This poem is clearly divided into two layers in structure. The first six lines are personalized descriptions of the time mechanism, and the last five lines are personalized expressions of "I" in this mechanism. However, Emerson's expression of time mechanism is not an objective presentation, but has obvious subjective tendency. He used "hypocrisy" to express the fairness and generosity of time, and "dumb" to express the cunning and silence of time. They walked through and separated from the crowd like dervishes. They give gifts according to people's wishes, making everyone feel as if they have got what they want. Here, the poet deliberately predicted the individual's initiative and its corresponding results, affirmed human subjectivity to a certain extent, and weakened the power intensity of time. However, this weakening seems to have little effect. Next, I, who had already noticed the hypocrisy of time, was still bewitched by them, not only because they lined up in a row, but also because their generosity and busyness attracted my attention and made me forget my morning wish. I only get vanilla and apple, as the simplest metaphor of material desire, which means the lack of my spiritual pursuit and that people can't overcome the fragility of time.
It should be said that Emerson's poetic observation of time is basically the embodiment of the traditional linear view of time. Like his predecessors, he defined time as an objective existence externalized in the subject, a physical time with independent status beyond human control. However, it is obviously not enough to regard this poem as an allegory about time. We must see the deep meaning revealed by Emerson intentionally or unintentionally in the poem. The tension between man and time is only the surface tension of this poem, and the inner axis is the poet's swing and sigh between self-persistence and loss. In the final analysis, this is not only an external problem of time, but also an internal problem of self-construction. On the one hand, Emerson seems to be describing an old topic, that is, the irreversibility of time, on the other hand, he cuts into the theoretical category of modern philosophy of life with his personal experience.
In poetry, the first six lines not only create time visually, but also create an observer image that is quite clear about the characteristics of time (the contradictory unity of hypocrisy and generosity). This image should be the same person as the "I" who has a "morning wish", but it is such a person who is despised by time at the end of the day. The only reason is that I pay attention to some external appearances (time giving gifts, herbs, spectacular scenes of apples), thus alienating the inner self or the deep self with "morning wish" ("wish" is the signifier of the deep self). This alienation is a kind of "sinking" in Heidegger's view and a kind of alienated scab in Bergson's view, but according to Bergson's view, the medium of self-realization is "persistence", which is a special power of time and an unrepeatable consciousness. The passage of time is experienced as a kind of power, which urges people to constantly shape new personal lives, but it is also a kind of reaction, which makes individuals return to their original selves and retreat and advance into the unity of "this time", which is the meaning of "persistence". From this point of view, my sense of time just means persistence, which urges me to keep my goals and activities consistent with my life motivation (that is, "morning wish"), which not only keeps my unified self, but also gains more life time, that is, more objective time is brought into the construction of my spiritual self, thus transforming objective time into subjective time. At the same time, this sense of time is exactly what Heidegger called "fear". In the sense of existentialism, "fear" is a kind of temporal fear. This fear and anxiety awaken the subject to get rid of the sinking state and plan a truly meaningful life.
Regret for the passage of time is actually a metonymy for fear of losing oneself. Emerson established his transcendental leadership position in 185 1 year, but for anyone, "eliminating those hidden and dark things that make them lose themselves" is a never-ending process. Time is the cornerstone of self and the abyss of self. After overcoming a "sinking", he will face a new "sinking"