The theme that stands out to me the most in this poem is humility. Humility means to be modest and unconcerned with one’s worth. This poem gives off the belief that a higher being exists, and this higher being is much more important than the average person. When the poem states, “Accept being unimportant,” it is understood that the reader should regard themselves as lowly and of little value, especially when compared to world as a whole. The poem then goes on to exemplify this theme of humility as it states, “Do not be concerned with loss or gain. This is called, ‘accepting disgrace willingly.’” The author is trying to get the reader to understand the importance of not being worried about their worth. Humans shouldn’t be prideful, but instead, they should accept their mortality. They should come to terms with the fact that humans make mistakes, and this is just their nature. The poem closes with the lines, “Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.” This statement brings home the theme of humility by saying that people shouldn’t primarily be worried about themselves. They should show humility and extend themselves to the world and to others with love, just as they would do for their own self.
“Thirteen” Interpretation- Jacqueline Devine
January 31, 2017 Written by j.devine | 2 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
2 responses so far ↓
f.furca // Feb 1st 2017 at 12:42 am
This interpretation for “Thirteen” I believe was very well written and you indeed did support your theme. Reading the poem, I do receive the message that people should treat others just as they would like to be treated as you mentioned towards the end of your writing. I agree with you when you said that the author is trying to tell the reader that you should accept yourself for who you are. I would also bring up how humility could bring peace and I think that towards the end of the poem he shows that more with “Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.”
n.mazza1 // Feb 1st 2017 at 2:19 pm
This was well said and well written. Its interesting that you portray this poem as having a theme of humility. Some people might also consider this not as humility but just living the way you should live to follow morality. I liked what you said about how humans shouldn’t be prideful but just accept morality. I find this interesting because we live in a rebellious world, where we do what FEELS good rather than what IS good. I also liked that you used the word humility to generalize its theme. This word alone definitely backs up the quote where the author says “Do not be concerned with loss or gain. This is called, ‘accepting disgrace willingly.’”
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