The Hand

Symbolism, or the attribution of layers of meaning to an object or image, recurs several times in the poem. Ruefle most important symbol, as the poem’s title indicates, is the student’s hand, which stands for a connectedness to self and a source of knowledge. By not raising a hand to answer the teacher’s question, the student is exhibiting control over their choices, rejecting the boring and rote learning they are encountering in the classroom. Instead, the student enters an observational and meditative state as they study in detail “some essential beauty in your fingers” (Line 12), seeing in their hands the life and beauty of the natural world. Their hands are often restless, but now they “aren’t even drumming, but lie / flat and peaceful” (Lines 13-14)—the student, typically bursting with energy, is tranquilly learning a fundamental truth about themselves.

The apple performs a symbolic function as well. It represents knowledge and is indelibly connected to the fruit of knowledge from the biblical story of Genesis. Eschewing classroom learning, “You raise the top of your desk / and take out an apple” (Lines 8-9), seeking out a different, more profound kind of knowledge than the teacher can offer. The fact that this source of knowledge is stored casually in a desk implies that all people could know its fundamental truths if they only reached for them instead of the pat and rote conclusions of typically offered by authority.

The robin that the student sees outside the window is another redolent symbol. Connected to spring and the concept of renewal, the robin heralds freedom and liberation from the stultifying winter. As the student sees that “on an overhanging branch, / a robin is ruffling its feathers” (Lines 16-17), they are filled with hope that they too could some time begin to act on their own impulses and be freed from their oppressive environment. The robin signals change for the character.