Feathered Hats and Mobile Phones

Professor Ogden once confessed in class of having recently been accused of over-interpretation. I must admit that my understanding of Margaret Avison’s poem “Technology Is Spreading” reveals me to be guilty of the same crime. Due to a 150-word restriction, in this blog entry I will only elaborate on my analysis of the first line of the poem, “Two men hatless plodding”.

First and foremost, the words “men hatless” have deep significance. Whenever it is required of me to conjure up mental images of men from the previous millennium, my representations are always wearing a different hat, the type depending on the man’s position on civilization’s timeline. A knight from the middle ages, for example, is wearing a helmet, whereas a citizen from the Elizabethan Era is wearing one of those elaborate hats with a massive feather on the side. Comparing the present time with the past, it is evident that hats were a major fashion accessory back in the day, constantly evolving with the demands of each decade’s new mode. Today, however, crossing paths with someone wearing a hat is a much less common occurence.

Obviously, technology in the past was poorly developed in comparison to present day (simply look at the modern cell phone: a phone, camera, television, computer, and music source all-in-one). It can therefore be said that a man who lived in past times (a hat-wearer) symbolizes little technology, and the opposite applies to a modern-day man. And so, when Avison states that “men hatless” are “plodding”, it can be understood that there is movement of technology, hence the title of the poem: “Technology Is Spreading”.

Over-interpretation? Nah.