Perception or Reality?

“Too often we colour our perception with other peoples’ pencils.”

─ Tim Winter

It is a common saying that perception is reality but I believe that it is merely a subconscious expectation of reality.

The biggest example can be that of the realisation of a child that the glossy image of beauty and success that they have always been shown is in real just an image, an illusion, is a big shock. It’s almost like a betrayal. The child feels vulnerable and exposed. He may think to himself that he has been deeply surrounded by lies all his life. Huge lies. And yet, he has been taught not to lie, to be honest. And so, he starts seeing everything around him, which has always been there, in a different light.

I believe that people only see through themselves; only hear through the filter of their own story. But, with gradual learning, the passing of time and experience, it is possible to realize that life is only as good as one makes it. All their lives, people are so busy in conforming to accepted values and perceptions that they forget to make their own perception, and make it their own reality.

Feline Preparation

Man often tends to make or have pre-conceived notions and ideas relating to issues and situations which we are faced with, everyday. These predictions or what we can call anticipations take place on a daily basis, whether consciously or unconsciously and are usually created through personal experience and a simultaneous instinctive response to a given situation. Similar anticipation exists in the mind s of animals.

Most animals possess a protective instinct in regard to the safety of their young and therefore they always attempt to take measures against any possible harm. The most relevant example would be of the endless effort a cat makes to find an enclosed and safe place to keep her kittens in right before they are born. It is common to see a pet cat, independently roaming around the house trying to sneak into corners, dressing cupboards, kitchen cabinets and other tiny, dark spaces which we may not have even noticed before. This struggle to find the perfect spot for her kittens to live in is a far-fetched anticipation by a cat which is essentially what will be needed.

Winter’s Tale Ends (further continued)

This concluding scene holds great dramatic and thematic significance as the first part of the scene was covered in heightened drama to prepare the audience of the arrival of Hermione after sixteen long years; however towards the end Shakespeare doesn’t seem to give the episode a proper closure. Also, in the end the reader is given the impression of a patriarchal effect as it is Leontes who eventually decides the fate of all the women, for instance he tells not asks Paulina to be with Camillo. This highlights the gender difference during the Elizabethan era.

Therefore this episode was able to address the main and final issue of the Oracle of Apollo that is the life of Hermione.

Winter’s tale Ends (continued)

The statue of Hermione is a symbol of redemption. After the music starts to play, the dramatic effect is heightened by the slow and gradual way in which the near to close statue, transforms into Hermione. After Hermione descends, Leontes speaks with great joy and declares that she is “warm”. Also, he refers to this act of Hermione coming alive to art. This brings in the theme of art and nature which was a much debated topic during the Elizabethan era. It was argued that art is only an attempt to recreate nature and some said that art could be used to create something even more real than nature, in essence saying that, art is nature. Hermione being symbolized as a statue brings in the concept of art and when this object of art comes alive it is nature that is to take the responsibility.

Furthermore, we see that after the increasing build up for the arrival of Hermione, when finally she is amongst the character, Shakespeare adopts a technique which results in the audience to anxiously wait for her to speak. She does not speak immediately and what builds up the drama is that all characters speak except her. Shakespeare makes Polixenes and Camillo comment on her actions as though she herself cannot yet speak. Polixenes says, “She embraces him”.

Thereafter, Paulina extends the drama by preparing Hermione for her daughter, Perdita. It is at this point when Shakespeare includes Hermione’s speech. She expresses her concern for Perdita and how she has been all these years. Eventually Shakespeare speeds up the course of events and begins to gather all the issues of the play and divert them to an end. Hermione is told about her daughter and Leontes gives an ending speech in which he vows to love Hermione forever and he asks Camiilo to marry Paulina. The play comes to an abrupt end with Leontes and Hermione reunited, Florizel and Perdita also united and Camillo and Paulina accepting to be together.

Winter’s Tale Ends

The last scene from the play, “The Winter’s Tale” by Shakespeare marks the end of the play and resolves all the issues which were faced throughout the play. The ending episode shows great dramatic and thematic significance through various ways. The scenario is when Paulina is keeping her promise and showing Leontes, Polixenes and Camillo the supposed statue of Hermione.

