THE MAD MAN
KHALIL GIBRAN
You ask me how I became a madman. It happened thus: One day, long before many gods were born, I woke from a deep sleep and found all my masks were stolen,--the seven masks I have fashioned and worn in seven lives,--I ran maskless through the crowded streets shouting, “Thieves, thieves, the cursed thieves.”
Men and women laughed at me and some ran to their houses in fear of me.
And when I reached the market place, a youth standing on a house-top cried, “He is a madman.” I looked up to behold him; the sun kissed my own naked face for the first time. For the first time the sun kissed my own naked face and my soul was inflamed with love for the sun, and I wanted my masks no more. And as if in a trance I cried, “Blessed, blessed are the thieves who stole my masks.”
Thus I became a madman.
And I have found both freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us.
But let me not be too proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief.
Figurative Language
Personification:
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"one day long, before many gods were born"
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"The sun kissed my own naked face for the first time"
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"My soul was inflamed with love"
Metonymy:
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"and found all my mask were stolen, the seventh masks i have fashioned and worn in several lives"
Repetition:
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"the sun kissed my own naked face for the first time. for the first time the sun kissed my own naked face"
Symbolism:
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"The Sun” in the sentence "the sun kissed my own naked face"
Software Findings for Reoccurring Words
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Masks, Thieves, Sun, Madman
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With these findings we can conclude the idea that something valuable has been stolen or taken away.
Interpretation
My interpretation of "How I became a madman" revolves around a certain period in time where one has awakened and discovered that he has lost what he once possessed. The poem talks about the narrators experience in a horrible society because it is revolved around bad attitudes.
A dream can be filled with beautiful things, however we must accept that reality has taken effect and the realization that life is not so pleasant. This poem is about being free from loneliness and being aware of your surroundings.
