I discovered these men driving a new pile into the pier. by Andrew Motion — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

I discovered these men driving a new pile into the pier. There was all the paraphernalia of chains, pulleys, cranes, ropes and, as I said, a wooden pile, a massive affair, swinging over the water on a long wire hawser. Everything else was in the massive style as well, even the men; very powerful men; very ruminative and silent men ignoring me. Speech was not something to interest them, and if they talked at all it was like this – “Let go”, or “Hold tight”: all monosyllables. Nevertheless, by paying close attention to the obscure movements of one working on a ladder by the water’s edge, I could tell that for all their strength and experience these men were up against a great difficulty. I cannot say what. Every one of the monsters was silent on the subject – baffled I thought at first, but then I realised indifferent and tired of the whole business. The man nearest to me, still saying nothing but crossing his strong arms over his chest, showed me that for all he cared the pile could go on swinging until the crack of Doom. I should say I watched them at least an hour and, to do the men justice, their slow efforts to overcome the secret problem did continue – then gradually slackened and finally ceased. One massive man after another abandoned his position and leaned on the iron rail to gaze down like a mystic into the water. No one spoke; no one said what they saw; 101 though one fellow did spit, and with round eyes followed the trajectory of his brown bolus (he had been chewing tobacco) on its slow descent into the same depths. The foreman, and the most original thinker, smoked a cigarette to relieve the tension. Afterwards, and with a heavy kind of majesty, he turned on his heels and walked away. With this eclipse of interest, the incident was suddenly closed. First in ones and twos, then altogether, the men followed. That left the pile still in mid-air, and me of course. I should say I watched them at least an hour and, to do the men justice, their slow efforts to overcome the secret problem did continue – then gradually slackened and finally ceased. One massive man after another abandoned his position and leaned on the iron rail to gaze down like a mystic into the water. No one spoke; no one said what they saw; 101 though one fellow did spit, and with round eyes followed the trajectory of his brown bolus (he had been chewing tobacco) on its slow descent into the same depths. The foreman, and the most original thinker, smoked a cigarette to relieve the tension. Afterwards, and with a heavy kind of majesty, he turned on his heels and walked away. With this eclipse of interest, the incident was suddenly closed. First in ones and twos, then altogether, the men followed. That left the pile still in mid-air, and me of course.

Translation (English)

I found these men putting a new support into the pier. There was all the equipment like chains, pulleys, cranes, ropes, and as I mentioned, a wooden support, a huge thing, swinging over the water on a long wire cable. Everything else was huge too, even the men; very strong men; very thoughtful and quiet men ignoring me. Talking wasn't something they cared about, and if they did speak it was like this – “Let go”, or “Hold tight”: all one-syllable words. Still, by watching closely the unclear movements of one working on a ladder by the water’s edge, I could see that despite their strength and experience these men faced a big problem. I can't say what. Every one of the big men was silent about it – confused I thought at first, but then I realized they were indifferent and tired of the whole thing. The man closest to me, still saying nothing but crossing his strong arms over his chest, showed me that he didn't care if the support kept swinging until the end of time. I should say I watched them for at least an hour and, to be fair to the men, their slow efforts to solve the hidden problem did continue – then gradually slowed and finally stopped. One big man after another left his spot and leaned on the iron rail to look down like a thinker into the water. No one spoke; no one said what they saw; though one guy did spit, and with wide eyes watched the path of his brown spit (he had been chewing tobacco) as it slowly fell into the same depths. The foreman, and the most original thinker, smoked a cigarette to ease the tension. Afterwards, and with a heavy kind of dignity, he turned around and walked away. With this loss of interest, the event was suddenly over. First one by one, then all together, the men left. That left the support still in the air, and me of course.

About the Poet

Andrew Motion (Contemporary)

Andrew Motion is a contemporary English poet, novelist, and biographer. He served as the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009. Motion is known for his accessible and often narrative-driven poetry.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Narrative Poem
When Written: Published in 1981
Background: The poem reflects on the themes of human effort, futility, and the passage of time. It captures a moment of observation and introspection, where the speaker witnesses a group of men engaged in a seemingly futile task, leading to reflections on purpose and indifference.

Sources: https://genius.com/Andrew-motion-from-the-journal-of-a-disappointed-man-annotated, https://poemanalysis.com/andrew-motion/from-the-journal-of-a-disappointed-man/

Detailed Explanation

Andrew Motion's poem 'From the Journal of a Disappointed Man' presents a scene where the speaker observes a group of men working to drive a pile into a pier. The poem captures the physicality of the men and their equipment, highlighting their strength and silence. The speaker notes their lack of interest in conversation, using only monosyllabic commands. Despite their apparent power, the men face an unspecified difficulty, leading to a gradual cessation of their efforts. The poem explores themes of futility and indifference, as the men eventually abandon their task, leaving the pile suspended and the speaker reflecting on the scene. The imagery of the men gazing into the water suggests a deeper contemplation or resignation to the unresolved problem. Motion uses symbolism, particularly with the pier, to convey ideas of purposelessness and the existential nature of human endeavors.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
paraphernalia	equipment	tools and items needed for a task	par-uh-fer-nay-lee-uh
hawser	thick rope	a strong cable or rope used for towing or securing	haw-ser
ruminative	thoughtful	deeply thinking or meditative	roo-mi-nuh-tiv
monosyllables	single-syllable words	words with one sound	mon-oh-sil-uh-buhlz
obscure	unclear	not clear or difficult to understand	uhb-skyoor
baffled	confused	unable to understand or solve	baf-uhld
indifferent	unconcerned	having no particular interest or sympathy	in-dif-er-uhnt
crack of Doom	end of time	the end of the world or final judgment	krak ov doom
trajectory	path	the path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the action of given forces	truh-jek-tuh-ree
bolus	lump	a small rounded mass of a substance	boh-luhs
majestic	grand	having or showing impressive beauty or dignity	muh-jes-tik
eclipse	loss	a reduction or loss of significance or power	ih-klips