?He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven? ?A Red,Red Rose? ?Lucy Poems? Essay, Research Paper
In this assignment I will compare and contrast three poems based on the
theme of love. I will look at ?He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven? by W.B
Yeats, Robert Burns? ?A Red,Red Rose? and the ?Lucy Poems? by
Wordsworth. I will focus on each poet?s tradition and culture, the poet?s use
of language and the similarities and differences between each poem. I will
conclude the assignment with my personal response.
?He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven? was written by W.B Yeats.
William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin in 1865. He abandoned his
painting career after only three years to pursue a writing career with lyrics
and plays. He eventually developed his own individual style and his work
was known for being particularly ?Irish?.. He went on writing for the rest of
his life, and eventually died in 1948.
In the poem ?He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven? W.B Yeats
expresses his love for Maud Gonne. Gonne was an extreme Nationalist who
rejected W.B Yeats and eventually married Major John MacBride in 1903.
After this period there is a noticeable change in Yeats? poetry, perhaps
because he realised his dreams of a life with Maud could never become a
reality.
In ?He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven? the tone is calm and
peaceful, due to the sibilants used, nasal and ?L? sounds which combine to
create a dreamlike tone:
?Silver light? ?Softly? ?Embroidered cloths?
To help the tone flow peacefully along there are no exclamation marks,
dashes or monosyllables to interrupt the flow. Yeats creates a soft rhyming
melody and tune, almost like a lullaby. The natural stress in each word helps
to create the rhythm, A B A B C D C D.
Yeats? use of language creates very clear visual images, eg ?heaven?
has connotations of peace ,serenity, almost a nirvana. Likewise
?embroidered? has connotations of perfection, an infinite array of colours.
Throughout the poem Yeats concentrates on colours, especially different
shades of blues of the sky, representing the passage of time, seasons
changing but that throughout all the changes the sky still remains beautiful
yet unattainable.
In the first four lines of the poem Yeats creates a detailed image of
heaven and its perfection and beauty. Through this he states his wishes/ In
the following four lines he reveals what he would do with those wishes. He
lays his soul bare, and shows the depth of his love by declaring his undying
love for Maud Gonne. The only person who deserves such wealth as the
heavens, is Maud. If Yeats were God, and owned the heavens, the only one
worthy of receiving them would be Maud. He elaborates on this by saying
even the heavens would only be good enough for her to walk upon. By
stating this, Yeats is exalting his love: she is like a Goddess and he is
undeserving of her. He deems himself unworthy and humbles himself. In
the following line Yeats writes:
?But I, being poor, have only my dreams.?
Through this, Yeats suddenly becomes more realistic: he knows he is not God
and he knows he doesn?t own the heavens. The only thing of value and
beauty he owns are his dreams. He has made himself vulnerable by
spreading all his dreams and desires before Maud, and now she must decide
if she will return his love and make his wildest dreams come true, or trample
and tear his cloths and shatter his dreams.
The poem ends softly:
?Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.?
He is waiting anxiously to see her reaction and is gently pleading that she will
not reject him. Through this last line he is begging her to be kind: she has his
heart and dreams in her hand; she has the power to decide his fate.
This poem is similar to Burns? and Wordsworth?s poems in many
ways. All three sound like a song, a gentle calming lullaby. Each poem
creates visual imagery from nature surrounding them. They are also similar
due to the language used. None of the poems use complex, elaborate,
difficult, language but instead, plain language that is easily understood by all,
Burns? poem also contains some Scots dialect. The three poems are also
similar as the subject of all three poems is love. In both Wordsworth?s and
Yeats? poem the love was unreturned.
The most striking thing about ?A Red, Red Rose? by Robert Burns is
the ScotS dialect used. Burns was born in 1759, as the son of an Ayrshire
farmer who was an avid reader and helped in his son?s education. Burns?
work is amoung the best loved in the English language possibly because of
the thought and passion he poured into his comic and dramatic poems and
verse, and his sense of humour and skill for satire. Burns could also be
thought of as the saviour of English poetry because of his ability to depict
everyday life in rural Scotland and his use of Scots dialect, this gave English
poetry a new lease of life. He died at the age of thirty seven of rheumatic
fever in Dumfries.
In the first line Burns compares his love to a ?Red, Red Rose? using a
simile. By repeating ?Red? twice he emphasises the depth and strength of the
colour to the depth of his love. Burns repeats many phrases eg ?dry? twice for
emphasis and rhyming reasons. Every second and fourth line rhyme which
succeeds in creating a lullaby effect. He elaborates:
?Newly sprung in June?
This is to show that his love is still young and vulnerable but will keep
growing until it becomes full and strong and will blossom into full radiance
and beauty. Burns then compares his love to a beautiful song that is sweetly
played, again a simile. He is comparing a beautiful tune to a beautiful love
that will never age as music never ages.
In the following line Burns directly addresses his love for the first time
using an example of Scots dialect:
?My bonnie lass?
Throughout the poem many examples of Scots dialect are visible and these
succeed in constantly reminding the reader that the poem is easier to relate to,
the love is easier to relate to.
By directly addressing his love he makes her appear more human and
the relationship more realistic. Burns actually addresses her six times
throughout the poem.
In the second verse, he talks of his deep love for his ?bonnie?.. He is in
love with her as much as she is beautiful and will continue to love her:
?Till a? the seas dry?..
This is the same as saying he will love her for all time, she should
never doubt the sincerity and commitment of his love.