The beginning of the ending heightens the dramatic effect of the situation as Paulina asks for music to be played to awaken the statue of Hermione. This act creates or heightens the drama as music is something which adds to the excitement or significance of any situation. The use of words such as “awake her” make it seem as if Hermione had been put to sleep all these years and was in reality alive. Also, it highlights the theme of regeneration as it can be seen that Hermione is being resurrected from the dead. Till now, the audience and as such even the characters in the play had thought Hermione to be dead. But at this situation we see that she comes back to life. The fact that the audience is kept in the dark about whether Hermione is just “waking up” from her sleep, or whether she comes alive after death, adds to the dramatic effect of the scene.

Fanny Robin (character analysis continued)

When she is talking to troy about their marriage, she addresses him with a desperate, yet kind and loving and respected tone. Such is her sweet nature that even when Troy tries to avoid the topic of marriage she innocently keeps on persisting. She is weak-hearted and is a lonely character. Hardy shows her as an orphan, bought up by the respectable and dignified Mr. Boldwood.

Fanny does not have the confidence or will to stand up for herself. Without thinking twice, she goes to chase after a Sergeant who is not even in love with her. She is mistreated by him as he promises to marry her, but then does not. She becomes pregnant and Troy does not even know. Rather, he marries Bathsheba and while he enjoyed his life, throwing away all of Bathsheba’s money, Fanny was weak, penniless and desperate. She did not have any support, physical or emotional and died after giving birth. The baby also died. She died while she was on her way to The Caster Bridge Union House.

Fanny’s coffin stayed in the house of Bathsheba Everdene for a while and it was again realized that she did not have any family or loved one who would be deeply concerned for her.

Thus, an overall picture of Fanny is created which is that of a sweet girl who was taken advantage of. She is shown as weak and helpless and always dependant on others. Fanny’s character makes me feel sad as she was greatly mistreated and I think that she did not deserve to be treated so inhumanly. Also, I feel that even though she was weak physically, she was definitely not weak emotionally as anyone who experiences such depths of pain throughout life is bound to become strong, emotionally.

Fanny Robin (character analysis)

To a large extent, Thomas Hardy creates a very dull and weak picture of Fanny Robin in the novel, “Far from the Madding Crowd”. Her character makes me feel sad and angry as she is so severely mistreated that it is almost as if Hardy did not consider the fact that she is human and there is an extent to which she can take pain.

The very first time that we are introduced to Fanny in the novel, she is denied any individuality. Hardy refers to her as a spot, shape or simply, a shadow. She is given no identity of her own. Also, when it is shown that she is telling Gabriel Oak the way to the malt house and when after touching her hands and feeling her pulse, he offers her money, it can be said that she is not independent, yet very much dependant on others or helpless. Fanny does not walk with much confidence, rather with a bent down body and a clumsy walk.

Yet as much as she is shown as weak and powerless, Hardy had given her the strong characteristics of kindness and generosity. She helps Gabriel Oak when he wants directions. Also, it was known that she did not give any trouble throughout her service at the Everdene farm. Fanny is shown as a girl with a sweet and innocent nature, who is exploited by Sergeant Troy, so as to result in her unfortunate death. 

Conflicting Worlds (further continued)

Gradually, we are shown through the course of the passage that Da-duh’s pride and confidence in her world decreases as she is enlightened to the new occurrences of the modern world. She constantly shows and exposes her granddaughter the natural gifts of her land in Barbados. And so, in great excitement she takes the child to a small clearing amid a dense bush and there she shows her an incredibly tall royal palm. And with extreme confidence she asks if the child has anything that tall in New York. She is yet again shocked to the extent that she trembles with “rage”, when the child informs her of the tallest building in the world, the Empire State Building. She is completely oblivious to the idea of something taller than the hills of Bissex can or do exist. She does not believe her granddaughter.

At this point, the clash of the different world’s are presented with perfection as the dialogue between the two and most importantly the absolutely bewildered reaction of Da-duh dominates the entire scenario. We see a complete defeat of Da-duh’s excitement.

Throughout the text, there is constant comparison or rather, note of differences between these two worlds of modernity and the natural world. The clash is depicted through the conversation between the two characters when they go for a walk. Both characters attempt to emphasize on the wonderful and unique qualities of the existence of their worlds and constantly defend and talk about it. It is interesting to note that although the conflict is about two different worlds, in real both live in the same world and yet have such different outlooks because of their background.

