The Humanity in Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite

by Isaac Watts

The poem entitled Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite was written by Isaac Watts in 1674
– 1748. This poem is presented in simple language and impressed as it is. This simplicity makes
it easier for poetry lovers or readers to understand what the poet wants to convey, but even so,
the poet managed to obtain a reasonably deep meaning.

The writer notices that this poem has an issue with humanity. (Watts; Lines 1,2,5,6) "Let
dogs delight to bark and bite," "For God hath made them so," "But children you should never
let," "Your angry passions rise". Here, the 'Dogs' is the animal itself, and the 'Children' refers to
humans. In these lines, the writer notices the poet wants to make a comparison between animals
and humans in terms of physical and innate nature. This is the root of where the topic of
humanity in this poem begins.

Refers to these lines "Let bears and lions growl and fight," "Your little hands were never
made," and "To tear each other's eyes" (Watts; Lines 3,4,7,8). The poet wants to show the readers
that animal nature and human nature should be different from the beginning. The animal
character fights each other to survive. They fight for food and fight for territory, and power. On
the other hand, humans should help and support each other. It's called humanity. Sometimes
people forget that we should live together and embrace humanity as human beings. People act
like animals even worse nowadays. From the writer's point of view, the poet wants to tell the
readers that humans should be human. An animal will be an animal no matter what. Humans
should be kind to others and should not fight each other. Do not hurt your brothers' or your
sisters' feelings.

Afterward, the writer notices several poetic devices in this poem. This poem consists of
two stanzas, with four lines in each stanza. Which means this poem has eight lines. The rhyme of
the poem is a-b-a-b. "Let dogs delight to bark and bite," and "Let bears and lions growl and
fight". "Bite" has similar sounds to "Fight" (Watts; Lines 1,3). "For God hath made them so"
"For 't is their nature to". "So" with "To" (Watts: Lines 2,4). "But, children, you should never let"
"Your little hands were never made". "Let" with "Made" (Watts; Lines 5,7). "Your angry passions
rise" "To tear each other's eyes". "Rise" with "eyes" (Watts; Lines 6,8).

Figurative language in this poem uses allusion, which is generally related to common
knowledge. Everything is written as is without any substitute language or presuppositions. The
speaker of this poem is implicit.
REFERENCES

Watts, I. Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite

Poeticous https://www.poeticous.com/isaac-watts/let-dogs-delight-to-bark-and-bite

Britannica https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isaac-Watts

PoetryFoundation https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/isaac-watts
 Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite
By Isaac Watts

Let dogs delight to bark and bite,

For God hath made them so;
Let bears and lions growl and fight,
For ‘t is their nature to;

But, children, you should never let

Your angry passion rise;
Your little hands were never made
To tear each other’s eyes.