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LINES WRITTEN IN KENSINGTON GARDEN

In this lone, open glade I lie,


Screen'd by deep boughs on either hand;
And at its end, to stay the eye,
Those black-crown'd, red-boled pine-trees stand!

Birds here make song, each bird has his,


Across the girdling city's hum.
How green under the boughs it is!
How thick the tremulous sheep-cries come!

Sometimes a child will cross the glade


To take his nurse his broken toy;
Sometimes a thrush flit overhead
Deep in her unknown day's employ.

Here at my feet what wonders pass,


What endless, active life is here!
What blowing daisies, fragrant grass!
An air-stirr'd forest, fresh and clear.

Scarce fresher is the mountain-sod


Where the tired angler lies, stretch'd out,
And, eased of basket and of rod,
Counts his day's spoil, the spotted trout.

In the huge world, which roars hard by,


Be others happy if they can!
But in my helpless cradle I
Was breathed on by the rural Pan.

I, on men's impious uproar hurl'd,


Think often, as I hear them rave,
That peace has left the upper world
And now keeps only in the grave.

Yet here is peace for ever new!


When I who watch them am away,
Still all things in this glade go through
The changes of their quiet day.

Then to their happy rest they pass!


The flowers upclose, the birds are fed,
The night comes down upon the grass,
The child sleeps warmly in his bed.

Calm soul of all things! make it mine


To feel, amid the city's jar,
That there abides a peace of thine,
Man did not make, and cannot mar.

The will to neither strive nor cry,


The power to feel with others give!
Calm, calm me more! nor let me die
Before I have begun to live.

The Kensington Gardens form one of the many beautiful public parks of London. They are
located in the Kensington parish, a western suburb of the city, lying north of the Thames and
four miles west-southwest of St. Paul's. In his poem Arnold contrasts the serenity of nature
with the restlessness of modern life. He is relaxing in the air of a “lone, open glade,” begs an
inner peace from the “Calm soul of all things.” Setting of the poem is an open green meadow.
Rhyme scheme is abab. The style is Quatrain-quatrain.

He was a mid-Victorian poet; the time period of growing doubt and scepticism. He talked about
his age as an age of bewildering confusion and spiritual chaos. He was writing at a time when
religion was under tremendous pressure from the sciences and evolutionary theory. Technology
was taking a grip on life. Matthew Arnold thought that poetry would replace conventional
religion and become the new spiritual force in society.

THEME:

Nature is closer to God. He’s comparing urban and rural life, and materialism and simplicity.

He’s showing revolt against industrialism and condemning materialistic society. The
urbanization and impending industrialism are the causes of problems of man. Arnold expresses
strong feelings against the rapid modernization he saw during the Victorian period.

ANALYSIS:

Arnold composed this poem as he observed nature at Kensington Gardens, London, England.
He relays the sights and sounds of pine trees, birds, and children at play. As he ponders the
beauty of nature, he also gives insight into his feelings on urban life. It is evident that Arnold
feels nature provides a spiritual retreat from the problems of industrialized society. He uses
beautiful imagery and other poetic devices to convey his awe of the nature as well as his
disillusionment with life as it is in the city.

“Arnold is considered the bridge between Romanticism and Modernism; he used symbolic
landscapes characteristic of the Romantic Era, but he was sceptical and pessimistic, qualities
more associated with Modernist poetry (Matthew Arnold).” This is a logical statement when
one considers the timing of Arnold’s life and career, and it is applicable to this poem. “Lines
Written in Kensington Gardens” describes his beautiful surroundings, but at the same time
expresses his scepticism about urban life. The overall theme of this poem is best captured in
the tenth stanza. “Calm soul of all things! Make it mine/ To feel, amid the city’s jar, That
there abides a peace of thine, Man did not make, and cannot mar.” In other words, ultimate
peace is found within Nature, existing apart from the modern inventions of man.

The use of imagery is essential in setting the tone of this poem, and true to the author’s style.
“Arnold's poetry places high value on natural scenery; he appreciated it for its constancy and
steadfastness, since when juxtaposed with humankind, it changes so little and so slowly. His
descriptions of nature are picturesque, and admired elements like subdued colours, mist, and
moonlight (Matthew Arnold).” The first example is found early in the poem in line four,
“black-crown’d, red-boled pine-trees stand” and is again seen in the fifth stanza, “Scarce
fresher is the mountain-sod/ Where the tired angler lies, stretch’d out, And, eased of basked
and of rod, Counts his day’s spoil, the spotted trout.” Such imagery conveys Arnold’s
thoughts to his audience in a manner that is both reflective and melancholy. The first five
stanzas portray a reflective stance as exemplified by “Here at my feet what wonders pass,
What endless, active life is here! What blowing daisies, fragrant grass! An air-stirr’d forest,
fresh and clear (Arnold).” However, a shift occurs between the fifth and sixth stanzas. The
poem assumes a melancholier quality for its remainder. As seen in the seventh stanza. “I, on
men’s impious uproar hurl’d, Think often, as I hear them rave, That peace has left the upper
world/ And now keeps only in the grave,”. Arnold uses an alternate rhyme scheme, such as
“lie/hand/eye/stand,” to help the reader effortlessly navigate the poem.

Arnolds uses personification throughout his work to create an emphasis on the individuality
of nature in comparison to the status quo of society. For example, in the second stanza, “Birds
here make song, each bird has his, across the girdling city’s hum,”. This personifies the
city’s hum, letting the reader know when all songs are together they tend to drown one another
out therefore losing individuality. Arnold knows that the birds are not singing and the city is
not humming, but by giving these inhuman object human characteristics, it makes it easier for
the reader to envision and understand the meaning of this scene. In addition, Arnold masterfully
paints his anti-urbanization beliefs through the personification of the world by saying “In the
huge world, which roars hard by, Be others happy if they can!” This leads the reader to infer
that Arnold himself does not find happiness or peace through urbanization, and to make the
connection that he finds peace within nature

One significant example of allusion is found in “Lines Written in Kensington Gardens.” It is


found in last two lines of the sixth stanza, “But in my helpless cradle I/ Was breathed on by
the rural Pan.” Matthew Arnold expects that his audience will be educated about the Greek
god Pan in order to derive meaning from the text. In Greek mythology, Pan represents the god
of fields, wild Shepard flocks, and the season of spring.