Conflicting Worlds (continued)

Da-duh and the little girl seem to have a certain bond even though through this bond they only manage to convey to each other the distinct and favourable features of their worlds. It is as if, from the beginning of their encounter with each other they are in constant competition to prove the positivity and greatness of their worlds. Although, it may be added that this determination was more from Da-duh than from the little girl as she wants to prove to herself the importance of her “natural” world. Da-duh’s constant repetition of phrases like, “I know they don’t have anything this nice where you come from” and “I bet you don’t have these in New York” is a way in which she tries to highlight the distinct and unique quality of her world and its natural benefits. She does this with great determination, bordering on stubbornness. Parallel to this, the girl with the same level of stubbornness and determination seeks to talk about her “developed” and mechanized world “of steel and concrete and machines”.  

Da-duh has lived eighty years of her life in Barbados and is ignorant to the great developments of the world. She lives in her own world of natural surroundings with basic facilities. She has appreciation for the fruits and foodstuff which grow in the plants and trees which surround the ground near her simple dwelling place. She has seen and experienced the time of slavery, when Africans were made to work on sugar-cane fields for long hours by the British during colonial rule. Even after emancipation of Africans in 1838, the British were still in control. Therefore, when the girl tells Da-duh that she “beat up” a white girl in her class, it comes as a great shock and she has a tone of incredulity as she is still under the impression of different opportunities existing for different races. Her difficulty in accepting this magnitude of change in times is evident when she says that the “world’s changing up so I can scarce recognize it anymore.” Whereas, it can be noted that such an incident or act (beating up white people) was taken as a casual or normal reaction by the granddaughter. This shows the wide generation gap and her ignorance about the history of slavery, similar to Da-duh’s ignorance about the developments in society and it further presents the conflict between the two characters’ views of their worlds.

Conflicting Worlds

“To Da-duh, in Memoriam” is a short story showing the change and developments that have taken place in many parts of the world over the passage of time and the struggle by Da-duh to accept this reality of change. This change has occurred over a long period of time and creates a constant conflict to appear in the story between Da-duh and her granddaughter. It presents the clash of a grandmother and granddaughter’s two different worlds through several ways. The narrative technique, setting, style and tone of the passage and most importantly, the dialogue between the two main characters of the story gives constant reflection to the conflict and difference which exists in their lives because of the differing atmospheres they live in. Also, to present this occurrence of conflict, the main themes of rivalry, slavery, freedom and modernization are highlighted.

The story has been told from the point of view of a nine year old girl after she has grown older. She, the granddaughter, remembers her reactions, attitude and experience at the time when she meets her grandmother, Da-duh for the first time. Therefore the narrative technique is unique in the fact that it is from the perception of a child and a first person account is given. This automatically creates an idea that the narrator is more inclined and in favour of the modernized world than the natural world of Da-duh as it is the modern world that she is accustomed to.

Of White Hairs and Cricket (continued)

The establishment of the change in tone is done with dexterity as the boy slowly begins to realize the reality of the situation. The first signal he gets of his discovery is when his friend Viraf acts strangely, in the sense that he is dull and seemingly upset. At first, his reaction to it is that of indifference as he says, “words to show concern were always beyond me”. The second time his discovery gradually starts to reveal as he sees his friend’s eyes are “red”. The narrator’s discovery is made significant as he hears “hushed voices” coming from Viraf’s flat. All this new behaviour which the narrator is put through creates suspicion and puts him into a confusion of what is going on.

The image created of Viraf’s sick father lying in bed greatly helps in establishing the significance of the narrator’s discovery as that image is the major signal which gives him the final realization of the existence of pain and takes him out of the world of innocence and protection. He describes the room saying “it was dark”. This could signify darkness in the sense of the existence of pain or evil. Viraf’s father had a “needle stuck into his right arm” and the narrator says, ‘it glinted cruelly”. The needle is described as cruel as the boy has always lived in such protected surrounding that he is not accustomed to seeing such a picture and for him it is not a good or right thing.

The entire atmosphere of gloom and sadness that is present at Viraf’s place is a key factor in establishing the importance of the child’s discovery. The worried mother and the sick father make the boy ponder over the importance of his own parents and provide him with a sense of appreciation for their love and efforts for him.

