![]() ![]() In the second line of the stanza, the speaker takes a sudden break from the narrative to express his/her sentiment. Once again, the speaker repeats the “great god Pan” to continue the rhythm of the poem and its narrative structure. The speaker explains how Pan begins to cut the reed shorter. The speaker says that one can no longer tell that it has just come out of the river. Eventually, the reed loses all its leaves and becomes virtually unidentifiable. Throughout the process, the reed is depicted as patient and calm. Pan proceeds to mangle the reed by hacking it with a steel tool. Rather, it becomes clear that he wishes to create something out of it. The next scene describes the violent behavior which ensues. The tone is somber and thrilling, as the reader anticipates what will come next. The murky river still flows: a victim of his sudden act of tearing out the reed. The speaker’s narrative continues with Pan now sitting on the shore of the river. All of this happens just before Pan pulls the reed out of the river. The dragonfly first mentioned in stanza one is startled to the point that it flees the river. The once-clear water turns muddy, and the once-perfect lilies now lay broken and dying. The speaker describes an image of decay and death. As he does this, the natural world surrounding him changes suddenly. Pan tears a single reed out of the riverbed. The speaker continues the narrative of the myth by describing the next scene. His animalistic demeanor causes him to splash about and harm everything close by, such as the peacefully-floating lily pads and the dragonfly resting upon them. Pan goes down by the river-his natural domain-but he disrupts everything there. However, the tone shifts suddenly by the third line when the speaker describes a scene of chaos and destruction. ![]() The speaker uses a reverent tone in the first two lines by describing Pan as a “great” god. The speaker immediately draws the listener in by recounting the myth of Pan, a half-god (part man, part goat) known as the god of hunting, rustic music, and shepherds. An unidentified third-person speaker begins the poem with a question about the actions of the poem’s subject. ![]()
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