The State of The Planet

Although the title, “The State of The Planet” is pretty straight-forward and obvious, the poem in itself is complex and intricate. Robert Hass seems to be taking more of an approach to describing human nature and how we have gotten ourselves into this mess. “It must be a gift of evolution that humans can’t sustain wonder.” He really brings out questions about human character and perhaps our naïve acts that progressively destroy the world.

The author makes much reference to Lucretius, who was a Roman poet and Virgil, who wrote poems that gave agricultural advice. Tying in these styles of poetry, along with message, and a valuable purpose made the poem elaborate. Mentioning of “the book” that will tell the girl many things about the Earth and how things work, and what became of it gives the poem a story-like feel. It’s mysterious, like the story of Narnia, where Lucy enters into a whole new realm and then is able to see her own world differently.

Another thing that I appreciated about this poem is its usefulness. Of course, as we have been learning, all literature is useful in our lives. But in particular, I was intrigued to read about the topic of “Caring for our planet” with a poetic twist. It moves the reader, gives insight into human conduct and our responsibility towards Earth, and lets us see beauty and remorse for the consequences of our doings. Seeing that poetry can have a strong effect on world views, personal views, and other important topics helped me further understand the multifaceted quality of literature. “The State of The Earth” was a more effective tool to a necessary topic than most of the commercials and rallies we see. I would like to see poetry used to raise QUESTIONS about abortion, racism, and consumer behavior. After all, literature serves for asking the hard questions.