Of White Hairs and Cricket (Analysis)

The main focus of the short story, “Of White Hairs and Cricket” by Rohan Mistry is the routine life of a young Indian boy he narrative technique used is interesting as the boy himself is the narrator, giving the passage his perspective and point of view.  The writer establishes the significance of the narrator’s discovery of illness, which a friend’s father is suffering from, through various ways. The discovery by the boy is not solely about the illness but the entire realization that the sheltered world he has always lived in is not reality and that pain and suffering exists; people age and nothing remains the same. The story portrays the emotional difficulty of a young boy when he sees his father as a mortal being.  The significance of this discovery is put across through the sudden change in the tone of the story, the gradual build up of his sheltered life before his discovery, the imagery of Viraf’s (his friend) father lying sick in bed and the change in the atmosphere which the boy witnesses at his friend’s house. 

From the beginning, the narration of the story is seen to have a rather innocent or immature tone to it as it is being told from the perspective of a young boy. He describes in length the quality of life he and his family have, focusing on minor, local details which make the story more personal and real. The boy complains innocently of his dull task of pulling out his father’s white hair every Sunday and the tone of innocence continues to exist when we read of him remembering the days when his father used to play cricket with him. Overall, the tone is that of sweet innocence, happiness and shows content with the quality of his life. Similarly, the start of the passage shows him as excitedly waiting for his friend, Viraf, to go play or spend the day together. The light tone is evident as he is yodeling and waving at his friend. His thought process is young, light-hearted and humorous as he notices his friend’s well-mannered behavior towards a guest doctor and refers to it as “muskaa-paalis” (buttering someone). Also, his rapid and active movement while waiting for his friend shows a young and enthusiastic energy. He “cracked” all his fingers, and then walked towards the other end of the compound, “sitting on the steps for a few minutes”, “got impatient and climbed upstairs”. All these activities show his energetic happiness. 

Then suddenly the tone of the story changes into that of shock or a difficulty to explain the situation he was experiencing. When he goes up to Viraf and insists on playing something and when Viraf finally agrees despite his dull mood, they go to Viraf’s house which is where realization begins to dawn over the boy about the reason behind Viraf’s strange behavior. He sees Viraf’s father lying sick, in bed, his mother worried and saddened, talking to neighbours about the difficulty the family was going through.  

Living Through Memories (further continued)

Memories are made significant by Hardy in order to create an image in the reader’s mind of what exactly he was going through. The memories are also important as they make use of vivid imagery, symbolism and personification. With each memory told, Hardy is successful in establishing or creating a picture for the reader. Thus, a greater understanding of the relationship of Hardy with Emma is achieved. The image of a “dry March” is contrasted with the present image of rain. The rain could refer to Hardy’s tears of sadness over the death of Emma.

Therefore, memories are considerably relevant and important factors present in most of Hardy’s poems. They give the poem a story-like effect and Hardy uses it to establish a connection or link between his past and present life. The memories when reflected upon enable not only for the reader to get an insight of Hardy’s past, but also enables Hardy to eventually come to terms with the death of Emma. He learns to accept her loss and his mistakes and feelings of guilt by remembering the bittersweet memories they had together.

Living Through Memories (continued)

The concept of using memories is highly significant in showing the two different stages which the couple went through during the course of their relationship. In “The Walk”, the first and second stanza are divided in such a way that it is noted that in the first stanza Hardy reflects back to the times when he went for walks to a particular place and was not accompanied by Emma as she was unwell. He reflects on how he used to be alone and she used to stay at home, yet he mentions he did not mind being alone. However, he continues in the second stanza and comes back into present time when he is again at the same place for a walk and is alone again. Only, this time he feels her loss and complete loneliness asshe does not await his arrival at home, in their room. This technique of showing the reader the contrast between the situations in their relationship at past and present is achieved through the use of memories. The memory is significant as it enables Hardy to finally realize the worth of his wife, Emma, but it happens too late as now she is no more. When he reflects back, he longs again for her presence and wishes to be in her company.