THE LAST WORD: CRITICAL EVALUATION


CREEP into thy narrow bed,
Creep, and let no more be said!
Vain thy onset! all stands fast;
Thou thyself must break at last.

Let the long contention cease!


Geese are swans, and swans are geese.
Let them have it how they will!
Thou art tired; best be still!

They out-talk‘d thee, hiss‘d thee, tore thee.


Better men fared thus before thee;
Fired their ringing shot and pass‘d,
Hotly charged — and broke at last

STANZA 1:

Arnold advises his readers. He wants them to rise beyond the altercation, and as if it was the in
the early hours of morning, and they were incredibly exhausted, ―creep‖ into bed, he
commands. The other implication of ―creep‖ could be that the author is implying a need to
surrender ourselves to the humiliation of giving up. But then Arnold questions, ―Vain thy
onset!‖, meaning, Why not give up when triumph is impossible? ―All stands fast‖ means that
no one will budge an inch. We must ―break at last,‖ but better to bend, to buckle under and
tactically retreat, than break down entirely.

STANZA 2:

The call for the need to be proved right, does not trump the requirement for peace, conversely
establishing our correctness. The ―long contention‖ must cease even if that means we have to
succumb to people’s irrationality. The narrative portrayal of hissing and tearing brings about
the verbal brutality of rational wits while implying that they are better than the snakes or cats.
It might be irrational as to what their beliefs might be, and Arnold illustrates this with an
example. They could claim ―geese are swans‖ but they would never admit they are incorrect.
He says, that the truth will reveal itself when the time would be right.

STANZA 3:

In the third stanza, Arnold warns us that the ―better men‖ than ourselves have been in identical
situations; more courageous men who have ―fired their ringing shot‖ and still been ―sunk‖.

STANZA 4:

In the fourth and last stanza, Arnold cries out in irritation and annoyance, in a manner as if we
had denied his advice and swore to continue, ―Charge once more, then, and be dumb!‖ In other
words, he meant, try to proceed to have one more try and then be quiet forever. The mentions
of ―forts of folly‖ and the ―body by the wall‖ illustrate this battle as a siege, where the
virtuous few confront the proud citadel of the many.
TYPE OF WORK AND DATE OF COMPOSITION:

It is a lyrical poem having 4 quatrains with regular rhyming scheme. Its meter is iambic
pentameter. The poem’s tone is depressing, and sorrowful. It is about the two groups who are
constantly supporting their point of view. It was written after 1857 but published in 1867 in
New Poems.

RHETORICAL DEVICES:

Alliteration: "forts of folly fail", When the forts of folly fall,

Onomatopoeia: "hissed" and "ringing shot"

Imagery: "creep", "hotly charged", and "charge"

Analogy of war is used in the last stanza. People used to lock themselves in forts during war
and some used to fight outside.

THEME:

The poem is about the power play of words and unending argument or argument for the sake
of argument; everybody wants the last word. Poet attacks the two groups engaged in debate as
if in a battle to achieve victory over the other but in the long debate the actual point is lost. The
message that he gives is that it is not important who is more vigorous or stern in their view but
truth and humility ultimately win.

IN AN ARTIST’S STUDIO

One face looks out from all his canvasses,


One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans;
We found her hidden just behind those screens,
That mirror gave back all her loveliness.
A queen in opal or in ruby dress,
A nameless girl in freshest summer greens,
A saint, an angel; – every canvass means
The same one meaning, neither more nor less.
He feeds upon her face by day and night,
And she with true kind eyes looks back on him
Fair as the moon and joyful as the light:
Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim;
Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright;
Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.

THEME:

Throughout her poem, Christina Rossetti knocks the traditional depiction of women of
Victorian poetry and portrays a subject longing to be viewed as more than an aesthetically
beautiful item. The most striking theme of this poem is “female objectification”. Rossetti
demonstrates this through the various female models who appear in the artist’s painting.
There is the “queen”, for example, the “nameless girl” and the “angel”. She wants the reader
to realize that these identities are a male creation and do not reflect the true range of female
experience.

ANALYSIS:

It is important to note the poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, goes abbaabbacdcdce.

The first two lines, “One face looks out from all his canvasses, / One selfsame figure sits or
walks or leans,” opens this sonnet with the use of repetition. “One face” and “One selfsame
figure” suggests that the artist has trouble depicting his subject in any realistic fashion. The
context of the painting does not matter. “One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans,” shows
that it doesn’t matter where the subject is, what she is doing, or what she is thinking, because
the centre of all the works is her “One face,” and it is always painted the same.

The following two lines, “We found her hidden just behind those screens, / That mirror gave
back all her loveliness” (3-4) are ironic because line 3 suggests, with the word “We,” that the
two in the studio, artist and subject, discussed how to bring the portrait to life, which is “hidden
just behind those screens,” or canvasses. This life in the portrait would have to entail
imperfections, lest the subject is made to seem as a Greek Goddess. However, the metaphor in
line 4, “That mirror,” which is meant to be the artist’s eyes, “gave back all her loveliness.” In
other words, they took away all of her imperfections, because, like a mirror, the artist’s eyes
are only able to see what is on the surface and nothing deeper. This becomes crystal clear in
the following three lines: “A queen in opal or in ruby dress, / A nameless girl in freshest
summer greens, / A saint, an angel” (5-7). In lines 5 and 7 Rossetti uses overstatement when
the subject is compared to a queen, a saint and an angel, and in line 6, sandwiched between
these comparisons sits “A nameless girl,” being crushed by the high standards thrust upon her.

In lines 7 through 8 we have the statement “—every canvas means / The same one meaning,
neither more nor less.” I believe the subject wishes to be seen as more than a physical beauty
with a marble face, but what is interesting is that she states “neither more nor less,” which to
me means she would rather not be depicted at all if she is seen as only one thing; she is a human
being, and therefore multi-faceted, and if this cannot be shown, better to have less than one
meaning, which would be none at all.

