Text:
YES: in the sea of life enisled,
With echoing straits between us.
Dotting the shoreless watery wild,
We mortal millions live alone.
The islands feel the enclasping flow,
And then their endless bounds they know.
But when the moon their hollow lights,
And they are swept by balms of spring,
And in their glens, on starry nights,
The nightingales divinely sing;
And lovely notes, from shore to shore,
Across the sounds and channels pour;
O then a longing like despair
Is to their farthest caverns sent!
For surely once, they feel, we were
Parts of a single continent.
Now round us spreads the watery plain--
O might our marges meet again!
Who order'd that their longing's fire
Should be, as soon as kindled, cool'd?
Who renders vain their deep desire?
A God, a God their severance ruled;
And bade betwixt their shores to be
The unplumb'd, salt, estranging sea.
Initial Reaction: Upon initially reading this poem, I recognize it is dense with alliteration and very descriptive adjectives. I find "To Marguerite" is discussing the open ocean and islands within it. I believe these objects have a deeper meaning, though I'm not quite sure their connection. Also, I do not understand the conclusion of the poem, but the tone seems to be bitter and unresolved, with a hint of loneliness.
Paraphrasing:
Isolated in life,
YES: in the sea of life enisled,
With echoing straits between us.
Dotting the shoreless watery wild,
We mortal millions live alone.
The islands feel the enclasping flow,
And then their endless bounds they know.
But when the moon their hollow lights,
And they are swept by balms of spring,
And in their glens, on starry nights,
The nightingales divinely sing;
And lovely notes, from shore to shore,
Across the sounds and channels pour;
O then a longing like despair
Is to their farthest caverns sent!
For surely once, they feel, we were
Parts of a single continent.
Now round us spreads the watery plain--
O might our marges meet again!
Who order'd that their longing's fire
Should be, as soon as kindled, cool'd?
Who renders vain their deep desire?
A God, a God their severance ruled;
And bade betwixt their shores to be
The unplumb'd, salt, estranging sea.
Initial Reaction: Upon initially reading this poem, I recognize it is dense with alliteration and very descriptive adjectives. I find "To Marguerite" is discussing the open ocean and islands within it. I believe these objects have a deeper meaning, though I'm not quite sure their connection. Also, I do not understand the conclusion of the poem, but the tone seems to be bitter and unresolved, with a hint of loneliness.
Paraphrasing:
Isolated in life,
We are separated by figurative seas.
There is no definite edge to this separation,
Each person lives in isolation.
We feel this separation,
And we acknowledge the endlessness of this feeling.
But when the moon rises,
There is a new air or hope.
And in their valleys on starry nights,
The birds sing beautifully;
These hopeful songs can be heard across the land,
Across a great distance;
Then a desire also filled with sadness
Is sent away and unexpressed.
Surely once we were
Joined together.
Now the division between us grows --
But I hope we are connected once again.
Who ordered that our burning desires
Should be subdued?
Who says their feelings are insubstantial or
unimportant?
A God disjointed them
And kept them at a distance,
A sea between them.
SWIFTT:
Syntax/Word Choice: Interestingly, "To Marguerite" begins with the word "yes," which is unusual in poetry and indicates that the poem is in response to or a continuation of a previous poem. "To Marguerite" is composed of four stanzas. These stanzas vary in the number of sentences present, but they all have a similar structure with complex sentences. It is also notable that there are four exclamations in this poem. The words chosen provoke images in the mind of the reader and were chosen specifically to achieve rhyme and alliteration in the poem.
Imagery: By including numerous adjectives, "To Marguerite" contains a great amount of imagery. For example, "Yes: in the sea of life enisled, / With echoing straits between us" encourages the reader to formulate an image in his or her mind (1-2).
Figurative Language: Alliteration is the most prominent form of figurative language present in this poem. Alliteration is first evident in line 3 with the phrase "watery wild." "To Marguerite" is also filled with several adjectives that supplement the meaning of the poem. Examples include "enclasping flow," "endless bounds," and "estranging sea" (5, 6, 24). Also, the poem contains a simile in line 13 -- "a longing like despair" -- and in lines 19-20 metaphorically compare desire to a flame.
Tone: The tone of "To Marguerite" is sorrowful, yet bitter, as displayed by "O then a longing like despair / Is to their farthest caverns sent!" (13-14).
Theme: Sometimes people--lovers, in this case--become isolated, whether by accident or by some external force.
Conclusion: After analyzing the poem, I uncovered the symbolism in "To Marguerite" and have formulated a deeper understand of its meaning, as well as Arnold's purpose for writing the poem. Arnold has written this poem for a lover, Marguerite, from whom he has become distanced. This poem expresses his feelings of isolation and despair and questions the reason why they have become separated. The last few lines indicate his search for someone or something to blame for his loss of Marguerite--perhaps it was society, God, or even fate.
SWIFTT:
Syntax/Word Choice: Interestingly, "To Marguerite" begins with the word "yes," which is unusual in poetry and indicates that the poem is in response to or a continuation of a previous poem. "To Marguerite" is composed of four stanzas. These stanzas vary in the number of sentences present, but they all have a similar structure with complex sentences. It is also notable that there are four exclamations in this poem. The words chosen provoke images in the mind of the reader and were chosen specifically to achieve rhyme and alliteration in the poem.
Imagery: By including numerous adjectives, "To Marguerite" contains a great amount of imagery. For example, "Yes: in the sea of life enisled, / With echoing straits between us" encourages the reader to formulate an image in his or her mind (1-2).
Figurative Language: Alliteration is the most prominent form of figurative language present in this poem. Alliteration is first evident in line 3 with the phrase "watery wild." "To Marguerite" is also filled with several adjectives that supplement the meaning of the poem. Examples include "enclasping flow," "endless bounds," and "estranging sea" (5, 6, 24). Also, the poem contains a simile in line 13 -- "a longing like despair" -- and in lines 19-20 metaphorically compare desire to a flame.
Tone: The tone of "To Marguerite" is sorrowful, yet bitter, as displayed by "O then a longing like despair / Is to their farthest caverns sent!" (13-14).
Theme: Sometimes people--lovers, in this case--become isolated, whether by accident or by some external force.
Conclusion: After analyzing the poem, I uncovered the symbolism in "To Marguerite" and have formulated a deeper understand of its meaning, as well as Arnold's purpose for writing the poem. Arnold has written this poem for a lover, Marguerite, from whom he has become distanced. This poem expresses his feelings of isolation and despair and questions the reason why they have become separated. The last few lines indicate his search for someone or something to blame for his loss of Marguerite--perhaps it was society, God, or even fate.
No comments:
Post a Comment