On the move
by Thom Gunn
‘Man, you gotta Go’
The blue jay scuffling in the bushes follows
Some hidden purpose, and the gust of birds
That spurts across the field, the wheeling swallows,
Have nested in the trees and undergrowth.
Seeking their instinct, or poise, or both,
One moves with an uncertain violence
Under the dust thrown by a baffled sense
Or the dull thunder of approximate words.
On motorcycles, up the road, they come:
Small, black, as flies hanging in the heat, the Boys,
Until the distance throws them forth, their hum
Bulges to thunder held by calf and thigh.
In goggles, donned impersonality,
In gleaming jackets trophied with the dust,
They strap in doubt – by hiding it, robust –
And almost hear a meaning in their noise.
Exact conclusion of their hardiness
Has no shape yet, but from known whereabouts
They ride, direction where the tyres press.
They scare a flight of birds across the field:
Much that is natural, to the wild must yield.
Men manufacture both machine and soul,
And use what they imperfectly control
To dare a future from the taken routes.
It is a part solution, after all.
One is not necessarily discord
On earth; or damned because, half animal,
One lacks direct instinct, because one wakes
Afloat on movement that divides and breaks.
One joins the movement of a valueless world,
Choosing it, till, hurler and the hurled,
One moves as well, always toward, toward.
A minute holds them, who have come to go:
The self-defined, astride the created will
They burst away; the towns they travel through
Are homes for neither bird nor holiness,
For birds and saints complete their purposes.
At worst, one is in motion; and at best,
Reaching no absolute, in which to rest,
One is always nearer by not keeping still.
Glossary:
Scuffling – fighting.
Spurt – an energetic but brief effort especially to increase speed.
Poise – dignity; calmness; balanced.
Approximate – nearly accurate, estimated.
Donned – put on.
Robust – strong; in excellent health; muscular.
Discord – lack of harmony; disagreement, conflict.
Astride – with a leg on each side.
Epigraph – quotation or motto at the beginning of a chapter or poem.
Enjambment – the unbroken continuation of a sentence from the end of one line to the
beginning of another.
Existentialism – the philosophy that meaning in life is not something one is born with or
given but rather something that one has to find or even create for oneself.
Summary:
The poem deals with the existential questions of the search for the meaning of life by
exploring the response of the leather jacketed “Boys” astride their motorcycles. The speaker
admires the bikers whom he sees as defining or realising themselves whilst in action.
Throughout the poem the human life is contrasted with animal life. Unlike man, the birds
seem sure of their purpose. The continual reference to movement in the poem may not just
mean physical action but also progress whether it be intellectual, philosophical, spiritual,
etc.
Enjambment:
The enjambment serves the purpose of emphasising the importance of movement in the
poem both to the bikers and to finding purpose in life.
Interpretation:
Key:
Green – important connotation.
Blue – contrast between nature and man.
Purple – rhyme.
Epigraph:
‘Man’ is representative of all mankind. That ‘Go’ has a capital ‘G’ emphasises the
importance of movement and, as a result, finding meaning in life. The epigraph is an
example of typical, informal “biker” language, as seen in ‘gotta’.
Line:
1. The birds are disorderly. ‘Scuffling’ suggests that one needs to fight in order to
achieve meaning in life as the birds have.
2. Despite the lack of order the birds have a purpose in life, even if man does not know
what it is.
3. A sense of the movement and energy of the birds is given.
4. The birds follow their instinct to survive – they have purpose.
5. The next lines speak of mankind. Man must find his own purpose (‘instinct’, ‘poise’)
in life.
6. ‘One’ shows us that the speaker is referring to mankind. ‘Violence’ refers back to the
‘scuffling’ (see line 1). Man is uncertain of his purpose but is fighting to find it.
7. ‘Dust thrown’ can be a reference to the motorbikes of the “Boys” that kick up dust
when moving. It may also refer to the common expression “to throw dust in his
eyes”. This suggests that man is blind to his purpose in life. ‘Baffled’ shows man to be
confused as to his purpose and thus his intellect is a barrier to his goal of achieving
purpose.