In the next line Rossetti employs synaesthesia, or a confusion of the senses: “He feeds upon
her face by day and night,” (9). The artist’s eyes feast, rather than gaze, upon this singular,
beautiful obsession he is painting over and over again, as if he relies on the image for
sustenance. She is benign as she accepts this predatory and parasitic feeding with “true kind
eyes” looking back on him. Line 11 shows the beautiful personality of the model as for the
artist, she’s flawless as moon and joyful as light. The poem lends emphasis to “Wan with
waiting,” as if the subject is waiting over and over again for the artist to produce an accurate
portrayal. In the last two lines, it’s shown as the girl in artist’s painting is not even allowed
faculty of her own emotions. “But was when hope shone bright” means that she was used for
experimentation of aestheticism. in herself no human feelings does exist as “she fills his
dream.”

A BIRTHDAY

My heart is like a singing bird


Whose nest is in a water’d shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Raise me a dais of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.
ANALYSIS:
STANZA 1:

1-2) Christina Rossetti celebrates her state of bliss on finding the love of her life - God. The
poet is unable to contain her emotions and opens the poem with a simile, comparing her heart
(representing emotion) to a singing bird. Rossetti goes on to add that she feels like a bird
nestling in a shoot that is succulent and nourishing.

3-4) In the next simile she compares her heart to an apple tree whose branches are laden with
fruit. The word 'bent' is representative of the humbleness she experiences through her love for
God.

5-6) The poet compares her heart to a little shell reflecting the colours of the rainbow as it
moves gently along the calm sea-bed.

7-8) Unable to contain her joy, she uses the comparative degree “gladder” to indicate that she
feels more than all these things, the reason being that her love has found her.
The imagery used in the first stanza draws on familiar natural objects but can also be read at
another level in the light of Rossetti's knowledge of the Bible. In the second verse, the focus is
on artificial objects hung, carved and worked by human hands. Various images in this verse
demonstrate an awareness of traditional Christian art, as well as reflecting and celebrating
human creativity.
A singing bird - To a ‘singing bird' (line 1), vocal expression is as natural as breathing. By
speaking of her ‘heart' in these terms, the speaker indicates that her song forms a natural part
of herself and is an overflow of her identity.
A watered shoot - By having a ‘nest' in a ‘watered shoot' (line 2), the speaker suggests that the
sustenance upon which she can live and rest has been provided:

 The word shoot alludes to the first stages of growth of a plant as it emerges from the
ground. By describing a shoot as ‘well watered', the poem conveys ideas of lushness
and fertility. However, rather than making a nest in a full-grown tree, by making it in a
shoot, the singing bird remains in a place of fragility, since it is easy to uproot or destroy
a shoot
 The idea of being watered has biblical connotations. In the Old Testament book
of Isaiah, the believers in Jerusalem are encouraged by God's promise that he will guide
them and provide for their needs:

An apple tree - The image of the ‘apple tree / Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit'
(lines 3-4) would be as she compares her heart to the apple-tree, which is laden or bent because
of thickset fruit, and gives a promise of the nourishment of fruit.

 Mention of apples might also lead Rossetti's readers to think of the accounts of the first
humans in the Garden of Eden before the Fall where they lived in perfect peace with
nature and one another. It is also likely that Rossetti is alluding to the biblical concept
of the Tree of Life.

Rainbow … halcyon - By speaking of her heart as a ‘rainbow shell / That paddles in a


halcyon sea' (lines 5-6), the speaker provides an image of exuberant colour drifting at ease in
tranquil waters.

 According to the Bible, the image of the rainbow refers to the fulfilment of God's
promises, when God helped Noah to escape the flood which wiped out the known
world. He then set a
 The term ‘halcyon' comes from the Greek myth of a bird (possibly a kingfisher) which
was said to breed about the time of the winter solstice in a nest floating on the sea.
According to ancient writers, it charmed the wind and waves so that the sea was
especially calm during the period.
o For English readers, the phrase ‘halcyon days' was associated with ideas of joy,
prosperity and tranquillity
o The poem's speaker uses the image of the halcyon sea to indicate the deep
comfort and rest she has found.

By ending the first verse with the declaration that her ‘heart is gladder than all these' (line 7),
the speaker indicates that descriptions of the natural world are incapable of fully expressing
her exuberant emotional state.
Pathetic fallacy - The speaker of A Birthday uses the technique of pathetic fallacy when she
gives emotions to the ‘apple tree' full of fruit and the ‘rainbow shell'. This is the treatment of
inanimate objects, such as trees and houses, as if they had human feelings, thought or
sensations.
STANZA 2:

9) Rossetti shifts from comparison to worship. She craves to set up an alter decorated with the
finest things money can buy like silk and soft feathers. (tactile imagery)

10) She declares her intention to decorate the alter with soft squirrel fur and fabric flaunting
purple dyes.

11) She talks about carvings of doves, the birds of peace, and pomegranates.

12) She also mentions peacock feathers flaunting numerous eyes.

13) Rossetti also talks about decorating the alter with carvings of gold and silver grapes.

14) She craves to worship God from a space that is rich with decorative elements such as silver
fleurs-de-lys.

15) Rossetti finally declares in this curtail sonnet the reason for her joy being her rejuvenation
of soul in her love for God.

16) Rossetti declares with heart full of gratitude that her love has come to her.

The Temple - Rossetti draws on the imagery used in the Old Testament to discuss the Temple
which symbolised God's presence with his people. For the Jews in the Old Testament, the
Temple was the place where they met with God. A Birthday mentions purple hangings, carved
fruit and statues of animals, which all figure in the descriptions of Solomon's Temple.
A Dais - The word ‘dais' (line 9) indicates a raised platform. The speaker seems to envisage a
structure built in celebration of the return of her love. The ‘silk and down' from which it is
made are materials of softness and luxury, as well as conveying lightness, which adds to the
sense of uplifting that the poem conveys

 ‘Dais' is also a word commonly associated with the raised part of a church upon which
the altar and communion table are placed.
Royalty and nobility - The imagery of ‘vair', ‘purple', ‘gold', ‘silver' and ‘fleur-de-lys' (line
10) is imagery traditionally associated with royalty and nobility.

