Rukhaya M.K

A Literary Companion

Category: Poetry (page 5 of 18)

Poetry Analysis: Tennyson’s “The Lotos-Eaters”

February 13, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Tennyson’s “The Lotos-Eaters” was published in 1832. The inspiration for the poem was Tennyson’s visit to Spain (1829) along with Arthur Hallam where they visited the Pyrenees Mountains.

About the Poem

The prescribed poem deals with a group of mariners who after consuming the lotos, went into a state of trance or temporal amnesia. The poem functions as a marked contrast to Tennyson’s “Ulysses” that had as its motto, “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” This particular poem is diametrically opposite in theme as it stands for Victorian complacency. The background of the poem is scroll IX of Homer’s Odyssey.

As they proceed from Troy, the mariners get thwarted by a storm from their intended destination. Instead of Ithaca, they arrive at a land where people eat ‘lotos’(Greek for ‘Lotus)’. No description of the country is given. Some of the mariners consume the lotos and sink into lassitude, a sluggish condition devoid of activity and aspiration. The condition is probably emblematic of the pseudo-modern way of life where advanced technology has made life devoid of activity and creativity. In such a condition, George Bernard Shaw envisages that the human body will be reduced to a pulp of brain, as that would be the only organ functioning in the body.…

Poetry Analysis: William Wordsworth’s “Daffodils”

February 13, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Wordsworth “Daffodils” also known as “I Wandered lonely as a Cloud” is one of the most celebrated and oft anthologized of Wordsworth’s works. The inspiration was an experience on April 15, 1802 when Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy Wordsworth came across “a long belt” of Daffodils.” The poem was first published in Poems in Two Volumes, in 1807.The poem penned in iambic tetrameter has the rhyme scheme ABABCC . Each stanza consists of a quatrain and a couplet. The Westminster Review described the poem as “very exquisite.”

The death of his brother John had a profound impact on Wordsworth and he felt dejected. Nevertheless, the warmth and love Dorothy Wordsworth exuded imparted a positive influence on Wordsworth. The influence of the Daffodils at once emblematizes the all-pervading essence and presence of Dorothy Wordsworth. At the outset, he describes himself as lonely as a cloud. The image of the cloud evokes the paradigm of transparency in its purest form. The initiative of floating over vales and hills reflects the idea of being in a state of high despite being in seclusion. Note that being in isolation, he notes the ‘crowd’ in the form ‘daffodils’ and, is enchanted to find the same more than he would at discovering human multitude.…

Poetry Analysis: Robert Browning’s “The Last Ride Together”

February 12, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Robert Browning’ s “Last Ride Together” is a monologue of a rejected lover that expresses his undying love for his beloved. The title apparently gives out the notion that this is their last ride together. Nevertheless, what the speaker signifies is that he has lived all his life in this ride, with the all-sufficing splendor of love. The poem echoes the ‘carpe diem’ motif of seizing the present. He affirms that he is well-acquainted with his past. Even so, hitherto all that his life stood for, comes to naught when it comes to his unrequited love. His love is unselfish and does not avail of anything unreasonable, it is truly blessed with pride and happiness in having the Last ride with her which would endow him with the joy of a lifetime. For this, he would even handover his most priced possession- the hope of love, that inspired him to live on. If gifted with the Ride, he guarantees that he will be content with just the memory of the hope that inspired him to go on.

The Lady bent her brows to this entreaty; pity smoothening the pride had filled her dark eyes. The moment of her decision was a crucial point for the poet, as though he hung between life and death; and the colour left his face for a splitting second.…

Poetry Analysis: Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess”

February 12, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Robert Browning’s  “My Last Duchess” is a dramatic monologue based on the 16th century Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso who married Lucrezia di Cosimo de’ Medici . She was not well-educated or as high in heritage as the Duke’s family. She did bring with her a huge dowry, but died under mysterious circumstances three years later. The poem was first published in 1842 in Browning’s Dramatic Lyrics. .It employs iambic pentameter and the technique of enjambment. Just as lines run on from one to another without full stops, the Duke transgresses the limits of egotism. The situation is of the Duke negotiating his marriage with an emissary who has come to arrange the same. In keeping with the characteristics of the Dramatic monologue therefore, the speech is born out of a critical moment.

Also the monologue delineates the character of the Duke of Ferrara in the tradition of the dramatic monologue, and the envoy serves as the interlocutor who is silent throughout. They come upon a portrait of the Duchess and the duke divulges details of her character. The Duke comes across as extremely possessive of his wife as echoed by the prefixing of ‘my’ in the title. He also mentions that nobody reveals the portrait but him.…

Poetry Analysis: Moniza Alvi’s “Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan”

February 11, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Moniza Alvi’s “Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan” is penned in free verse echoing the randomness of her ruminations. Regarding the poem Moniza Alvi says: ” Presents from My Aunts…was one of the first poems I wrote. When I wrote this poem, I hadn’t actually been back to Pakistan. The girl in the poem would be me at about 13. The clothes seem to stick to her in an uncomfortable way, a bit like a kind of false skin, and she thinks things aren’t straightforward for her. I found it was important to write the Pakistan poems because I was getting in touch with my background. And maybe there’s a bit of a message behind the poems about something I went through, that I want to maybe open a few doors if possible.”

