Edgar Lee Masters
I have studied many times
The marble which was chiseled for me--
A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.
In truth it pictures not my destination
But my life. 5
For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;
Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;
Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.
Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.
And now I know that we must lift the sail 10
And catch the winds of destiny
Wherever they drive the boat.
To put meaning in one's life may end in madness,
But life without meaning is the torture
Of restlessness and vague desire-- 15
It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.
Question
Which line in the poem suggests that finding meaning in one's life can be very dangerous?
Responses
A "A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.""A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor."
B "To put meaning in one's life may end in madness...""To put meaning in one's life may end in madness..."
C "Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.""Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life."
D "We must lift the sail..."