 ‘vair' is an expensive fur obtained from a variety of squirrel with a grey back and white
belly. It was often used in the 13th and 14th centuries as a trimming or lining for
garments and is associated with heraldry
 The dye used to create purple tones was so expensive it was only available to the rich
and therefore, became a colour associated with royalty
 Precious metals are associated with crowns and other regalia
 The fleur–de-lys is a heraldic symbol derived from the lily. It was often engraved on
the armour of royalty.

Birds - Following the description of the singing bird in the first verse, the second alludes to
representation of doves and peacocks on the dais.

 Dove is used in the Bible to represent:


o Reconciliation and peace. This arises from the story of Noah, when a dove sent
out from the Ark returns with an olive leaf in its beak, signifying that the flood
was over.
o The Holy Spirit, as at the baptism of Jesus.
 The description of ‘peacocks with a hundred eyes' (line 12) corresponds to a traditional
and mythical understanding of the bird as a symbol of all-seeing God as well as
immortality of God.

MODERN LOVE BY GEORGE MEREDITH

Modern love is a series of 50 sonnets. These are 16-line sonnets instead of 14 lines. The title
modern love is autobiographical in nature. It was about the relationship of Meredith and his
wife Marry Ellen Peacock, daughter of Thomas peacock. Though she was married to him but
she was not in love with Meredith at all and she had never accepted that relationship. A few
years later, she took divorce from Meredith and re-married. This sonnet sequence has four main
characters, Meredith himself, his wife, his wife’s lover and one of his beloved as well, whom
he has not mentioned. But later on, he discussed that it was Nicol. It was like a secret
relationship with her. We had the story from the point of view of Meredith. He hasn’t
mentioned his relationship. This modern series is known “novella in poetry”. The poem was
written in 1860s; the time when society was expecting that the couple has to turn up as a happy
couple and in this sonnet series Meredith has talked about the unhappiness and pain of a modern
loveless marriage.

In this poem he has also criticized divorce law. Marriage is a contract which is made by two
parties for themselves. Unfortunately, during the Victorian time Meredith believed this thing
that if you’re not happy in this relationship and your partner is not inclined towards you, this
union should not go long.
In the excerpt of George Meredith’s Modern Love, the author explores the realities of “modern
love” and the pain it causes. The sixteen-line sonnet expresses the feelings and views of a
miserably married couple, who suffer in spite of their true feelings; the married couple
embodies the ideal “modern love” relationship, privately living in agony rather than upset
society and its expectations. Meredith comments on society and the forced marriage, showing
how they ruin a person and hope for the future. Through the use of the wife’s true feelings, the
husband’s reaction, and their overall relationship, Meredith conveys “modern love” as an
empty, painful commitment defined and reviewed by society.

Throughout history and the sonnet, “modern love” can be understood as loveless marriage,
only present for social status and stability. Seeming how the poem is set in the 1860s—the
Victorian era, the couple was most likely forced into marriage and union that neither wished,
yet society approved of and expected. In the time period of the poem, marriage was not
liberated—couples were arranged by duty to society and families. While the marriage is
represented as “modern love”, it is not love at all, rather, a contract to please society. The
passage of George Meredith’s Modern Love expresses the feelings of those who suffer from
the unruly contract; while “modern love” did not concern feelings and expression, Meredith
uses the couple’s true feelings to express the unhappiness and pain of a “modern love”
marriage. In other words, he is condemning Victorian era.

Though the title of the poem is Modern Love, the relationship the couple shares is not one of
love, but of secret pain and emptiness. To the casual reader, the couple would not symbolize
anything and only shows the unhappiness of one couple; the poem would not represent
“modern love”. However, when taking the setting in consideration, it can be seen that the
couple represents those of the time period and new love, which is not love at all. The feeling
of love has been replaced with the convention of marriage, which is forced and unfulfilled. The
man and woman married in order to conform to society; neither shows true love or passion for
the other. At the end of the poem, the couple shares only one common wish; rather than be of
love or hope for their marriage, they wish for “the sword that severs all", showing that they
would rather die and be separated than stay unhappily, hopelessly married. The desire for death
over marriage showcases “modern love”; Meredith’s diction shows the unfulfilled,
unpromising relationship covered by a socially approved title of “marriage”.
Through the story of a suffering wife and an unhappy husband, Meredith comments on the
reality of the world and what marriage came to represent. Instead of encompassing the love
and passion of two people, marriage and love were replaced by society’s expectations.
Meredith suggests that life should not be one of sobbing at night and wishing for death but
hoping for the future. Yet, the couple does not resist society or its expectations; they would
rather suffer in privacy than rebel against the oppressing views of family and friends. Because
the couple will not rebel against their community and society, they are frozen in an unhappy
relationship, forced into a marriage neither desires. They embody the reality of love and
marriage of their time period; “modern love” is not love at all.

By this he knew she wept with waking eyes:


That, at his hand's light quiver by her head,
The strange low sobs that shook their common bed
Were called into her with a sharp surprise,
And strangled mute, like little gaping snakes,
Dreadfully venomous to him. She lay
Stone-still, and the long darkness flowed away
With muffled pulses. Then, as midnight makes
Her giant heart of Memory and Tears
Drink the pale drug of silence, and so beat
Sleep's heavy measure, they from head to feet
Were moveless, looking through their dead black years,
By vain regret scrawled over the blank wall.
Like sculptured effigies they might be seen
Upon their marriage-tomb, the sword between;
Each wishing for the sword that severs all.

As the title is being concerned, love has changed its connotation. In the first sonnet, he is being
sympathetic towards his wife when he realizes that she is forced to live in a loveless
relationship. It is said by some of the critics that the wife stands as an epitome of truth because
she admitted that she is in a loveless relationship and the only option she’s left with is either
death or to resign to her fate.

Because of industrialization, increasing notion of progress, and materialism, love is being


devoid of its emotions and its true sense. Love, which is considered as the existence of this
universe, and the supreme emotion of this world, this modern love is making love devoid of its
true meaning.

The poem is in third person narration. It is a 16-line sonnet. It is a deviation form the traditional
form of sonnet which is 14 lines but it is following the Shakespearean sonnet structure i.e. 3
quatrains and one couplet. Here, there are four quatrains with the rhyme scheme of abba cddc
efffe ghhg.

