Lincoln, Man of the People

This poem is filled with allusions to American history, primarily the history of slavery throughout the U.S. (but with the longest legacy in the southern United States), but also features allusions to the Civil War and the later Emancipation Proclamation that essentially freed all remaining enslaved people throughout the U.S. 

One of the most interesting facts about this poem is that Markham read it aloud at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 1922.

Lincoln, Man of the People
Edwin Markham

When the Norn Mother saw the Whirlwind HourGreatening and darkening as it hurried on,She left the Heaven of Heroes and came downTo make a man to meet the mortal need.She took the tried clay of the common road—Clay warm yet with the genial heat of Earth,Dashed through it all a strain of prophecy;Tempered the heap with thrill of human tears;Then mixed a laughter with the serious stuff.Into the shape she breathed a flame to lightThat tender, tragic, ever-changing face.Here was a man to hold against the world,A man to match the mountains and the sea.

The color of the ground was in him, the red earth;The smack and tang of elemental things;The rectitude and patience of the cliff;The good-will of the rain that loves all leaves;The friendly welcome of the wayside well;The courage of the bird that dares the sea;The gladness of the wind that shakes the corn;The pity of the snow that hides all scars;The secrecy of streams that make their wayBeneath the mountain to the rifted rock;The tolerance and equity of lightThat gives as freely to the shrinking flowerAs to the great oak flaring to the wind—To the grave’s low hill as to the MatterhornThat shoulders out the sky. Sprung from the West,He drank the valorous youth of a new world.The strength of virgin forests braced his mind,The hush of spacious prairies stilled his soul.His words were oaks in acorns; and his thoughtsWere roots that firmly gripped the granite truth.

Up from log cabin to the Capitol,One fire was on his spirit, one resolve—To send the keen ax to the root of wrong,Clearing a free way for the feet of God,The eyes of conscience testing every stroke,To make his deed the measure of a man.He built the rail-pile as he built the State,Pouring his splendid strength through every blow:The grip that swung the ax in IllinoisWas on the pen that set a people free.

So came the Captain with the mighty heart;And when the judgment thunders split the house,Wrenching the rafters from their ancient rest,He held the ridgepole up, and spiked againThe rafters of the Home.   He held his place—Held the long purpose like a growing tree—Held on through blame and faltered not at praise.And when he fell in whirlwind, he went downAs when a lordly cedar, green with boughs,Goes down with a great shout upon the hills,And leaves a lonesome place against the sky.

Summary 

‘Lincoln, Man of the People’ by Edwin Markham is an interesting poem that elegizes Abraham Lincoln and reminds readers of all he did for the United States. 

The poem’s main focus in the first stanza is on the creation of Lincoln. The poet’s speaker suggests that supernatural forces of a kind came together to make the perfect person to match the world’s needs. They made Lincoln out of a whole list of items, all of which built upon one another to create the perfect leader. 

The poem moves on to discuss his impact on Washington D.C., the Emancipation Proclamation, and more. It concludes with a description of his death as a great tree falling in the forest and leaving behind a huge empty spot in the canopy. 

Structure and Form 

‘Lincoln, Man of the People’ by Edwin Markham is a four-stanza poem that is divided into stanzas of different lengths. For example, stanza one is thirteen lines long, and stanza two is twenty lines long. The third stanza is the shortest, with ten lines, and the fourth follows with eleven lines. The poem is written in free verse, meaning that the poet did not use a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. That being said, several literary devices utilize repetition, which can be seen in this poem, and that provides it with some structure. 

Literary Devices 

In this poem, the poet uses a few different literary devices. These include:

• Anaphora: the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines. For example, “The” starts all but two lines of stanza two. 
• Imagery: the use of particularly interesting descriptions of events, feelings, people, and more. For example, “Clay warm yet with the genial heat of Earth, / Dashed through it all a strain of prophecy.”
• Alliteration: the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of multiple words. For example: “To make a man to meet the mortal need.”
• Metaphor: occurs when the poet compares two things and does not use “like” or “as.” For example, “A man to match the mountains and the sea.” Here, the poet is suggesting that the forces Lincoln was up against were as strong and unmovable as the mountains and the sea.

Detailed Analysis 

Stanza One 

When the Norn Mother saw the Whirlwind Hour

Greatening and darkening as it hurried on,

She left the Heaven of Heroes and came down

To make a man to meet the mortal need.

She took the tried clay of the common road—

Clay warm yet with the genial heat of Earth,

Dashed through it all a strain of prophecy;

Tempered the heap with thrill of human tears;

Then mixed a laughter with the serious stuff.

Into the shape she breathed a flame to light

That tender, tragic, ever-changing face.

Here was a man to hold against the world,

A man to match the mountains and the sea.

In the first lines of this poem, the speaker begins by describing the creation of Abraham Lincoln, one of the most important presidents in American history. The poem describes the “Norn Mother” (“Norn” connects to Norse mythology, as well as the mythologies of other areas of the world. It also suggests a supernatural being, such as the one the poet describes). creating a “man to meet the mortal need.” This man is Lincoln, and the poet describes this process as fulfilling a need humanity had. 

