The Spirit is too Blunt an Instrument (CIE IGCSE English Literature)

The poetry anthology for CIE IGCSE Literature in English contains 15 poems. Below is a guide to Anne Stevenson’s poem ‘The Spirit is too Blunt an Instrument’ from the Songs of Ourselves Volume 1, Part 4 anthology. You will find:

• Overview: a line-by-line breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
• Writer’s methods: an exploration of the techniques and poetic choices that Stevenson has used
• Understanding the text: an exploration of the themes and ideas in the poem

To help you to understand the poem in detail, here’s a summary of what the poem is about: 

• The poem in a nutshell
• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section
• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Stevenson’s intention and message

‘The Spirit is too Blunt an Instrument’ in a nutshell

‘The Spirit is too Blunt an Instrument’ by Anne Stevenson was published in 1969. The speaker is in amazement over the complexities of a newborn baby’s body and concludes that the human “spirit” is too clumsy to be able to create something so perfectly. 

‘The Spirit is too Blunt an Instrument’ breakdown

Lines 1–5

“The spirit is too blunt an instrument

to have made this baby.

Nothing so unskilful as human passions

could have managed the intricate

exacting particulars: the tiny”

Translation

• The speaker contemplates the creation of a baby

Stevenson’s intention

• The speaker uses metaphorical language to convey the idea that the human spirit is inadequate when it comes to creating life:
• The word “blunt” suggests that the human spirit lacks the delicate touch required for such a complex process
• The speaker then expands on the initial point and suggests that the creation of a baby is beyond the capabilities of human passions as they could not have been able to make the “intricate exacting particulars”
• The enjambment here could reflect the speaker’s marvel and wonder over the creation of “this baby”:
• Caesura is used in line five to indicate that the speaker will elaborate on the list of the “particulars” of the baby that they find so fascinating

Lines 6–9

“blind bones with their manipulating tendons,

the knee and the knucklebones, the resilient

fine meshings of ganglia and vertebrae,

the chain of the difficult spine”

Translation

• The speaker lists some of the attributes of the baby that they are marvelling at

Stevenson’s intention

• The speaker provides a detailed description of various anatomical components and this attention to detail highlights the speaker’s fascination with the complexity and precision of the structure of the human body
• The writer uses concrete nouns such as “tendons”, “knee” and “knucklebones” to describe the baby:
• The baby is being described as a highly complex physical object
• The baby therefore becomes distinct from the mind, or spirit, which is “blunt” and “unskilful”

Lines 10–14

“Observe the distinct eyelashes and sharp crescent

fingernails, the shell-like complexity

of the ear, with its firm involutions

concentric in miniature to minute

ossicles…”

Translation

• The speaker continues to observe and marvel at the baby’s features

Stevenson’s translation

• The speaker begins by urging the reader to “observe” the minute details of the body:
• This indicates a sense of curiosity and wonder in the speaker
• Through vivid imagery, the speaker describes the distinct features of the body, such as the “eyelashes” and the “fingernails” and emphasises the unique characteristics of each body part:
• This reinforces the complexity of the baby’s body

Lines 14–18

“...Imagine the 

infinitesimal capillaries, the flawless connections

of the lungs, the invisible neural filaments

through which the completed body

already answers to the brain.”

Translation

• The speaker continues to marvel at the baby’s body by now focusing on the internal mechanisms

Stevenson’s intention

• The speaker invites the reader to “imagine” the intricate structures within the body, emphasising the need for visualisation and contemplation
• The speaker describes various physiological elements, including “infinitesimal capillaries” and “flawless connections of the lungs”, which highlight the microscopic components of the human body
• The speaker emphasises the interconnectedness of bodily systems, suggesting that the body is already responding to the brain through “invisible neural filaments”:
• This highlights the seamless integration of physiological processes 
• Throughout these lines, there is a sense of wonder and awe at the anatomy of the human body
• The enjambment used here could highlight the speaker’s excitement over the design of the human body

Lines 19–24

“Then name any passion or sentiment

possessed of the simplest accuracy.

No, no desire or affection could have done

with practice what habit

has done perfectly, indifferently,

through the body’s ignorant precision.”

Translation

• The speaker returns to her initial point about the limits of the spirit and how it cannot create a life

Stevenson’s intention

• Once again, the speaker challenges the idea that human passions possess any level of “accuracy” by asking the reader to “name any passion or sentiment” that could create a human life
• The speaker suggests that habit plays a crucial role in shaping the body’s functions rather than human desires or affections
• The phrase “the body’s ignorant precision” highlights the disconnect between bodily functions and human consciousness:
• The speaker emphasises how the body has remarkable precision in carrying out tasks, but it does so without awareness 

Lines 25–27

“It is left to the vagaries of the mind to invent

love and despair and anxiety

and their pain.”

