New Hampshire · Chapter
The Aim Was Song explained
A reflection on how humanity imposes order and intention upon the natural world, transforming the untamed wind into structured song through breath and measure.
What happens
A reflection on how humanity imposes order and intention upon the natural world, transforming the untamed wind into structured song through breath and measure.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and Transience
The wind is depicted as an untamed natural force that is shaped by human intervention into song, highlighting the transient and malleable quality of nature.
Art and Poetry
The poem itself is a meditation on the creation of art, where the wind is given form and meaning through the human act of blowing it 'by measure' into song.
Key passages
“Before man came to blow it right The wind once blew itself untaught, And did its loudest day and night In any rough place where it caught.”
Before humans learned to control it, the wind blew chaotically and loudly wherever it pleased.
Establishes the contrast between raw nature and human refinement.
“He took a little in his mouth, And held it long enough for north To be converted into south, And then by measure blew it forth.”
A person captures a breath of wind, transforms its direction, and releases it in a controlled, measured way.
Describes the deliberate act of shaping nature into art.
“By measure. It was word and note, The wind the wind had meant to be— A little through the lips and throat. The aim was song—the wind could see.”
Through careful measurement, the wind becomes both language and music, fulfilling its true purpose as song.
Concludes that the wind's inherent potential is realized through human artistry.