The clothes that came as presents from her relatives in Pakistan were indeed symbolic. The flamboyant colours were suggestive of the colourfulness of the tradition. She refers firstly to the ‘peacock-blue colour”. Thus, unconsciously the thirst for the unified India springs up yet gain as she refers again and again to aspects of the same in other poems like “An Unknown Girl”,”The Country at My Shoulder”.etc. She refers to another conspicuous colour “glistening like an orange split open,”  as the culture had blossomed and was ripe and open.…

Poetry Analysis: U. A. Fanthorpe’s “Half-past Two”

February 11, 2015 / / 0 Comments

U. A. Fanthorpe’s “Half-past Two” presents the concept of time through the eyes of a child. Time is a concept for some. For others, it is a source of measurement. For those who detest it, it is the Eternal vanquisher and the Universal enemy of beauty. Here the poet puts forward the notion of Time as viewed by a child, who does not actually comprehend the idea of time. It also explores the psychology of a child who is too small to understand his mistake juxtaposed against a callous teacher who ticks him off for something beyond his comprehension.

The style of the poet and his stylistic histrionics are reminiscent of Dylan Thomas, when he asserts :”Once upon a schooltime.” Note that the words ‘school’ and ‘time’ are compounded to imply how intricately that part of time was linked with school. It may also point to the little kid’s notion of time, for whom activity defined time, and was not bothered about time guiding his activities. Once upon a time, the child had did “Something Very Wrong.” The capitalization of the word exemplifies the gravity of the mistake of the kid that is blown out of proportion for his age .…

Poetry Analysis: Edgar Allan Poe’s “To Helen”

February 6, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Edgar Allan Poe epitomized his ‘Helen’ as “the first ideal love of my soul.” Edgar Allan Poe’s “To Helen” is a tribute to the mother of his school friend, Mrs.Jane Stannard. She is a young matron of Richmond, who had profound affection and motherly love for him. By summoning her as ‘Helen’ he has crowned her with the highest virtues of a woman that is quite often put on a pedestal in classical mythology. The beauty of Helen has always been the highest paradigm, whether extolled by Homer in “The Illiad”, “The Trojan Women” by Euripedes, or by Marlowe in his Dr.Faustus. The poem was first published in 1831 collection Poems of Edgar Allan.

Beauty always lies in the eyes of the beholder. Helen, to him, radiated an inner beauty that he likens to the boats of Nice that transported wanderers over the scented sea long ago. He was able to sail smoothly through life owing to her unconditional love. Jane Stannard’s moral support steered him through the rough weathers of life. The word “Nicean” functions as an adjective for Nice, a city in France, situated on the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the most significant towns on the French “Riviera” and is a fashionable winter resort of the English.…

Poetry Analysis: Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “How Do I Love Thee “

February 5, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Elizabeth Barrett Browning penned a series of 44 sonnets pronouncing her profound love for her fiancé Robert Browning. The poetess employs the Petrarchan form in the series and penned Sonnet 43 in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme of “Sonnet 43” is :ABBA, ABBA–CD, CD, CD as opposed to the Petrarchan form that has the rhyme scheme of the sestet as (1) CDE, CDE; (2) CDC, CDC; or (3) CDE, DCE.

There is the use of the figure of speech called Anaphora. Anaphora  is the repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of word groups occurring one after the other. There is also persistent use of alliteration.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and heigh

t My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

The poetess professes that her love that knows no bounds. She seeks to enumerate the way since they are innumerable. She states that she loves him “to the depth and breadth and height.” She covers all aspects, and claims that her loves traces all dimensions.…

Poetry Analysis: Christina Rosetti’s “Remember”

February 5, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Christina Rosetti’s “Remember” was published  in Goblin Market and other Poems. The central concept of the poem is the abstract phenomenon of remembrance. The poem is addressed to a loved one. It is a universal fact that one is remembered and regarded more when he/she is at a distance. The remembrance of the one lost forever is indeed poignant. The poetess does not mention explicitly that she may enter the realm of death. She euphemistically states that she passes into a ’silent land’ as Emily Dickinson does in her poem “Because I could Not Stop for Death” where she states that the horses’ heads had turned towards eternity. The poetess redefines the stance of death in different ways. She claims:

When you can no more hold me by the hand,

Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay

which implies the person in question is divorced from her with regard to all the major sensory perceptions. When there is no time for resolution or irresolution. She also reiterates that in such a circumstance there will be no second-thoughts or afterthoughts. The above lines also echo the cyclical process of history-of separation and reconciliation. The position of the two lovers reflect the hands of a clock in their position, and gives one the impression that the clock is standing still at the defining moment.…

Poetry Analysis: Thomas Hardy’s “Plena Timoris”

February 5, 2015 / / 0 Comments

In Thomas Hardy’s “Plena Timoris,”  the title is a phrase from Latin that signifies “a woman full of panic and dread”. The poem mirrors the diffidence of a woman who has hitherto lived in a roseate world characterized only  by positive vibes. Premchand in his novel Godan gives a description on the changes that love undergoes over time and space: “Early married life throbs with love and desire; like the dawn the span of life is suffused with a roseate glow. The afternoon of life dissolves illusion into its stinging rays, but brings face to face with reality.” An incident in the woman’s life changes her outlook towards life and her beloved. Thomas Hardy’s novels are characterized by a pervading sense of pessimism. Thomas Hardy once wrote:” “There is a condition worse than blindness, and that is, seeing something that isn’t there.”This becomes the lady’s predicament towards the end of the poem. However, Thomas Hardy also mentions that “Fear is the mother of foresight.”

The lovers looked over the parapet-stone:
The moon in its southing directly blent
Its silver with their environment.
Her ear-rings twinkled; her teeth, too, shone
As, his arm around her, they laughed and leant.

The beginning of the poem portrays the lovers as comfortable in each other’s company as they explore the world with their joint insight.…

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