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This particular poem was written by Lord de Tabley in 1870. This poem is a very interesting interpretation of human nature and all its faults, it also looks at how people only look skin deep and they do not see the reality in their world. The first stanza introduces the whole poem to the reader and shows the reader what the style of the poem is going to be like. For example, 'THE thing itself was rough and crudely done, Cut in coarse stone, spitefully placed aside' This line is very intriguing as it leaves the object unidentified, probably deliberately because this emphasises its insignificance to the reader and also the word 'thing's hows that it is of no importance to the speaker at this point. Harsh sounding words are used at this point, such as 'cutting. ' This is a very effective use of alliteration because it seems to stress the object's hardness and how disturbing to view it.

In the next two lines, the speaker carries on explaining this object, even though it is again highlighted by the word 'overlooked' that it should be of no significance. The 'thing' was placed 'where the light was worst' and it seems that people are trying to shut out the reality of the object; they do not want to see it because it is not perfect and it is disturbing to look at. In the poem it says that this object lay in a 'palace crammed with art. It had no number in the list of gems. ' This palace symbolizes perfection and decadence, all of which this 'thing' is not. These lines show that this object is seemingly not as important as gems and 'crammed's seems to imply that people have tried to shut out this 'thing' of reality with all theses beautiful gems, one after the other, packed so tightly that they lose their individuality.

It illustrates that there is absolutely nothing of significance in the 'celebrated' gems. The line: 'weeded away long since, pushed out and banished's hows that this object was so repulsive, or so threatening to the other pieces of 'modern' art that it had to be extracted by force a long time ago. The reader then finds out that the object of curiosity is a sculpture which separates it from the rest of the artwork, such as the paintings of Dolce and Guido. These paintings are described as 'insipid' and 'oversweet' and this seems to counter the 'perfection' of the Italian paintings. They are trying to make their paintings beautiful, flawless and perfect so everyone will want to see them but they are very unrealistic and are trying too hard to be idealistic.

The sculpture's creator faced up to reality and used it to create his piece, although it is not aesthetically pleasing, it is still of interest. Also the line 'curly chirping angels spruce as birds' is starkly in contrast to the words 'ill-hewn' and 'skill-less' which shows the huge difference between the ugly 'thing' and these apparently perfect paintings. In the next few lines the speaker seems to have a revelation: 'And yet the motive of this thing ill-hewn And hardly seen did touch me... ' This dramatic change of view is emphasised by the words 'yet' and 'did. ' The speaker now seems to realise the power of this sculpture and uses the hard 'd's o und to show the shock of this revelation. Whereas before, the speaker was criticising the artist, he is now appreciative of the 'yearning and bewildered brain' behind the sculpture.

It is quite a disturbing description of this artist's mind but it shows his yearning for the truth of the human world, the reality. he is not a skilful artist but his emotions show clearly in his work. The next lines are showing that although this piece has many faults, it catches the speaker's eye: 'There was such desolation in the work; And through its outer failings the thing spoke With more of human message, heart to heart,' This extract seems to be showing that the artist was craving a better human kind and is utterly desolate because he knows this will never happen and his piece will probably never be recognised for what it is. It will just be seen as an ugly lump of stone. He knows it is not a good piece of art such as those of his time but he has to do it to express himself and his frustrations. Somehow this sculpture caught the speaker's attention and his interest and because it was abandoned and done by an artist who wants to convey an important message, it is more realistic and touched him more than the other artefacts. It has genuineness that the 'faultless, smirking, skin-deep saints' lack.

The sculpture is about more than just skin-deep; it shows more truth than perfection. The 'artificial troubles picturesque' that the modern artists conveyed were criticised by the onlooker at this point because they did not represent the real world. They were false. The artists obviously did not go through the heartache the creator of the sculpture did. In the next lines the reader gets a description of the actual sculpture: 'Listen, a clumsy knight, who rode alone... The poor beast with head low-bowed Snuffing the treacherous ground.

' These lines show that the knight, who represents the sculptor, has already fought the battle, he has put his art out there for everyone to see and he has lost. Another way of interpreting it is to say that the knight represents the whole of human nature, which is fundamentally good but it is struggling. The 'marish' represents all the corruption in the world and that is why the knight is doomed, human nature is doomed to be corrupted, no-one can turn out perfect and be untarnished by the world. The knight 'feared to advance, feared to return.

' This knight is stuck in limbo, immortalized in art, he is deliberately created as something that cannot move. It is criticising art. The sculptor is conveying that with art at that time, you had to paint one way or your art was not accepted. This is a parallel to human nature; unless you act a certain way, you are criticised and shunned..