In Modern Love, the husband recognizes the pained relationship he and his wife share; he
represents the empty, unwanted feelings of “modern love”. As the poem unfolds, the husband
acknowledges his wife’s unhappiness and misery. Meredith writes "By this he knew she wept
with waking eyes”, recognizing that perhaps the man has become accustom to his wife’s
weeping and pain, her actions familiar. The first line of the poem begins the dark theme,
showing how the husband has seen his wife’s suffering. While the man is aware of his wife’s
pain, he does not pity her or feel sorrow; instead, he despises her and her actions Instead of
being a couple full of love and passion for each other, he recognizes her pain as present as his
own; the man attempts to comfort his wife and places “his hand’s light quiver by her head”,
perhaps suggesting that he understands her pain and sympathizes with her. By showing how
the woman’s suffering affects the man, they represent a couple of “modern love”; they are not
happy nor expressively in love, rather suffering and staying together in spite. The man’s
reaction to his wife throughout the poem expresses his true feelings and the distaste for his
marriage.

Likewise, the wife in Modern Love expresses how the marriage was forced upon her and
transforms her into an empty, deathly state; her pain and loveless marriage representing a true
“modern love”. Her marriage is seen as a burden, something she desperately wants to escape,
though she lives in ignorance to the facts. As she sobs in her bed, she is confronted with “sharp
surprise”, refusing to believe that she is so unhappy and pained. By refusing the truth, the
woman represents that of a “modern love” wife, one who hides her true feelings and suffers for
the sake of a socially accepted and expected marriage; though the woman is not happy, she
remains married. The consequences of the marriage weigh heavily on the woman, as Meredith
describes her sobs as “strangled mute, like little gaping snakes”. The man explains that her
voice and sounds are “Dreadfully venomous to him.” As his wife lay in bed unhappy and in
pain, he lay in bed poisoned by the sound of his own wife; her crying and suffering only
worsens the situation. The reality of the situation crushes the woman, “strangled” portraying
how hopeless her marriage is. Likewise, it represents the force upon her, pushing her into
marriage and to stay married though she is unhappy. “Strangled” also symbolizes death, as well
as the phrase “stone-still”. The next lines hint at the wife’s feeling of death, (“Stone-still”)
showing her complete hopelessness at the situation imposed on her. Lines 8-12 have the
same dark imagery (“Pale drug of silence”, “Sleep’s heavy measure”, “move-less”,
“Dead black years”), but those same images fit into another, larger image. The author
uses them to describe her “Giant heart of memories and tears.” He says that her wife’s
heart contains memories of her past relationship which are followed by tears. Meredith
clearly shows the long-lasting nature of the wife’s pain, as well as the multitude of
sleepless nights that all weigh against her heart. It is so painful for him i.e. it beats the
audacities in them, makes them unable to sleep as he says

“drink the pale drug of silence, and so beat

Sleep’s heavy measure,”

In the next lines Meredith says that it’s quite evident that their relationship will yield to
nothing. The unfaithfulness of his wife will break their relationship. Also, he thinks about
his past days which he had spent with his wife and calls them as “dead black year”. It
shows that their marriage isn’t having any memory but whatever they have is regret; so
many regrets that when he thinks of future, it looks like black and empty.

The choice of the word “effigies” could possibly be the most significant of the entire work.
Effigies are stone representations of a person, normally used only after death. Effigy is a
replica of something. The image of death is repeated in the 15th and 16th lines as well,

(Upon their marriage-tomb, the sword between;

Each wishing for the sword that severs all)


these lines are used to show the reader several things. Their bed-room is compared to
marriage tomb; it is compared to a grave where the burial is being done. The grave of their
emotions, love. Whenever someone comes into their bed room, it is quite evident. First,
the emotional death of the parties involved, second the death of the marital bond i.e.
divorce, and third the longing for literal death. It can also be interpreted as the only way
to cut off their relationship is divorce because both of them wanted to get divorce.

It ended, and the morrow brought the task.


Her eyes were guilty gates, that let him in
By shutting all too zealous for their sin:
Each sucked a secret, and each wore a mask.
But, oh, the bitter taste her beauty had!
He sickened as at breath of poison-flowers:
A languid humour stole among the hours,
And if their smiles encountered, he went mad,
And raged deep inward, till the light was brown
Before his vision, and the world forgot,
Looked wicked as some old dull murder-spot.
A star with lurid beams, she seemed to crown
The pit of infamy: and then again
He fained on his vengefulness, and strove
To ape the magnanimity of love,
And smote himself, a shuddering heap of pain.

EXPLANATION:

THE HOUSE OF LIFE: CHOICE 1 BY DANTE

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was a painter and poet. He was the founder of pre-
Raphaelite brotherhood. The Pre-Raphaelite movement, which was initiated by Dante Gabriel
Rossetti in the mid-nineteenth century, was originally not a literary but an artistic movement.
Rossetti, himself a painter (and a poet as well), felt that contemporary paintings had become
too formal, academic, and unrealistic. The creed of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was “an
entire adherence to the simplicity of art.” Rossetti and some other members of the Brotherhood
were both painters and poets. Consequently, Pre-Raphaelitism, not remaining confined to
painting, made itself felt in English poetry. The qualities which distinguished Pre-Raphaelite
painting also characterised Pre-Raphaelite poetry. In poetry the movement came in the shape
of a revolt against contemporary poetry of the kind of Tennyson’s which was full of tradition
and involved in the immediate, mundane problems of contemporary society. The Pre-
Raphaelites opposed the dominance of the British Royal Academy, which championed a
narrow range of idealized or moral subjects and conventional definitions of beauty drawn from
Renaissance and ancient classical art. In contrast, the Pre-Raphaelites were inspired by the
"pre-Raphaelite" period, that is, the centuries preceding the Italian High Renaissance. They
believed painters before the Renaissance provided a model for depicting nature and the human
body realistically, rather than idealistically, and that collective guilds of medieval craftspeople
offered an alternative vision of artistic community to mid-19th-century industrialized arts.

