"Yesterday upon the stair,
I saw a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today.
How I wish he'd go away."
2006-12-02 20:11:13 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
We know from the last line, that the 'man' is not a beneficial thing. Now, there are a few possibilities of what it means when it states he 'wasn't there.' He might be a ghost. He might be someone who the narrator doesn't wish to expose ("Who was that?" "Oh, it was nobody.") Or he might be something which the narrator doesn't wish to remember; someone who frightens the narrator, but in a material, as opposed to spiritual sense. The second is highly unlikely, given the last line, so we're left with fear physical, or fear spiritual. Between those, it's easy enough to choose for oneself.
2006-12-05 01:15:50 · answer #1 · answered by Nathan M. Holden 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My mom used to say that rhyme to us as kids! It's funny. It's meant to be ironic. In her version it was "As I was going up the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. Oh how I wish he'd go away." It's absurd because if a man isn't there you can't meet him & he can't go away. It's meant to be ridiculous & funny...
2006-12-03 05:05:03 · answer #2 · answered by amp 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Possibly the man is a ghost, not there in the physical sense at least. More likely I think it is just a nonsense verse, i like nonsense verse.
Is that shel silverstein?
2006-12-03 04:22:52 · answer #3 · answered by jesse t 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes,its about a spirit.the writer cant really see "the man"but can feel him.Its just writen that way so it sounds cool,its kind of like a riddle.
2006-12-03 04:27:04 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Equivocations on non-existence claims...
2006-12-03 16:03:57 · answer #5 · answered by -.- 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a confluence of opposites.
2006-12-03 15:21:25 · answer #6 · answered by Sophist 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