This essay examines the differences and parallels between the poems "The Recognition of Eve" and "The Naming of Animals." The creation of animals and Eve are the subjects of both poems, which are based on scriptural events from Genesis. The belief in a god's power during creation and man's connection with animals are just two examples of the many similarities between the poems. Additionally, the two poems highlight the authors' shared biblical beliefs about God's superhuman abilities and man's dominance over animals.
The first volume of the Bible tells the story of numerous occasions, such as creation and the coexistence of humans and animals. Such incidents have inspired poets to write about their understanding of the events as well as trying to understand these phenomena. Such poems include "Naming of Animals" by Anthony Hecht (Hecht) and "The Recognition of Eve" by Karl Shapiro (Shapiro).
Similarities
Within "The Naming of Animals" the author narrates the event about the aftermath of the creation process by God and the commanding of Adam to take dominion over the other animals (Grigg). The poem also describes how Adam is commanded by God to name all the living creatures and plants that he had created, while God retreats to His heavenly palace. Hecht paints the picture of a surprised Adam at the miracles performed by Good as he watches the birds, fish, two-legged animals and the four-legged animals pass by. The poem "The Recognition of Eve" on the other hand, describes the creation of eve and the first meeting with Adam. The poem describes the event from Genesis on the creation of "a helper" for Adam (Slick). Within the poem, the author describes how eve fights with birth in a way the dying people battle with death. When Adam wakes from his dream, he finds Eve lying next to him, but he does not recognize her. First, he taught she was one of the brutes, and he inspects her eyes and body trying to understand. She touches his wound to remind him that she was created from his side and as time goes by, she starts looking beautiful.
The two poems present various similarities in the treatment of the biblical events they represent. For instance, within the naming of animals, Adam is shown as being superior to other animals and with authority to name every living creature. Also, in the poem, the recognition of Eve, a similar character of Adam is presented. For instance, when he wakes to find Eve lying next to her, he first hoped that she might be one of the brutes. Indeed, from the biblical text, Adam was given dominion over all animals that God had created (Tongue). The two poems also indicate similarities about the coexistence of human and animals. Antony Hecht describes this coexistence in the poem the naming of animals, i.e., "the feathered nation and the finny prey passed by" (Hecht). Similarly, when Adam woke up to find eve beside him, he observed her body to be as white as the flesh of fish, and he hoped she was one of the brutes. This indicates that Adam coexisted well with all kinds of animals, even the savage beasts.
Also, the two poems imply the invisible hand of God in the creation process. In the poem, the naming of animals, Adam is brought to earth and is given divine power to act as a steward over other animals. The poet describes how Adam is commanded to bestow names for the animals while God withdrew to the empyrean places of blue. In the poem the recognition of eve, she is described to have battled with what seemed to be being "birthed" by a high power that ascended back to the sky. The authority described here is God's power. The two poems thus agree in the creation process as opposed to other authors that ascribe to the Darwinian theory of creation.
Dissimilarities
Although the two poems are based on the biblical creation stories, they are not entirely similar to the events as narrated in the bible. Within Naming of Animals, for instance, the character of Adam is presented as an afterthought. Adam is described having a troubled look as he thought of the task of indexing and naming of the animals God had created (Hecht). Adam did not feel happy probably due to being lonely. God did not seem to notice Adam's frustration at the task of naming all the animals by himself. From the second poem "the recognition of eve," however, the character of Adam is described as being surprised and happy. He seemed to like the creation of eve even if she was created from one of his ribs. From the fourth stanza, he also let her hurt him by placing her fingers on his wound as a reminder until she loosened her finger (Shapiro). And in the last stanza, Adam observes that eve was turning beautiful after she went into the pool.
In the poem" the recognition of eve," she is described as to have fought with an unknown power that fled back to the sky when she came to life (Shapiro). However, she lay there awaiting its assault. In this case, the fate of eve seems to have been determined to be doomed. However, in the poem, the naming of animals, Adam was first to be created, and his fate was not predetermined.
Also, Adam's character in the naming of animals is presented as having power over the other animals. He was tasked by God to name and index all animals. Among his first animals, he named was cattle. However, in the poem, the recognition of eve, the character of Adam is portrayed as being equal to that of eve. When she first opened her mouth, she said "thou," implying she was part of Adam.
Attitudes Towards Biblical Material
The two poems describe the creation events as described in the biblical texts. From the poems also, it is clear the authors portray various attitudes towards the biblical materials used. For instance, both poems portray the attitudes that God is supernatural and the creator of all beings and creatures on earth. Antony Hecht even describes God as having withdrawn to his heavenly palace after creation. Karl Shapira, on the other hand, describes the power that created eve as having fled to the sky. Also, the poem "naming of animals" portrays the biblical attitude that man has dominion over other animals. God himself commanded Adam to name the animals from fish, bird, and all those who walked the earth.
In all, creation events bring out the human understanding of self. The poems "naming of animals" and "the recognition of eve" describes an afterthought into the biblical events of the naming of animals and the creation of Eve from Adam's rib. Other scholars also have in the past expressed their attitudes towards biblical events based on their belief in creation.
Works Cited
Grigg, Russell. Adam and the animals-Day 6. https://creation.com/adam-and-the-animals-day-6, 2006. Accessed 18 Nov 2017
Hecht, Anthony. Naming the Animals. 2008. http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2008/06/26. Accessed 17 Nov 2017.
Shapiro, Karl. POETRY: The Recognition Of Eve. 2015. https://thevalueofsparrows.com/2015/01/21/poetry-the-recognition-of-eve-by-karl-shapiro/. Accessed 17 Nov 2017.
Slick, Matt. Genesis 2, Adam and Eve, and Authority. 2017. https://carm.org/genesis-2-adam-and-eve-and-authority. Accessed 17 Nov 2017.
Tongue, Samuel. The Creation of the Animals. 17 Nov 2017. https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/passages/related-articles/creation-of-the-animals. Accessed 17 Nov 2017.
