The magus (wise man) who narrates this poem is world-weary. He is comparable to the narrator in "The Seafarer" and Matthew Arnold's speaker in "Dover Beach." In each poem, the speaker is troubled with his current situation and is more concerned with a larger social and spiritual shift in the world.
In "Journey of the Magi," the narrator discusses how difficult and unrewarding the journey had been. He understands the significance of the journey (to...
The magus (wise man) who narrates this poem is world-weary. He is comparable to the narrator in "The Seafarer" and Matthew Arnold's speaker in "Dover Beach." In each poem, the speaker is troubled with his current situation and is more concerned with a larger social and spiritual shift in the world.
In "Journey of the Magi," the narrator discusses how difficult and unrewarding the journey had been. He understands the significance of the journey (to witness the birth of Christ and present gifts), but this does not override his general and personal frustration. He concludes the first stanza with "This is all folly." Having reached their destination and goal, the event was merely "satisfactory." Why aren't the wise men (or this particular wise man) overjoyed at having witnessed Christ's birth and with it, the dawn of a new historical era?
The answer is that this wise man comes from a pre-Christian era. So, with the birth of Christ, he knows that his era is over. This is the dichotomy. Christ's birth signifies a new world but also sounds the death knell of the old world. Even though he (magus) might understand that this is a necessary spiritual birth of a greater world, it is hard for him to transition:
. . . this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
He and the other magi return to their old lives but they can no longer live as they used to. The world is different now. Their old world and way of living is dead. He concludes that he would be glad to die ("again") because he can not live the way he used to. The birth of a new world, of a new way of living, implies the death of the old world and old way of living.
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