Terminal Lastness

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Well, in light of my recent presentation, I figured I would write my blog about the concept of “lastness,” and what it means to be “the last man.” In Lovell Beddoes’s version of “The Last Man,” he describes the narrator being stuck in what I would call purgatory, a place between heaven and hell where one religiously gets situated due to their inability to make penance on their transgressions. In pursuit of the title of “the last man,” the narrator attempts to outwit death, which Lovell Beddoes makes apparent through his personification of death in lines such as, “ old Death/ Shall dream he has slain me, and I’ll creep behind him,/ Thrust off the bony tyrant from his throne/ And beat him into dust.” By personifying death, Lovell Beddoes wants readers to understand the lengths at which the narrator will go to obtain the title of the last man, but in his avid pursuit of “lastness” he commits the sin of suicide, and only becomes the last man as the reincarnate of the devil. 

In contrast to Lovell Beddoes’s version, Thomas Campbell’s version of “The Last Man” depicts the narrator as the last remaining person on earth after an apocalyptic event, and instead of personifying death; Campbell personifies nature especially the sun to characterize the narrator as a religious spirit. The narrator speaks to the sun, or the “son” of Christ exclaiming that “ALL worldly shapes shall melt in gloom, The Sun himself must die, /Before this mortal shall assume/ Its immortality!” This quote speaks to the religious implications of the poem, in accordance with religious scripture, the son of Christ must die in order for everyone to ascend into heaven and share in immortal life after death. The narrator stands “prophet-like, that lone one stood/With dauntless words and high” saying to the sun “We are twins in death, proud Sun, / Thy face is cold, thy race is run,/ Tis Mercy bids thee go./ For thou ten thousand thousand years/ Hast seen the tide of human tears,/That shall no longer flow.” The narrator’s profession to the sun speaks to the pride and self-fulfillment he feels from outlasting the rest of his race, thus building up the glory and/or entitlement that comes from being the last of something.

Lastly, Thomas Hood’s version of “The Last Man” discredits and/or “spoofs” the aforementioned poems idea of the last man and lastness in general. The poem depicts a hangman and a peasant who are the two sole surivors of yet another apocalyptic event. In dire need to be “the last man” the hangman hangs the peasant, but instead of finding happiness and eternal glory from being the last man standing, the hangman finds himself lonely and racked with guilt. The narrator, suffering from “terminal lastness,” discredits the other two poets and the positive connotation they associate with the last man, instead through the suffering of the narrator in Hood’s poem, one can now see the ridiculousness surrounding the idea of lastness and can find humor in the lengths the aforementioned narrators would go to assume this position. If you’re the last person, there’s no one left to even award you recognition and/or acknowledgement for your ability to outlast everyone else. Also, just because something, or someone is last doesn’t make them the best. By unearthing the humor and.or ridiculousness surrounding the idea of “lastness” Thomas Hood works to disparage a literary/poetic theme that has continued to make headway even in contemporary times, such as in the 2007 feature film, “I Am Legend,” starring Will Smith.  This movie depicts Smith as legendary for being the last remaining survivor of yet another apocalyptic and cataclysmic event. What is our society’s obsession with “lastness”? And, why do we continue to perpetuate this idea by attributing glory and eternal pride to those who manage to outlast others?