The Man with the Hoe and Other Poems

work by Markham

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June 30, 2026

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"The Man with the Hoe and Other Poems" is a collection of works by American poet Edwin Markham, best known for his poem "The Man with the Hoe". Published in 1899, this poem gained national fame and was inspired by Jean-François Millet's painting of the same name.1

Markham used the French peasant in the painting as a symbol for exploited classes worldwide. The success of "The Man with the Hoe" allowed Markham to focus on writing and lecturing about social and industrial issues. His first book of verse, The Man with the Hoe and Other Poems, was followed by other collections, though his later works are noted for lacking the passion of his earlier writings. Edwin Markham was born in 1852 and died in 1940.12

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Edwin Markham
…San Francisco Examiner of “The Man with the Hoe.” Inspired by Jean-François Millet’s painting, Markham made the French peasant the symbol of the exploited classes throughout the world. Its success enabled Markham to devote himself to writing and lecturing—in which he concerned himself with social and industrial, as well as…
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…San Francisco Examiner of “The Man with the Hoe.” Inspired by Jean-François Millet’s painting, Markham made the French peasant the symbol of the exploited classes throughout the world. Its success enabled Markham to devote himself to writing and lecturing—in which he concerned himself with social and industrial, as well as…
Read More

American literature
Critics of the gilded age
Edwin Markham’s “Man with the Hoe” (1899) was a protest against the exploitation of labor and vaguely threatened revolution; it immediately stimulated nationwide interest. A year later William Vaughn Moody’s “Ode in Time of Hesitation” denounced growing U.S. imperialism as a desertion of earlier principles; his “On…
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Edwin Markham’s “Man with the Hoe” (1899) was a protest against the exploitation of labor and vaguely threatened revolution; it immediately stimulated nationwide interest. A year later William Vaughn Moody’s “Ode in Time of Hesitation” denounced growing U.S. imperialism as a desertion of earlier principles; his “On…
Read More