In “the Voice”, it is seen that Hardy tries to constantly remind himself of Emma’s beauty, grace and the moments they shared together. He remembers the time of their early courtship when Emma would await the arrival of Hardy at their doorstep. He creates an image of her wearing an “air-blue gown”. This memory is significant as it emphasizes on the depth of their love for each other as she waits for him to come home and he looks forward to returning. This action or behavior of theirs is in contrast to Hardy’s attitude towards her at later times.  He ignored her greatly and although the two lovers were together till the end, the spark between them had seemed to fade away. Thus, this memory is a reminder to Hardy of the time when the spark between them was alive and it hurts him to think of her, now gone.

Similar instances of memory follow in his other poems. “At Castle Boterel” primarily concentrates on a particular memory of the two lovers at a certain road at Cornwall near Emma’s previous dwelling. The entire poem focuses on the fact that when they were together there, what they did did not matter so much as the fact that at that particular moment in time they were together and nothing else mattered. Hardy always looks at the past when he is at a particular place in the present which holds some memory or the other with Emma. The memory in this particular poem is significant as we see the importance or attention that Hardy provides his relationship. He says that many couples had been at that mountain and many of them had had special moments, but the moments shared between him and his wife were not comparable to any of them. He considers hi s love for her as unique and unconditional. The importance he gives to himself and Emma is significant in relation to the memory as the reader realizes that Hardy did truly care and love for Emma despite his mistakes of ignoring her.

Living Through Memories

Thomas Hardy’s poems during the period of World War 1 (1914-1918) were predominantly, Emma poems. That is, they were poems written in remembrance of his beloved wife, Emma, who died due to illness. In these poems he is seen to try to come to terms with her death and we note that he is grief stricken. He makes great use of memories to establish the change in relationship between him and his wife during the later part of her life; to remind himself of the happy times they had had together, to remind himself of her beauty and grace which he fell in love with, or rather come to terms with her death by trying to overcome his feelings of extreme guilt, pain and grief. Through his poems, Hardy takes the reader back to the times when he and Emma were young lovers and did not have a care in the world. The significance of the memories is such that it allows the reader to gain an insight to the stages that Emma and Hardy had to go through in their relationship. The memories create a bittersweet and nostalgic feeling as the reader feels sympathetic towards Hardy for the loss of happy times.

Some of the poems which highlight or refer to certain moments or memories are, “The Walk”, “At Castle Boterel”, “The Voice” and “The Haunter”. These poems creat an image of Emma of being young and beautiful and shows the reader the depth of love which the two had for each other, yet was unfortunately lost later on.

Tyres (continued)

The image of the girl, Cecile, just hundred yards apart from the boy conveys the helpless situation that the two had been stuck in. When her bicycle was put in the luggage locker, the boy thinks to himself that she is somehow being forced into doing this act. The officer with which Cecile was having a talk with is described as “a little black snake’s tongue”. A snake is a creature usually associated with negativity and danger. And the colour black creates and image of darkness and helplessness. Thus, the narrator is trying to convey that the girl may be in danger and she is helpless. The image of the car “dwindling to a dot” hints at the gradual disappearance of the girl. She is at a point very near or close to him and gradually she dwindles to a dot or is taken away from him.

The event which heightens the moment is when there is a “distant bang and clatter, as of heavy pots and pans falling off a shelf”. At this point, the narrator seems to lose his love completely. The tone changes to that of grief and gloom. There is no life in the narrator anymore; everything is just passing by him. The sorrow of the narrator is reflected when he says that for him it was the beginning of winter. Winter is associated with sadness and gloom. In the last paragraph, the language, tone and imagery facilitate the emptiness and gloom the narrator feels. The writer conveys this emptiness and sense of loss by giving himself no sense of ambition or want of progress in life. His love for life has been lost with the death of Cecile. Flowers have no meaning and he uses plastic ones.

Therefore, the language, tone and imagery were used by the writer to describe in detail the inner thoughts and feelings of the narrator. Everything was judged by him through the existence of Cecile and thus the passage revolves around this significance he places to her presence.     

