Friend or Foe?
In the original draft, this line reads(all italics mine):
"Oh keep the Dog far hence, that's foe to men,
Or with his nails he'll dig it up again!"(V. Eliot 9)
This is a reference to Sirius, the Dog Star, and the way in which he is a "foe to men" in scorching the earth. This heating would expose the corpse in summer because of its stink. In the final draft, this line is changed to read:
"Oh keep the Dog far hence, that's friend to men,
Or with his nails he'll dig it up again!"( Eliot 74-5)
This change from "foe" to "friend" would indicate that this exposing of the buried corpse would be a good thing, and therefore the Dog is not foe, but friend.
This website the work of Abigail L. Bunting
"Oh keep the Dog far hence, that's foe to men,
Or with his nails he'll dig it up again!"(V. Eliot 9)
This is a reference to Sirius, the Dog Star, and the way in which he is a "foe to men" in scorching the earth. This heating would expose the corpse in summer because of its stink. In the final draft, this line is changed to read:
"Oh keep the Dog far hence, that's friend to men,
Or with his nails he'll dig it up again!"( Eliot 74-5)
This change from "foe" to "friend" would indicate that this exposing of the buried corpse would be a good thing, and therefore the Dog is not foe, but friend.
This website the work of Abigail L. Bunting