8. ‘Dull thunder’ describes the mighty noise of thunder as dull. This suggests that it is
pathetic and meaningless – merely a background noise. ‘Approximate’ shows man’s
words to be undefined/unclear or without meaning and so language is also a barrier
to man’s goal of achieving purpose.
9. The bikers come up the road on their motorcycles.
10. The first impression of them is that they are flies. This suggests that at first the
bikers appear as nature – they have a purpose in life. This is however not a lasting
impression as the bikers are discovered to be hiding their doubt, as to their purpose,
later in the stanza. ‘Boys’ has a capital ‘B’ to suggest the bikers status and that this is
what they call themselves.
11. The bikers have come much nearer.
12. The faint noise of their bikes has now become a loud roar of the engines between
their legs.
13. ‘Goggles’ make them look like insects with big eyes. This refers back to ‘flies’ (see
line 10). The bikers have taken on a new conduct in order to hide their doubts.
‘Donned’ is an old word used for ‘wear’ or ‘put on’ like clothing. This suggests that
their attitude and rough appearance are used as a mask/ cover for their true selves.
14. ‘Trophied’ suggests that the bikers are proud of the dust that covers them – it stands
as proof of the distance they have travelled.
15. The bikers restrain their doubt/ they keep it in place by hiding it under a strong
outward appearance and attitude.
16. The bikers feel close to achieving meaning in their life through their motorcycling.
17. The result of their choice to have a course exterior appearance and attitude...
18. has not yet formed – they have not yet achieved purpose.
19. The bikers ride wherever their bikes take them.
20. The noise of their bikes and their presence upsets nature.
21. Man is here described as wild. Those of purpose, nature, must submit to those
without nature, man. Man’s purpose seeking is an intrusion of nature.
22. Men make machinery as well as their own destiny.
23. They try to use those things in life that they have little control of...
24. in order to forge their own destiny. ‘Taken routes’ suggests that this is the path that
all men have taken – the path to finding one’s purpose.
25. The bikers’ quest for meaning through movement can here be interpreted as being
either a temporary success or an incomplete one. Either way it results in the bikers
continuing on with their journey, to find meaning.
26. Mankind is not necessarily in a state of conflict about his purpose...
27. nor is he damned because of his confusion about his purpose. ‘Half’ refers back to
‘part’ (see line 25). Man is seen by the speaker as being one half nature and the
other half human,...
28. thus mankind is not able to determine his purpose instinctively. When man becomes
aware of his surroundings literally and/or philosophically...
29. he finds himself in a world full of movement (people, especially those seeking
purpose, time, etc.). This movement allows man to break life up into periods (eg.
day, month, childhood, holiday).
30. The vast amount of movement (of people seeking meaning in life) draws man to join
in with this movement with a quest for his own purpose. ‘Valueless’ indicates that
the world is empty of purpose and meaning.
31. Man chooses his own destiny. ‘Hurler’ is the motorbike. ‘Hurled’ is the biker.
32. Again reference is made to man joining the quest for purpose. ‘Toward, toward’
refers to man’s goal – to move ever closer to finding meaning.
33. The bikers don’t stay in one place (‘holds’) for to long as seen with ‘minute’. ‘Come
to go’ shows that they are always moving – they only come to a place so that they
can leave it again.
34. The bikers determine their own purpose (‘self-defined’). The second half of the line
refers to them literally sitting on their motorbikes. ‘Created will’ however also refers,
yet again, to man finding their own meaning and purpose.
35. ‘Burst suggests that they are eager to get away (to keep moving). The places they
pass through...
36. are no place for nature or the religious...
37. because both have already found purpose. Nature from instinct and the religious
from God.
38. By seeking purpose man is either, in a worst case scenario, merely moving or wasting
his time, should there be no purpose to find, or he, in a best case scenario,...
39. will find purpose but never in the complete sense. And so man will never rest...
40. always moving in order to discover more of his own purpose.
Compiled by B. S. Seegers