Gracie Ruiz

June 10, 2019

English 102

POEM ANALYSIS

Let It Be Forgotten​ by Sara Teasdale

Poetry is an art form that has been a part of history for quite some time now. People have

used poetry to express their emotions, get a message across, or try to evoke feelings from its

audience. The great thing about poetry is that it is open for interpretation. One person’s analysis

can be completely different than another’s. There’s no guarantee unless explicitly mentioned by

the poet. The poem we will be analyzing in this paper, Sara Teasdale’s ​Let It Be Forgotten​, is no

different.

Throughout the poem, Teasdale compares this ambiguous ‘it’ to a flower (“as a flower is

forgotten”). This could be because flowers are only temporary in this universe. They don’t last

forever, and eventually die and wilt. You can preserve flowers, but Teasdale states the flower is

“in long forgotten snow.” Perhaps buried, stepped on, or crushed.

It can be theorized that Teasdale is talking about a relationship. That may be the easiest

explanation, or the first one that comes into someone’s head. A relationship that failed, and she

wants it out of her mind. “Forgotten as a fire” could be interpreted as an old flame. Flowers are

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also typically given and received as a present during a courtship. If the relationship was once

successful, “...once was singing gold” could reference that prior success.

Another interpretation could be that she is talking about life itself. “Time is a kind friend,

he will make us old” could be a reference to death. She wants her existence to not be

remembered by anyone. If the author was suicidal, this poem would make sense in that aspect.

“Long and long ago” could be talking about the length of life. It happened in the past, but still

hurts. She wants whatever she is speaking about, to be eventually gone from memory.

Let It Be Forgotten​ is a beautiful poem, and Teasdale releases emotional artistry in one

stanza. An interpretation, however, is simply opinion and should be taken as one person’s views.

By comparing each line to my own experiences and knowledge, I came to a conclusion of

Teasdale’s intentions. In the end, I may never know what she truly meant. For all we know, ​Let It

Be Forgotten, ​could be a reference to the poem itself.