Minami

 David Wojahn’s //And the Unclean Spirits Went Out of Man, and Entered into the Swine// takes a bible verse and tells it as a poem from the demons’ point of view to shed a different light on the story. At a quick glance, readers may not see anything different from the original bible verse; however, under the surface it criticizes Jesus and mocks humans and God.

The original bible verse (Mark 5:2-13) is about a legion of demons which possesses a man who goes crazy and does disgusting actions like living among the bones of the dead and sitting in his own feces. Jesus comes and commands the demons to get out of the man. The demons beg to be forgiven, and tell him that they would even live inside a pig. Jesus accepts, but then the herd of pigs walk toward the sea and jump in, killing the pigs and the demons. In the original version, it is the demons that make the human do all these disgusting things. The poem, on the other hand, suggests that humans are inherently filthy creatures. The demons seem to loath living inside the human, complaining that it is

Terrible to dwell within the body of a man who squats in his own shit among the tombs. Terrible his raiment, hair matted wild. Terrible the man who wails his sorrow, scuttling in the grime & litter of necropolis bone. ( lines 1-5)

In contrast, the demons consider pigs to be wonderful homes to live in. So wonderful that they call the pig a temple. In the bible verse, pigs are used to convey how desperate they are to avoid torture and death. In the poem, this was what they wanted to do anyway, since pigs were clean homes compared to the dirty humans. As the demons cry,

For we had tired of the ways of men & sought again the Temple of the Four-Legged Thing, nave of sow-teat, altar of snout & tusk, sacrament of bristle-hair, of penis bone & musk gland. ( lines 9-12)

The demons consider the swine to be a temple, whereas man is just a terrible home. They compare various parts of pigs to religious objects, which praises pigs. At the same time, this comparison mocks God, implying that these sacred objects are as low as pigs, which have always been considered filthy in our society. God had created mankind in his image, so calling this man filthy is indirectly calling God filthy, since the two are so similar. Next, in both the poem and the bible verse, the pigs jump into the ocean. The reader is left to assume the pigs jumped in on their own, but this poem suggests otherwise, because the poem uses the word “trance” instead of simply using the word “walk.” “Trance” suggests that jumping was against the pigs will, and that the pigs were forced to do this by some outside power, probably Jesus.

Wojahn wants to tell us that Jesus tricked the demons to possess the pigs. From the beginning, Jesus was planning to drown the pigs and the demons. The demons try to earn the reader’s sympathy by telling the reader:

But this God we bargained with, as Gods will do, had tricked us all. & to the precipice we came. We the exiled, We the betrayed. We whose name is Legion. ( lines 12-14) suggesting that they were “tricked,” “exiled,” and “betrayed” by God. The demons were planning to obey Jesus since they “had tired of the ways of men” and were willing to live in pig. Jesus didn’t trust them and sent them to drown and die in the ocean. Wojahn uses no rhyming or rhythm in this poem, and makes it very informal and prose-like. The poem isn't supposed to be beautiful, rather, it's a message from the demons to gain sympathy. Also, this poem uses words like “shit,” “penis bone,” and “musk gland.” Using the word “shit” emphasizes how disgusting the human was, making the reader sympathetic. The demons use “penis bone” and “musk gland” to mock God by comparing sacred objects to these vulgar things.

In conclusion, David Wojahn’s //And the Unclean Spirits Went Out of Man, and Entered into the Swine// is told by the demons, who use dirty language to portray humans as being disguising filthy creatures, and pigs as clean temples. The poem criticizes Jesus by discreetly implying that he forced them to drown and die, and tries to get the reader’s sympathy. Finally, the poem compares pig parts to religious objects to mock God.

Poetry Explication page Back to And the Unclean Spirits Went Out... group page Brendan's Explication & Hannah's Explication
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Marie's Notes: Paragraph 1: Paragraph 2: Paragraph 3: Paragraph 4: Paragraph 5: Overall: Good! But there are some things that should be reworded and reorganized.
 * Very nice thesis!
 * When you say: "... takes a bible verse and tells it..." the wording is kind of awkward and could be changed to make it sound better.
 * "who possess a man who"--> maybe change one of the "who"s to that to avoid repetition.
 * Try to avoid using the word "things" --> this could be replaced with "actions"
 * Nice transition!
 * What you are trying to say is a little bit unclear. Could be reworded.
 * Good observations
 * Try not to say "it" and "this" so much because it is unclear to the reader what you are referring to.
 * " The author wants to tell us that Jesus tricked them to possess the pigs. From the beginning, Jesus was planning to drown the pigs and the demons." --> Is this what Jesus plans in the poem or in the bible verse?
 * Again when you say "they" make sure that it is clear who "they" is.