In the third verse he continues to prove the depth of his love by stating
again he will love her until the seas run dry and the rocks melt with the sun.
Through this he creates visual imagery, allowing the reader to visualise the
seas and the sun beating down on the rocks. Burns yet again attempts to
show the depth of his love by saying that he will still love her even when life
itself is over:
Burns begins verse four with:
?And fare thee weel?
Again Scots dialect, meaning ?farewell?.. This reveals that he is leaving her,
but we soon discover he is not leaving forever, as he promises to return. For
the first time throughout the poem Burns includes an exclamation mark,
which is another method of declaring and emphasising his true love for her.
He also uses another method for emphasis and making his statement more
powerful and spontaneous: he repeats the word ?and?..
Burns ends the poem on a hopeful and inspiring note. He promises
that he will cross any obstacle to be with her again: this is proof of his deep
love.
The tone of the poem is lighthearted, hopeful and tender. This is in
contrast to ?He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven? by Yeats and the ?Lucy
poems? by Wordsworth, both of which end in a despairing tone. There is a
major contrast between Yeats? love, Maud Gonne, who was confident,
outspoken and infamous and Wordsworth?s love Lucy who appears quiet and
isolated. In contrast to this Burns? ?bonnie? Jean Armour seems human and
realistic which makes the relationship seem believeable as opposed to Yeats
who put his love up on a pedestal and worshipped her. Another difference
between the poems is that at the end of Burns? poem the reader is convinced
that the two lovers will eventually be reunited, and in real life Burns did
actually succeed in marrying his childhood sweetheart. It seems unlikely that
Yeats? dreams of a life with Gonne will become a reality and in the ?Lucy
poems? it is an impossibility as Lucy dies.
William Wordsworth was born in Cumberland in 1770, and at thirteen
years of age became an orphan. Wordsworth had a new, modern approach
towards poetry which in his time was unheard of, he felt poetry should be
about emotions and feelings, it shouldn?t be inhibited or stifled by politics or
city social life. He looked to nature, the English countryside for inspiration
and many of his most famous poems involve nature. Wordsworth changed
the direction of English poetry and his influence is still visible today.
In ?I Travelled Among Unknown Men? Wordsworth begins by
personifying England. He addresses it directly as if it were alive. He speaks
of his departure from England and how alone he felt among strangers. It was
only when he left England that he realised how much he loved his homeland.
In the second verse he compares his time abroad to a bad dream
through the use of a metaphor and to emphasise this he uses an exclamation
mark:
?Tis past, that melancholy dream!?
He makes a defiant promise to himself that never again will he abandon
England, and for the second time personifies it and using strong, resolute,
vivid language to show his love for England:
?To love thee more and more.?
In the third verse he uses visual imagery to conjure up an idyllic image
of his love sitting at her spinning wheel beside a glowing fire among the
English hillside. This is the first time he introduces his love and we can tell
by his description of her that he cherishes and admires her and wants to
protect her. It is a very patriotic image, being secure and comfortable in
England, while also showing the strength of his love.
Wordsworth then links his love for England with his love for Lucy, a
dual love. The reader begins to learn more about Lucy. She is portrayed as a
quiet, lonely girl who is not valued and hidden away from the outside world.
The reader is lulled into a false sense of security by the first two lines
in verse four. They sound gentle and ?English?, almost like playing a musical
instrument, then suddenly the reader is shocked and saddened:
?And thine too is the last green field that Lucy?s eyes surveyed.?
This evokes a personal response from the reader. We feel great sympathy for
Wordsworth as his love has died. We can now understand why Wordsworth
made his defiant vow never to leave England, to leave England would be to
leave Lucy?s memory behind, Lucy and England have become intertwined in
his memory.
In ?She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways? Lucy?s solitary nature is
pursued. He compares Lucy to a violet hidden behind a mossy stone,
Wordsworth uses visual imagery through nature. He then compares Lucy to
a solitary star, a solitary and unique person.
The last verse takes on a sad, melancholy tone as Wordsworth
expresses his deep sadness at her death. Lucy lived and died unknown to
anyone. Her death didn?t matter to anyone except him. Her death has
evoked pure emotion and vivid responses. She completely changed his life
and he will always remember her:
?The difference to me!?
The final poem ?A Slumber Did My Spirit Did Seal? has a mood of
serenity and peace. The pace is slowed down by the language used. When
Wordsworth sleeps in that semi-conscious state Lucy is with him and in his
mind she is still young and to him she always will be. Suddenly Lucy no
longer seems hidden away or forgotten because she will always be
remembered by him, in his mind she is untouchable. Wordsworth has lost
his love but in English nature and his dreams he is reunited with Lucy.
Compared to Yeats? and Wordsworth?s poem Burns? poem, ?A Red,
Red Rose? seems less powerful and somehow his love doesn?t seem as
strong, although it is much more realistic and human, and it actually ends
optimistically. In Wordworth?s poem the more I read the better my
understanding of it, the more powerful it became and the more I could
empathise with it. It too reveals much suffering and pain. From the three
poems I examined I was most greatly affected by ?He Wishes For The Cloths
Of Heaven? by W.B Yeats. The emotion and power in the poem, and Yeats?
humbling declaration of his undying love for Gonne was overwhelming. It
was heart wrenching to imagine Yeats spreading his dreams beneath her feet
and knowing that, in the end, she rejected him. It is also a poem for today
because it is a poem about unrequited love which everyone can empathise
with.