Edward Blair:
No information available.
The August sun is pouring on the land. His scorching rays and vegetation stands, beseeching to the skies for showers again, and being answered like the prayers of men.
The saying describes ‘late-summer heat and drought’:
“The August sun” is personified as a powerful, almost harsh male figure pouring down ‘scorching rays’.
– Vegetation “stands” beseeching the skies means plants look wilted and thirsty, as if they are ‘praying for rain’.
– “Answered like the prayers of men” is a reflective or slightly ironic line:
– It may mean the plants’ “prayers” for rain are ‘eventually answere’ by showers.
– Or, more wryly, it may suggest they are ‘not answered quickly or reliably’, just like many human prayers.
So the overall sense is:
‘in August’s heat, the land and plants seem to plead to heaven for rain.’
Likely Wording ✍️:
A common version is:
> “The August sun is pouring on the land
> His scorching rays; and vegetation stands,
> Beseeching to the skies for showers again,
> And being answered like the prayers of men.”
Sometimes punctuation and wording vary slightly in quotation collections.
Origin and Author đź“š:
– The lines are usually attributed to Edward Blair, often under the title “August.”
– Edward Blair appears to have been a relatively obscure poet; this quotation circulates more often than detailed biographical information about him.
– It is ‘not’ by George Orwell / Eric Blair, nor by Robert Blair, the Scottish poet of “The Grave”.