Tyres

The following extract has been taken from the short story “Tyres” written by Adam Thorpe. The passage involves the narration of a sudden death of a young girl, Cecile. The story is written in such a way that the narrator is made to be the boy who was seemingly in love with the girl who dies. The story is written from his point of view and thus even gives the reader an insight to his thoughts and feelings. The writer makes use of tone, language and imagery to convey the narrator’s point of view. This is done by using the technique of simple and not rigid language. The tone changes to accommodate the change in the narrator’s thoughts or feelings and thus, is able to convey his point of view successfully. Also, use of imagery has been made in such a way that the readers are able to create vivid pictures in their minds of the situation which occurs, thus reinforcing the point of view of the narrator.

The narration is from the point of view of a young boy who spends his time working in his father’s tyre shop. The tone in the passage goes through a gradual change, with the passage starting off with an irritated tone by the narrator at a French customer. It continues towards an element of mysterious suspicion when the boy hears, “the tickling of a bicycle”. He does not think it is the sound of Cecile’s bicycle. However, the tone can be said to be lighter at the beginning of the passage as the narrator is spending time with the girl he loves and is helping her by fixing the chain of her bicycle. A sense of restriction does seem to be created, however, because of the presence of a German customer. This reflects the time period of the Second World War and tells the reader that the French areas had been occupied by German. As the passage progresses it seems to adopt a more serious tone as the events that foillow are of great intensity and suspicion. As the girl pedals away, the tone finally becomes focused and the narrator’s worry of her safety is reflected in the tone adopted. The language used, facilitates the serious tone. The “banging of doors” signals a sense of urgency in the situation and makes the narrator aware of the fact that something was not right. When the narrator starts running after the girl, with his father calling out to him, and image of panic and worry is created. The narrator says, “an ominous sense of doom came over me: a kind of terrible chill”. This clearly conveys his fear for the girl’s safety and well-being.

Innocent Realisation

http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/ted-hughes/full-moon-and-little-frieda/

The imagery in the poem, “Full Moon and Little Frieda” is very interesting and deep. The imagery is quite delicate and expresses balance. The phrase, “a spider’s web tense for the dews touch” is important in terms of imagery because it implies that a delicate thing as a spider web is so vulnerable that even a dew’s touch can vibrateor shake it. The importance of this is that of the spider’s strength. The spider’s strength is weakened or lessened by the dew’s touch.

“A pail lifted, still and brimming- mirror

To tempt a first star to a tremor.”

This phrase shows the fact that the water is filled to the absolute top and can spill. The reflection of the star, in the water, tremors slightly when the water moves. The importance of this is that the poet tries to create dramatic effect by giving a description of how the bucket is almost full of water and how there is danger of it spilling. He uses star, water and tremor to create extended effect upon the reader.

Further in the poem the poet creates an image in our minds of cows going towards their home, giving out “warm wreaths of breath”. This shows that the cows are referred to as boulders and this is very interesting. Boulders are rugged and curved and the cows are balancing milk. The milk can fall as boulders are not very steady and balanced. This is very fine imagery as it shows us the delicacy and softness of the cows carrying the milk which is not spilled. The imagery till this part of the poem is all very delicate and balanced. The importance of the imagery until now is that it creates a very peaceful and subtle atmosphere. The reader feels comforted by the soft words and the poem imposes the fact that Little Frieda is observing and listening to all this. She is feeling the calmness around her and it shows that a human child who is so young is showing an interest to Nature. She is observing everything intently.

Suddenly, all the balance is disturbed/ finished when Little Frieda spots the moon and cries out, “Moon!” The word “moon” is repeated by the writer thrice, every time with an exclamation mark. This is done so that the word is drilled and stunned into the readers mind. The moon is noticed by Frieda for the very first time in this sense. A young child like her is amazed at its power and its wonder.  It is the beginning of awareness and knowledge for her. Never before, has she looked at the moon from this angle. It is almost like the amazement a parent feels at the first words of their child. Frieda is looking at the moon with feelings of joy, excitement and exuberance.

Also, the moon is amazed. The moon is amazed at the miracle of the sudden awareness of the child. The moon is amazed at the wonder of the child. The Moon, I feel, has been around for so many years and suddenly this gesture of appreciation and realization by a child of its existence amazes the moon.

The poem’s title emphasizes on different sizes. The adjectives “full” and “little” are used to describe the Moon and Frieda. Even though both (the moon and Frieda) are different in size, they are deeply connected. In my opinion, it is an implication that the moon is whole and Frieda is only a small part of this moon. The moon is the power over Little Frieda and she is the miracle of the power of the moon. Frieda gives the moon a sense of living.

