To the Stone-Cutter [1920]
Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962)
Stone-cutters fighting time with marble, you foredefeated
Challengers of oblivion
Eat cynical earnings, knowing rock splits, records fall down,
The square-limbed Roman letters
Scale in the thaws, wear in the rain. The poet as well
Builds his monument mockingly:
For man will be blotted out, the blithe earth dies, the brave sun
Die blind, his heart blackening:
Yet stones have stood for a thousand years, and pained thoughts found
The honey peace in old poems.
Questions for Discussion
1. The phrase “fighting time with marble” (line 1) means that the stone-cutters
A) despair of completing their work in a lifetime
B) look for recognition in the future rather than in the present
C) consider marble the most challenging substance to work with
D) take pride in working slowly and carefully
E) aspire to produce an imperishable monument
2. The stone-cutters are “foredefeated” (line 1) in the sense that their defeat is
A) undeserved
B) inevitable
C) spectacular
D) unsuitable
E) unexpected
3. The conflict presented in this poem is specifically between
A) stone-cutters and marble
B) hope and despair
C) poets and stone-cutters
D) man’s creations and time
E) challenge and achievement