Maybe you've got the power in a good way. But if you're not Jim Carrey and you're not in a movie, chances are you recognize power to be a more political kind of thing—you know, with dictators ruling with an iron fist and such. "Shine, Perishing Republic" deals with the latter kind of power, the kind that imperialistic nations wield when they want it all. Jeffers's speaker lets us know that even that kind of power isn't realistic in the sense of it sticking around forever. Political influence has a way of leaving one hand and falling into another all the time. And no matter who has it, it's bound to suffer the same fate as every other cycle on earth, evolving then decaying over time. Good times.
Questions About Power
- Does power always lead to corruption? Is there ever a way to have power without letting it take over your better sense? How would the speaker answer this question?
- How does the imagery of a "thickening center" relate to the theme of power? Is centralized power always a recipe for disaster? What would the speaker say?
- How does nature keep man's power in check in the poem? What does the metaphor of a fruit's decay reveal about man's power and influence?
- Does the "little man" ever have any control over the power of a corrupt empire in the poem? Which lines in particular convince us that he does or doesn't? How can you tell?
Chew on This
Jeffers's speaker shows us how power is a kind of bad habit (like smoking or saying "like" all the time), one man allows to run amuck, even when he knows it can't last forever.
Power, in a corrupt way, might be everywhere in "Shine, Perishing Republic." Still, you don't have to sign up for it by participating in the corruption; there's always the choice to live far away from the center of it all and live more simply.