In his poem "Life Cycle of Common Man", Howard Nemerov is describing the
stages that people, particularly men, go through in life. In a way, he is disparaging the
lifestyle of the middle class in the 1960's. Although some say that the 60's were a time
that was considered prosperous and easy-going, Nemerov shows how shallow he
believed much of it was. He displays his wonderment for why people waste the time they
are given on earth and use it for temporary things.
In the first stanza Nemerov mentions the quantities of gin and coffee that the
average man drank, as well as the amount of cigarettes smoked (lines 4-6), which
demonstrates the volume of unhealthy substances consumed at the time. In the 60's, a
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Not keeping thoughts and ideas inside your mind,
but sharing them with others, and definitely not just repeating the same things over and
over again, for the quantity of times the common man says " 'thank you or 'very little
sugar please' / Would stagger the imagination" (lines 33-34).
Nemerov is encouraging the human race to do more with their lives. To not just
sit idly around, but to quit the monotony of everyday and wake up and do something that
makes them feel alive. He wants them to be different, and not just go through the circle of
life aimlessly.
Nemerov was a professor at various schools across the country including
Hamilton College, Bennington College, Brandeis University, the University of
Minnesota, and Hollins College (Rapp, Carl. "Howard (Stanley) Nemerov". paragraph 1).
This is one way in which he himself gave back to people. By teaching college students,
he was able to influence them to do great things with their own lives, which would