In short, they believed natural images should be reincarnated where beauty (sensual and
physical beauty) should be at the top. Their contribution was the unity of matter and spirit.

CHOICES are the sonnets taken from his larger collection “the house of life.” His poetry is
flashy school of poetry because of the erotic images he has used in his poetry. It is said that his
poetry/paintings revolve around “idealization of women beauty” and reflects best the later
Victorian attitudes. The main themes of these sonnets are metaphysical uncertainty, sexual
anxiety, and fear of time. All these sonnets open with an imperative. These are a record of
Dante lifetime.

STRUCTURE (FORM):

These sonnets combine the form of Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets. Choice 1 and 2
depict the journey of self-realization and self-exploration.

The House of Life is the record of a lifetime. It is the sonnet cycle of 132 sonnets. In this
continually growing and changing sequence of poems, Rossetti recorded the subtlest shifts in
a life torn between two great doomed passions: his love for his wife, Elizabeth Siddal, whom
he married in 1860 but who died only two years later; and his love for his mistress, Jane Morris,
who was married to his friend, colleague, and business partner William Morris.

CHOICE 1:

Eat thou and drink; to-morrow thou shalt die.


Surely the earth, that's wise being very old,
Needs not our help. Then loose me, love, and hold
Thy sultry hair up from my face; that I
May pour for thee this golden wine, brim-high,
Till round the glass thy fingers glow like gold.
We'll drown all hours: thy song, while hours are toll'd,
Shall leap, as fountains veil the changing sky.

Now kiss, and think that there are really those,


My own high-bosom'd beauty, who increase
Vain gold, vain lore, and yet might choose our way!
Through many years they toil; then on a day
They die not,—for their life was death,—but cease;
And round their narrow lips the mould falls close.

EXPLANATION:

Themes of this sonnet are worldly enjoyment and physical beauty. He talks about the life of
sensuous pleasure and rates sexual pleasure as the highest. In this sonnet, he’ll be making fun
of those who deny sexuality and favour other kinds of pleasure. Life under physical pleasure.

“Eat and drink”, it’s the epicurean philosophy, showing that the purpose of life is to enjoy.
“tomorrow thou shalt die” means that no one can see tomorrow, no one can see what will
happen; it’s uncertain to everybody. But the ultimate truth is that everybody will die one day.
Life is short-lived so instead of fearing or worrying about future, one should live in the present.

Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based on the teachings of Epicurus, founded around


307 B.C. It teaches that the greatest good is to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state
of tranquillity, freedom from fear ("ataraxia") and absence from bodily pain ("aponia").
This combination of states is held to constitute happiness in its highest form, and so
Epicureanism can be considered a form of Hedonism, although it differs in its conception of
happiness as the absence of pain, and in its advocacy of a simple life.

In the second line, earth is being used as a metaphor, having a broad connotation. Poet says
that when he looks at this earth (society), he finds that this society has been existing for a long
time without anyone’s help. This society doesn’t require any kind of assistance from anyone.
In other words, he’s making fun of didactic society: society is existing without our effort and
people of today are wise enough to know that they’ll change the society for the better.

In the third line, “sultry” is used as an image for a wild woman. He might be referring to his
wife. His tone is being sensuous here. He’s talking about the act and nature of love and says
that we should focus on the present moment. In the next line “golden wine, brim-high”, he’s
describing the physical beauty of the women. “Gold” means golden hair, and Laura is used as
a symbol here, who was the epitome of beauty. In these lines, he’s talking about the beauty of
his lover. In other words, he’s going away from morality. Also, he’s appreciating his lady love
and says that we’re leading an exemplary and ideal life. As he says “we’ll drown all hours”,
he means when lovers are together, time means nothing to them. In 8th line, he says that as
water covers the sky when it sprouts from a fountain, so the lovers should also cover each other
like that.

In the ninth line, he’s asking his beloved to come closer. He talks about sensuous love and is
enjoying the company of his lover.” “My own high-bosom’d beauty here the physical beauty
of his wife is pointed out. In lines 9-10, he says that we are the people who live in the present
and enjoy the moment, but on the other side, there are some people who are in the pursuit of
something else i.e. materialistic things or fame. Once they see our life (the life of the poet and
his lover), they’ll be impressed by us and choose our way. His focus is on charm and attraction,
which are found in the beauty of women. In 12th line “through many years they toil”, the poet
says that the people who do not belong to our school of poetry, they have put their lives in
suffering. “then on a day they die not…” one day when they’ll die, it won’t be actually death
because their life was death as they lived a life of toil and not of sensuous love; this is why
these people were inwardly dead. According to Dante, such people have no meaning in life.
We’re the people who should be looked forward to; we’re the people who are truly living.
“Round their narrow lips” here mould refers to decay and grave, “folds” is referring to their
burial. In this line, he is referring to the people (who do not know sensuous love) are living
dead, and when they die, their existence will be completely ceased.

CHOICE 2

Watch thou and fear; to-morrow thou shalt die.


Or art thou sure thou shalt have time for death?
Is not the day which God's word promiseth
To come man knows not when? In yonder sky
Now while we speak, the sun speeds forth: can I
Or thou assure him of his goal? God's breath
Even at this moment haply quickeneth
The air to a flame; till spirits, always nigh

Though screen'd and hid, shall walk the daylight here.


And dost thou prate of all that man shall do?
Canst thou, who hast but plagues, presume to be
Glad in his gladness that comes after thee?
Will his strength slay thy worm in Hell? Go to:
Cover thy countenance, and watch, and fear.