Translation

• The speaker is reflecting on the role of the mind in creating and experiencing emotions 

Stevenson’s intention

• The speaker suggests that the mind is responsible for inventing emotions such as “love and despair and anxiety”:
• This implies that these emotions are constructs of the human psyche and abstract rather than aspects of the physical world
• By framing emotions as inventions of the mind, the speaker highlights the subjective nature of human experience
• The speaker uses the word “vagaries” to suggest that the mind’s creation of emotions is not dictated by logic or reason but by a range of factors that make it unpredictable

Although this section is organised into three separate sections – form, structure and language – it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have. 

Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Stevenson’s intentions behind her choices in terms of:

• Form
• Structure
• Language

Form

The poem is made up of 27 lines, which are written in free verse and divided into three stanzas, each of nine lines.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Life and creation	The poem does not have a regular form and each stanza is formed of two sentences. Enjambment is used in each of the three stanzas	The lack of regular form could reflect the poet’s enthusiasm at marvelling at the baby’s anatomy and also create a closeness between the reader and the speaker
	The poem is written in free verse and so does not use any kind of regular metre	The poet may have done this in order to help the poem move freely and fluidly to make it feel more intimate and conversational
		However, it could also be argued that the free verse reflects the sporadic spirit that the poet refers to as it does not follow a pattern or structure

Structure

The poem is formed of three stanzas that are nine lines long. 

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Life and creation	The poet has written 27 lines and the lines are divided into  three stanzas, which are nine-lines long	The nine lines per stanza could reflect the duration of a pregnancy and the time it takes for a baby to fully form

Language

The writer uses anatomical language to reflect her awe at the complexity of the human body. 

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Life and creation	The poet uses a lexical field linked to precision and complexity. Words such as “fine”, “distinct”, “complexity”, “miniature”, “intricate”, “precision” and “accuracy”	The poet has used these words to emphasise how precise and complex the body is and reiterate the point that the spirit/mind cannot create something so complex
	Imagery is used as the poet goes into detail about the body and pays particular attention to features such as the “ear”, “eyelashes” and “fingernails”	Stevenson does this to reinforce her argument that the “spirit” could not have created something so intricate
The unpredictable nature of the human spirit	Abstract nouns are used such as “passion”, “desire”, “affection”, “love”, “anxiety” and “pain”	Stevenson does this to contrast the concrete nouns used when describing the baby. The use of abstract nouns highlights the intangible and unpredictable nature of the human spirit

It is not enough to just know the poem really well as all questions in the IGCSE encourage an informed, personal response. Therefore, you need to develop a solid understanding of the theme, main ideas, settings, situations and events depicted. Even though context is not explicitly assessed in the IGCSE, it is important that you have an awareness of background information that is relevant to the main themes in the poem, as this can help you develop a sustained, critical understanding of the text. This is so that you are able to demonstrate individuality and insight in your answer. To help you do this, the section below has been divided into two main themes that Stevenson explores in ‘The Spirit is too Blunt an Instrument’:

• Life and creation
• The unpredictable nature of the human spirit

Life and creation

• Stevenson was a mother to three children before writing the poem:
• It could be suggested that she uses this experience to write from the perspective of a new mother who is looking at her baby
• The poet comments that the baby’s “intricate” form could not have been created by something as clumsy and messy as “the spirit”
• The use of concrete words such as “bones”, “tendons”, “knees” and “knucklebones” create an image of the baby that is tangible and real, which contrasts with the abstract words that are used to describe the “spirit”:
• This may have been done to put emphasis on the body and its minute details and to pull the focus and importance away from the “spirit” and the mind
• By focusing on specific features and going into detail, the speaker attempts to prove her point that the spirit could not have created a baby as each piece has to be crafted perfectly and the spirit is too unskilled to be able to do this
• In the second stanza, the speaker attempts to focus the readers by using words such as “observe” and “imagine” when marvelling at the baby’s intricate features:
• It could be argued that Stevenson observes her baby as a physical object, like a statue to be marvelled at, rather than focusing on the mind
• In the final stanza, Stevenson concludes that “passion or sentiment” could not have created something so intricate:
• However, she decides that it is habit and instinct that has created life
• This is ingrained in our genes but beyond our understanding

The unpredictable nature of the human spirit

• Stevenson refers to the human mind and spirit as “blunt” and marvels at the physical form of a person rather than the subconscious:
• This is unconventional as poems usually focus on the “spirit” and the human psyche rather than the intricacies of the body
• The spirit is described as a “blunt instrument” and the use of this metaphor sets the tone and direction for the rest of the poem:
• The poet then uses abstract words to describe the characteristics of the mind and this creates the effect that the spirit is intangible and imperceptible to the touch
• However, at the end of the poem, the speaker acknowledges that it is the spirit and the “vagaries of the mind” that add life and emotions to the perfect and intricate body