Sonnet 29 (Analysis)

http://englishlanguageliterature.com/2011/02/17/sonnet-29-edna-st-vincent-millay/

In Sonnet 29, the loss of love and the bitter feelings of pain are emphasized. The one phrase which is repeated throughout the poem as a refrain is, “pity me not”. These words are repeated so many times that the reader is compelled to think if they are actually being said in their true meaning. It is almost as if the poet wants to be pitied and is only making use of bitter sarcasm by saying, “pity me not”. The poet writes:

“Pity me not because the light of the day at the end of the day, no longer walks the sky”

The significance of this line is the fact that the poet emphasizes on the fading of light and not the shining of the light. The negative side of the story is picked, suggesting that the poet is a pessimist. Therefore, the poet also perceives the emotion of love with pessimism and negativity because she compares it to images of loss, such as the “waning of the moon”, the destruction of a beautiful flower by the wind, the wreckage of ships bought onto the beach by the tide and fading away of light. The fact that she compares her love to a beautiful flower destroyed, suggests that she once did have a positive energy towards love and was happy. It shows that her heart has still not accepted the reality of pain and loss in love, although the heart knows that love always comes to an end.

The poem suggests that the poet is so deeply saddened and depressed at the possible loss of her love that she cannot bear to move on. She is stuck at the same point and it is destroying her and making her even more miserable than she was when she lost her love. The Sonnet portrays a negative and dark picture of love and at some point even disheartens the reader as he/she gets such a bitter feeling from it.

Throughout the poem, the poet does not admit that before her present bitterness, she was happy and content with the emotion of love. It is almost as if she is against the concept of love and does not fully believe in the existence of love in its purest and deepest form.

Sonnet 43 (Analysis)

http://poetry.about.com/library/weekly/blbrowninglove.htm

The poems, Sonnet 43 and Sonnet 29, are in a way two varied approaches taken by individuals towards the theme and feeling of love. In Sonnet 43, the love of the poet is intense and passionate. The poem is a positive one and the reader gets feelings of hope, energy and happiness after reading the poem. The poet emphasizes on the phrase “I love thee” by starting every statement with these words, throughout the poem. The theme of love is expressed in Sonnet 43 freely, compassionately and positively. The poet writes, “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.” This shows the extent of the poet’s love.  The poet loves another individual to the full capacity that her soul can reach. This gives a feeling of love in its deepest and most eternal form.

The poet tells the reader the many ways in which she loves her lover. She says:

“I love thee with the ends of Being and Ideal Grace”

“I love thee freely, as men strive for Right”

“I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise”

These lines encompass the amount of freedom the poet enjoys in loving. She gives her lover an exalted position by saying that when the feeling of peace and God’s love is beyond her, he takes that place. This shows that she loves him to such an extent that she relies on him for peace of mind and body. Also, these lines convey that she is willing to die for her love, just as men die fighting for rights of freedom of expression and liberty. Her love extends to the point where she is willing to sacrifice or give up all her needs or desires for her lover. Also, it tells us that she is not judgmental about her love, instead, she is understanding, tolerant and patient because she accepts the reality of their love for each other and knows that to make the relationship better, sacrifice has to be made. The poet loves with privacy and does not bother of what others think. This shows how deep she has gotten into this emotion of hers and is oblivious to other people’s views or opinions.

She mentions that she loves with her childhood’s faith, which implies that her love is as unwavering, complete and innocent as a child’s beliefs. Therefore, this means that she is not distracted in her love and she loves and will always only love one person and will give the beloved her complete attention. Nothing that happens can affect the way she feels, suggesting her love to be strong and brave.

The poem only has two physical images, “candlelight” and “sun”. The poet does not restrict the poem to images, as then the poem would become something which is a part of the material world and thus can be destroyed or hurt. She expresses abstract ideals of liberty, freedom, mathematical space (depth, breadth, and height), faith, god and soul, all of which cannot be expressed through metaphors, personification or imagery. This shows the poet’s want of her love to be eternal and deep. All these ideas are not subject to time or change. Therefore, the emotion of love in this poem is also not subject to time and change and is strong as death.