The poem "A Great Man's House," by Wislawa Szymborska, translated by Stanislaw Barczak and Clare Cavanagh, is an educational piece of poetry that emphasizes the reality of life by comparing and contrasting the great man's life, to others. This free verse poem consists of seven stanzas revealing the cycle of life by telling his story. The voice who is a teacher does this by taking the reader on an investigation through the great mans life by observing his house and possessions, to judge if he was really a "great" man. Very few emotions are shown throughout the poem, which indicates that the voice has no personal connection to the great man. Even though he lived a great life, he still experienced the same things that an average person experiences. This allows the reader to connect with the great man and learn that no matter what paths we take, we all end up in the same spot: death. The title of the poem "A Great Man's House," is an analogy, which represents his life. This title is suitable for the poem because society bases peoples success in life based on the things they have and not what they are like. The poem starts out with a bold sentence stating, "It was written in marble in golden letters: here a great man lived and worked and died. (1.1-2) Szymborska starts out with this sensory sentence because the reader now has a sense of the vastness of his wealth. This first line also develops a major theme in the poem, regarding the cycle of life. Right away we have an overview of the three stages of his life. These three stages can be compared to any other "normal" life. Szymborska continues to enhance his character, by describing how he was not born into greatness but how he achieved it. This is stated in line three, He laid the gravel for these paths personally. This bench "do not touch" he chiseled by himself out of stone. (1.3-5) The author appeals to the audience's senses and also punctuates his hard work by appropriate