World of Men

Symbol Analysis

We promise: the speaker isn't referring to an old boys club per se when he uses the phrase "world of men" in line 4. In this case, the phrase refers to the idea of the outside world where other people—besides the speaker and his lover—work and live. The mountains in line 2 might also symbolize this world of men and all of the earthly stuff folks need to attend to.

  • Line 2: We don't actually hear the speaker say "world of men" here but the idea of the "mountain's rim" seems to have a kind of symbolic reference to the earthly outside world where people live and work. 
  • Line 4: Here we get "a world of men" that the speaker is in dire need of. Now that he's parted with his lover, he's ready for the outside world and all of the possibilities that come along with it.