They needed someone who was a mix of “laughter with the serious stuff.” This person was created through a breath of “flame to light.” Lincoln was a fateful person, someone who was created/chosen to change the world as it was. He was a “man to hold against the world,” someone who could stand up to its cruelties when that was needed. 

Stanza Two 

The color of the ground was in him, the red earth;

The smack and tang of elemental things;

The rectitude and patience of the cliff;

The good-will of the rain that loves all leaves;

The friendly welcome of the wayside well;

The courage of the bird that dares the sea;

The gladness of the wind that shakes the corn;

The pity of the snow that hides all scars;

The secrecy of streams that make their way

Beneath the mountain to the rifted rock;

The tolerance and equity of light

That gives as freely to the shrinking flower

As to the great oak flaring to the wind—

To the grave’s low hill as to the Matterhorn

That shoulders out the sky. Sprung from the West,

He drank the valorous youth of a new world.

The strength of virgin forests braced his mind,

The hush of spacious prairies stilled his soul.

His words were oaks in acorns; and his thoughts

Were roots that firmly gripped the granite truth.

This second stanza is a great example of anaphora. The use of the word “The” at the beginning of so many lines helps images build on one another, creating a more impactful experience for the reader. The stanza lists out the many different things that made Lincoln up. The poet lists them out like ingredients. 

They are the individual pieces needed to create the person he became. They include the ground’s color, the cliff’s patience, the gladness of the wind, and the “tolerance and equity of light.” These things, and many more, all of which allude to his strength and goodness, could be found in his heart/soul. 

The final line is one of the best in this section, with the poet writing, “his thoughts / Were roots that firmly gripped the granite truth.” His words were strong, gripped into the often hard-to-understand truth of the world. The use of words like “gripped,” “roots,” and “granite” ensures that readers understand Lincoln as strong and 100% committed to his beliefs. 

Stanza Three 

Up from log cabin to the Capitol,

One fire was on his spirit, one resolve—

To send the keen ax to the root of wrong,

Clearing a free way for the feet of God,

The eyes of conscience testing every stroke,

To make his deed the measure of a man.

He built the rail-pile as he built the State,

Pouring his splendid strength through every blow:

The grip that swung the ax in Illinois

Was on the pen that set a people free.

The third stanza is short, starting with a few words about Lincoln’s simple upbringing, living in a log cabin, and then finding himself at the Capitol. Using outdoor-centric language, the speaker describes how Lincoln cleared through the falsity of everyday life (specifically as it applies to the American Civil War and slavery). 

The speaker describes how the “eyes of conscience,” or what is right and wrong in life, all hinged on what he did and how he behaved. He poured his strength into his job and built the world in a way God would’ve approved of. His grip on the swinging ax was strong like his grip on the “pen that set a people free.” Here, the poet is alluding to the Emancipation Proclamation and how he emancipated enslaved Black Americans throughout the United States with its signing. 

Stanza Four 

So came the Captain with the mighty heart;

And when the judgment thunders split the house,

Wrenching the rafters from their ancient rest,

He held the ridgepole up, and spiked again

The rafters of the Home.   He held his place—

Held the long purpose like a growing tree—

Held on through blame and faltered not at praise.

And when he fell in whirlwind, he went down

As when a lordly cedar, green with boughs,

Goes down with a great shout upon the hills,

And leaves a lonesome place against the sky.

In the final stanza, the poet writes that the “Captain” came to Washington, D.C., and split open the laws of the past with a ridgepole. The reference to Abraham Lincoln as “Captain” in the first line is probably meant to be an allusion to the famous Walt Whitman poem ‘O Captain! My Captain!‘ that elegizes the death of Lincoln. 

The poet’s final lines are quite dramatic, setting a very impressive scene where Lincoln changes the nature of politics. The final four lines speak to Lincoln’s death. They describe him as a tree, fitting in with the previous nature-related imagery, falling upon the hills. Once gone, he left an impossible-to-fill hole in the canopy above. 

FAQs 

Similar Poetry 

Readers who enjoyed this piece should also consider reading more Edwin Markham poems. For example: 

• ‘The Man with the Hoe’ –   is a direct, powerful poem in which the poet challenges society’s treatment of the working class.

Other related poems include: 

• ‘Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight‘ by Vachel Lindsay – presents Abraham Lincoln’s spirit walking the streets of Springfield, Illinois, having awakened from his eternal sleep.
• ‘Hush’d Be the Camps To-Day‘ by Walt Whitman – commemorates the death of President Abraham Lincoln and was written on April 19, 1865, shortly after Lincoln’s assassination. 
• ‘The Suicide’s Soliloquy‘ by Abraham Lincoln – a dark poem about sorrow and suicide which some believe was written by Abraham Lincoln.