Meaning & Analysis
A person without sight might, through sheer luck, accomplish a task that normally requires vision, such as catching a swift animal or hitting a target.
Insights
The Power of Chance
The proverb illustrates that success can sometimes be a matter of pure chance, completely independent of skill, preparation, or ability. Even the most incompetent or disadvantaged person can achieve a surprising victory through a stroke of luck.
Underestimating the Underdog
It serves as a cautionary reminder not to entirely dismiss an opponent or individual, no matter how inept they may seem. Unpredictable events or random actions can lead to unexpected outcomes.
Accidental Success
The proverb highlights the idea that positive outcomes can arise from flawed or misguided efforts. It suggests that action, even if clumsy or ill-informed, creates opportunities for fortune to intervene, whereas inaction guarantees failure.
Historical Hunting Symbolism
The choice of a 'hare' or 'crow' as the target is significant; both are notoriously difficult to catch, requiring speed and accuracy. This historical detail amplifies the sheer improbability of the event, underscoring that the success is attributable purely to fortune, not latent skill.
Psychology of Luck
The proverb taps into the psychological tension between skill and luck. It serves as a humbling reminder that success is not always a direct result of competence or effort, challenging the meritocratic belief that outcomes are always deserved and controlled.
Literary and Social Context
As seen in Shakespeare's '1 Henry IV', the proverb is often used to diminish an achievement, framing it as a random fluke rather than a display of genuine ability. It can carry a condescending tone, suggesting that such success from an unlikely source is an anomaly not to be repeated.
Rhetorical Devices
Hyperbole
The scenario of a blind man successfully hunting is an extreme exaggeration used to emphasize the extraordinary and unpredictable nature of luck.
Irony
Situational irony is central to the proverb, as the outcome (success in a sight-based task) is the opposite of what is logically expected from the subject (a blind man).
Symbolism
The 'blind man' symbolizes any person who is disadvantaged, unskilled, or unprepared, while the 'hare' or 'mark' represents any difficult-to-achieve goal, making the proverb broadly applicable.
Transcription
Quotations
I see sometime, the blinde man hits a Crowe.
Sometim by chance a blind man may catch a hare.
Euery man as he may; yet sometimes the blind may katch a Hare. —I sir, but he will first eat many a Fly.
(may kill a Hayre).
Who reads may rove, and call the passage dark, Yet may as blindmen sometimes hit the mark.
(may catch a crow).
(may catch a crow).
(may catch a hare).
The blinde man may shoot and hit a crow.
Shakespeare Citations
God knows, the warme Clowne cannot make a iest Vnlesse by chance, as the blinde man catcheth a hare.
Cross References
Annotations
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.