THEME:

Choice 2 is more religious and biblical in tone. It is about religious asceticism. This is more
like a soliloquy. As he’s talking to himself, he’s talking about the doubts which arise in his
mind. This is the spiritual uncertainty that can be found in his work which is reflected over
here. He’s raising different questions. It is typical like a man, when he is seeing the end of his
life, who realizes that he has nothing to carry with him. Throughout his life he has pursuit his
life for materialistic things and now when it’s coming to the end of his life he realizes that he
is empty-handed and then he’s raising different questions that when are talking about fate and
destiny, is it all rage? Or what should be the approach that is followed? Choice 2 deals with the
spiritual anxiety.
In the first line, “watch thou and fear”, now this is the change in his attitude. Watch your
actions, your attitudes, and look towards your actions. Now you’ve reached towards the end of
your life, that a day you should realize this thing that if you have not earned anything for the
journey of end, you’re going to die, you are going to meet the end of your life. In line 2, or still
you think that you’re left with enough time and enough moments and still you’re left with
something? In line 3-4, what is the thing that makes us aware and stricken of God’s word?
What makes us do so? We’re not aware of that “when” the day is going to come but God has
promised that a day will come. It’s the fear of this day which makes us do the right things,
which makes us accountable. There’s a day which God has promised and, on that day, we’ll be
all evaluated and judged for whatever we have done in this world.

Lines 4-5, “In yonder sky and sun speeds forth” talking about the ancient celestial spirits. Sun
speeds forth means that time goes on and doesn’t stop for anyone, so you’ll eventually die and
should be afraid of your death. Now, when we look at the sky and even at the celestial bodies,
everything is coming to its journey and its end. Time is passing by quickly, without our
realization the day is coming.

In line 6, “can I or thou” can I or anyone else convince you or can we talk about the sun or
anything else that this your goal and this is how you should go? It’s fine that every person
knows of his acts but through anyone’s preaching, no one leaves their goal and leaves whatever
they’re thinking of. “God’s breath” always nigh means always near. All this universe is just
waiting for a god’s breath. This world is being compared to a candle, and this candle is just
blown away by one breath of God; so, whatever a man thinks high of himself, he is nothing as
compared to the power of God. “till spirits, always nigh” means that the spirit of God and the
spirit of religion is always near, it’s always coming to and end. He’s caught between the
religious thoughts and feelings of anxiety. This is his neurosis that is making him think of that
what is he carrying with himself?

Line 9-10 “though screen’d and hid….that man shall do?” prate means to talk idly. “though
screend and hid” it’s in a moment’s blink, he’s talking about the same thing that there are so
many things which are not clear and revealed. In line 10, he’s talking to religious sermons that
everyone is telling us according to their approach that how you should live your life. Line 11-
12 “canst thou, who hast but……that comes after thee?” presume means understanding or
supposing something. Is it humanly possible to follow the strict religious orthodox moral codes
that are being defined by the creator? He says that there are some people who say that we are
glad in the ways of god. “his gladness” refers to the gladness of their creator. Plagues means
when you’re defaming and damaging something. There are some of you who understand and
from all the religious talks and say that they are glad in HIS gladness. Is it really possible that
you are being prescribed by those rules and you’re really clear that you’re happy in his
gladness? “comes after thee” means that you’re following your path. Is it really possible that
you can blindly follow the religious path and religious code that is being prescribed by religious
authorities?

Line 13-14 “will his strength slay thy…..and watch and fear” here worm refers to the bad
deeds and wrong actions which people have done in their lives. It’s fine that some people claim
that they have understood the ways of god and say that they are glad in his gladness. But what
about the others who have not done so? What about the ones who have not laid their lives
according the paths prescribed by god? Will they be tortured in hell? Will they suffer in hell?
Will they be perished in hell just like worms? “go to” means think over and try to find the
answer. “cover thy countenance” means look at your behaviour, try to mend your ways. “fear”
means the fear of having nothing and fear of punishment because he knows that his end is
coming towards him. Spiritual anxiety is reflected over here. When you’re planning the journey
of your after world, what are you having with you? You still have time, mend your ways. Fear
of being questionable. What about the people like me who have lead a life of pleasure and how
they are going to be treated?

CHOICE 3

Think thou and act; to-morrow thou shalt die


Outstretch'd in the sun's warmth upon the shore,
Thou say'st: "Man's measur'd path is all gone o'er:
Up all his years, steeply, with strain and sigh,
Man clomb until he touch'd the truth; and I,
Even I, am he whom it was destin'd for."
How should this be? Art thou then so much more
Than they who sow'd, that thou shouldst reap thereby?

Nay, come up hither. From this wave-wash'd mound


Unto the furthest flood-brim look with me;
Then reach on with thy thought till it be drown'd.
Miles and miles distant though the last line be,
And though thy soul sail leagues and leagues beyond,—
Still, leagues beyond those leagues, there is more sea.

THEME:
Choice 3 is about self-realization and self-development. He’s looking for the appropriate path
which leads him to acceptance of self and world. It is about fate and destiny. If everything is
pre-destined then why there is a need to try? If everything is pre-decided then why should we
try? He’s talking about theory of self-development that how one should live. Here he is less
religious and more practical.

Line 1 “think thou and act” if you’re contemplating over something, this is the high time that
you should start acting upon your thinking because a day will come when you’ll be no more.
Everything has come to an end. He’s not talking about the life of contemplation but a life of
action. Line 2 “outstretch’d in the sun’s warmth” there are people who are just enjoying the
sunlight in the shore. He is saying that throughout our life we all struggle. We’re trying and
trying and trying. We’re evolved to struggle in our life to achieve something better. “man’s
measured path is all gone over” there is a path that is being set for your life and you’ve walked
over that path. Line 4 “strain and sigh” means it’s not a comfortable journey but a difficult
one. When you’re covering up this path, this path is not an easy one.
Line 5 “man clomb until he touched the truth” clomb refers to climb. The biggest
achievement of a man is that I have touched the truth, I have seen whatever it was meant for.
In line 6, he says that when I think of it that I have touched the truth and I have gained this
achievement, it is something which was already decided and preordained. It was written in my
destiny that I am going to own this achievement. Line 7 “how should this be?” he says that
this is the approach of the people who are just laying back and enjoying and they believe that
we should not strain and sigh. They’re comparing themselves with those people who have
strived in their life and did efforts and hard work to achieve a goal in their life. Both of them
are same. There’s nothing to appreciate that person because the achievements he has gained,
were already written in his fate. What is the right approach? The person who believe that
nothing should be done as he thinks that whatever is written will happen, or the person who
has made his destiny better by hard work. There are somethings which are pre-destined while
somethings are improved by us. This is a kind of sketch and how you are going to colour that
sketch; this is destiny. Hard work can’t be negated.

