their clocks to accommodate the new timeline, which, in this case, will also continue well into the night.
The poem focused on the controversy surrounding daylight saving. Winston Churchill sparked the debate on daylight saving time by sensationally claiming that daylight saving time gave the American people more opportunities to pursue happiness and good health. Most farmers and entertainment spot owners opposed DST vehemently and called for its immediate abolition. After 1919, most cities in the United States rejected the DST. New York was among the few cities that continued using DST. The poem "having a mind to save the world" explores the "impossibility" that was saving a few more hours from the regular day hours but which the world achieved by introducing the Daylight Saving Time. The poem states that it is only in Indianapolis that the people refused to agree to the use of Daylight Saving Time. The city was dependent on agriculture and DST would discourage normal working hours in the farms affecting productivity. In the poem, Howard likens the phenomenon to the biblical story of