A man went before a strange God - A poem by Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane - A man went before a strange God

A man went before a strange God --
The God of many men, sadly wise.
And the deity thundered loudly,
Fat with rage, and puffing.
"Kneel, mortal, and cringe
And grovel and do homage
To My Particularly Sublime Majesty."

The man fled.

Then the man went to another God --
The God of his inner thoughts.
And this one looked at him
With soft eyes
Lit with infinite comprehension,
And said, "My poor child!"

Added: on November 25th, 2005 at 7:22 PM | Viewed: 3428 times | Comments and analysis of A man went before a strange God by Stephen Crane Comments (5)

A man went before a strange God - Comments and Information
Poet: Stephen Crane Poem: 51. A man went before a strange God Volume: The Black Riders & Other Lines Year: Published/Written in 1905 Comment 5 of 5, added on December 13th, 2006 at 11:08 AM. This poem is contrasting religion and spirituality. Crane feels the Church has formed God into a poweful, almighty diety to be feared. Crane himself is able to see God past the accusations of the Church in His true form. This is a wonderful poem that can be related to by anyone questioning their beliefs. Stephanie Comment 4 of 5, added on April 6th, 2006 at 10:00 PM. I agree with Jerimiah below. Crane has obviously rejected God from past experiences with church and things like that. The first God he goes to is supposed to be the true "God" and Crane depicts him as a hateful ruler. The second God he goes to is his own mind, the one that organizes right from wrong according to his own judgements. Brad from United States Comment 3 of 5, added on November 25th, 2005 at 7:22 PM. No I can not agree with any of you. The poem is indicating the modern man's situation when he has left God and turned to "gods" -- and "gods" can be anything, most likely your ego; even though they are not God, but rather idols, and do not crave anything (like perfection; sinlessness) of you. The "gods"/idols think that God has treated you hard, and that is what the final line is saying. Too bad that Crane did not show us any solution, which is God's gospel, the story about the Son; Jesus. Theese small poems are effective when they try to say anything about earthtly life in general (like war or striving for happieness), but when Crane comes to the subject of religion and tries to speak about God, it is obvious that he rejects God, because God does have a solution to man-kind, God is merciful and has forgiven all sins. Too bad that many people doesn't believe this. Jeremiah from Sweden More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, A man went before a strange God, has received 5 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Stephen Crane with others on the American Poems poetry forum!

Poem Info
Poet: Stephen Crane Poem: 51. A man went before a strange God Volume: The Black Riders & Other Lines Year: Published/Written in 1905 Last read: May 12 2008, 9:02AM Viewed 3428 times. Added on November 25th, 2005 at 7:22 PM.

Crane Info
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