“art thou then so much more” If someone is doing his hard work and others are enjoying the
benefits of their hard work; it’s not like that. God is not that unjust and cruel that some people
are working hard and others will enjoy the benefits given by them. You’ll be getting whatever
you’ve strived for.

Line 9 “nay, come up hither” means it’s not like that a person will strive and others get the
fruit. It is said that as you sow so shall you reap. What is the right approach that either you’re
just going to look for bare necessities of life or you’re striving for a better life style? What is
your goal? What is your achievement? “from this wave-washd mound, unto the
furthest….with me” metaphor of life wave-washd mound. life is being compared to a huge
ocean. Just stand with me on a shore and look at this ocean of life. Life is like a huge ocean.
Flood-brim means, it’s touching to its surface. You’ll find that it is flooded with people. “then
reach on….drownd” alliteration is used i.e. thought, till. reach on thy thought means explore
and think over the purpose of your creation. It is as said in the very first line “think thou and
act” means contemplate. First think and then act. Think about how you should live your life.

Line 12 “miles and miles distant though the last line be” alliteration is used i.e. miles and
miles, last line. Miles and miles distant means if you have set a purpose or goal of your life, it
is far far-away. Do not set short-term goals for yourself. Always set your goal which is far to
achieve. Whatever a goal is set by you, you’ve to face a lot of toil and trouble for achieving it.
Line 13 “and though thy soul sail leagues and leagues beyond” as there are knots and leagues
in the sea; a way of covering and measuring up. Last line “leagues beyond these leagues”
means that when you reach to a point even then the world has not come to an end. “there is
more sea” there’s a lot more to explore about self-realization.

Who’s the better one? In the first line he asks to think about the purpose of your life in this
universe. In the end he says, it’s not the purpose of your life that God has created you, you
completely rely on your destiny without improving it, you think that everything is written in
your fate so you’ll be getting everything. Yes, you will get certain things but for those things
you have to strive. So those persons can not be compared to the ones who have worked hard
for a better life style. Do not restrict your ability to explore. If you’ve achieved something in
your life, go for another one. You should be setting high goal for yourself. You should be of
ambitious. You should realize that what you are, what you are capable of, what you can achieve
in your life and how you are going to achieve that.

Q. How Victorian poets have showed dissatisfaction with the changing trends of Victorian era?

CHRISTINA ROSSETT’S POEMS:

IN AN ARTIST’S STUDIO:
In her poem “In an Artist’s Studio,” Christina Rossetti depicts a female model as the subject of
the poem who longs to break free from being ensnared by the possessive and delusional male
artist. As the poem begins, the repetition of the word “one” begins to indicate to readers that
the painter views the model being painted as simply another “nameless girl” to add to his
collection of portraits (1,2,6). She is just another “one selfsame figure” for the artist (2). By
doing so, the model’s personality and character are being stripped away and replaced by vague
titles such as “queen,” “saint,” and “angel” (5,7). And, as the poem progresses, the model
appears to become more and more objectified. As we learn that the artist “feeds upon [the
model’s] face by day and night,” the model’s humanity becomes more extracted from the poem
as the artist is simply using her as a way to fulfil his fantasies and realize instant gratification
(9).

The portrait of the female model fits in with the constant objectification of women in the
Victorian period. The model is seen as a being without a voice or emotions, one simply there
to be manipulated by a twisted male figure who desires to “feed” upon women and shape them
into entirely aesthetic items for pleasure. In addition, by making the poem a sonnet, the
traditional style of love poems, Christian Rossetti ironically exposes the warped perception of
relationships during the Victorian period. And, the descriptions of the “nameless” female muse
provided by Christina Rossetti lead readers to pity the women stuck in such an unsettling
relationship. The model is a “saint, an angel,” and is as “fair as the moon and joyful as the
light” (7,11). And, although the muse may be beautiful, the artist sees her only as the “mirror
that gave back all her loveliness” does (4). In other terms, the artist is incapable of moving
beyond the muse’s surface level beauty and seeing the deeper side of the women, just as the
mirror can only reflect the model’s appearance. Throughout her poem, Christina Rossetti
knocks the traditional depiction of women of Victorian poetry and portrays a subject longing
to be viewed as more than an aesthetically beautiful item.

A BIRTHDAY:
Rossetti personifies a lexical field of objects of nature to bring them to life and to indicate her
love of the natural world. By using similes to compare them to her lover shows the depth of
her love.

She expresses the fullness of her heart upon the occasion of her love’s “birthday” by starting
every comparison in the first stanza with “My is heart is like”, a device known as anaphora.
She piles on similes to convey images that suggest celebration and happiness. The laden apple-
tree promises the nourishment of fruit. The rainbow signifies God’s promise to Noah and
mankind in Genesis 9:17 that He will not flood the earth again.

Silk is an expensive fabric, throughout history the preserve of the wealthy. ‘Down’ is the softest
part of a bird, also expensive, and in the past used for bedding for the rich. Rossetti isn’t seeking
luxury but using these images to represent spiritual well-being. Vair is an expensive fur
obtained from the red squirrel. It is also a design used in heraldry represented by interlocking
rows of shield-shaped or bell-shaped figures which are typically alternately blue and white.
The ‘purple dyes’ signify the colour of robes worn by royalty and the holders of high office
in Ancient Rome. These luxuries are a metaphor for spiritual riches associated with this
religious ‘birthday’.

It is clear that regardless of whom the “love” represents, the narrator feels extreme joy at his
or her arrival. A singing bird uses melody to express itself similar to the way that humans use
words. The narrator relates the joy of her heart to the freedom of a bird. This connection
between nature and the divine is a common characteristic in the work of the Pre-
Raphaelite poets and artists, to which Christina Rossetti was closely connected. (Her brother
was the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti).

Note that Rossetti begins three sentences with ‘Hang it’, ‘Carve it’, ‘Work it’ — syntactic
parallels that create rhythm and give cohesion to the poem.

The fleur-de-lys is a stylised lily used in heraldry and a symbol of the Holy Trinity. It is also
connected with royalty. Gold and silver are, of course, precious metals, representing — for
Rossetti — spiritual wealth.

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