The poem is divided into two stanzas, with the first stanza describing the man's physical appearance and the second delving into his psychological and spiritual state. The first stanza emphasizes the man's physical exhaustion and the toll that years of hard work have taken on his body. His face is "grotesque" and "bestialized," and his eyes are "sunken and dead." The second stanza reveals that the man's inner world is just as desolate as his outward appearance. He is a "brother to the ox" who has been reduced to a mere tool of labor, with no agency or sense of self.
The poem ends with a series of rhetorical questions that challenge the reader to confront the implications of the man's condition. The speaker asks: "Who made him dead to rapture and despair, / A thing that grieves not and that never hopes, / Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?" The poem thus becomes a powerful indictment of the social systems and economic inequalities that have created such abysmal conditions for the working class.
"The Man with the Hoe" has been widely acclaimed for its powerful imagery, emotional intensity, and social criticism. It is considered a classic of American literature and has inspired numerous works of art, music, and literature. The poem serves as a reminder of the often-overlooked struggles of the working class and challenges readers to consider the human cost of unrestrained capitalism and exploitation.