The Poem My Last Duchess by Robert Browning - Essay Example

English, Essay Topic: Poem Analysis Introduction The message of the poems discussed below is: lovebaffles definition and each one sees a new horizon. At times, looking at the condition of the lover, one is obliged to think that lover’s body has no other parts, except the heart. The conditions of some of the lovers are like the ocean and the moon. The ocean knows well that its waves can never reach the moon, howsoever big they may be, and yet it roars and struggles to reach the moon by making relentless efforts without intermission. Love grows in the hearts of the lovers in all directions like the octopus. A fire-walker walks on the fire for a few seconds but a lover walks for life with his heart afire. In one of the poems discussed, the lover mentions about love even after death. The interaction with the beloved and her words keeps millions of hopes of the lovers alive! The beats of the hearts of lovers are mutually controlled and the lovers respond accordingly. The bird of love moves with tantalizing speed within the hearts of lovers. Love is the eternal call that keeps the hearts of the lovers ever engaged. If God has to condemn someone, he does so by giving the lover a broken heart. After the first tremor of love, the heart is never the same forever. All such thoughts engulf my mind when I read the poems. The silken thread of love runs through the poems The Folly of Being Comforted (W. B. Yeats), My Last Duchess (Robert Browning, 1812-1889), Sonnet 116 (William Shakespeare) and Sonnet 43 - How Do I Love Thee (Elizabeth Barrett Browning). To live through the pangs of love is a great experience and the one who has gone through that process alone can understand how invaluable those moments of suffering are. True love goes on multiplying and passion diminishes with time. Love is the precious raw material for the man-woman relationship and the gift of God to humankind. In the poem “The Folly of Being Comforted” by W.B. Yeats, the speaker makes a sincere effort to describe through intellect on a subject which is the domain of heart. In the war related to love, mind and heart can never come to terms. The wise saying goes— there is a beauty in the sunrise and also in the sunset. The theme of the poem is “love transcends the physical changes in the body and, thus, it conquers time”. The poet gets upset and in an effort to find through the mental condition of unrequited love, enumerates the physical changes that happen with time, and how the body of his beloved surrenders to the demands. He pleads with the heart to be satisfied and accepts the state of beloved’s ebbing beauty. The lover is unwilling to agree that the waning beauty of his beloved is the cause for concern. The poet employs euphemism to express sympathy. He sees her hair “threads of grey” and “little shadows come about her eyes” that indicate darkened skin with small wrinkles. But they are inconsequential and the lover is still fascinated by her beauty. The lover’s intellect comes to his rescue and supports his arguments, that with the passage of time, the heart will respond better and will be able to accept the realities related to the body, the loss of beloved’s beauty and her apathy towards him. The flush of passion, in spite of beloved’s age, is emphasized by the poet in the words “fire that stirs about her, when she stirs.” This is a beautiful metaphor for fire. In the ultimate analysis, heart wins and Yeats refuses to accept the argument of the intellect relating to the advancing age of his beloved. This poem is an unusually formed sonnet. The poet has employed simple words to produce a good sonnet, which tenders an eloquent argument against the argument that women become less beautiful with advancing age. “Sonnet 116” by William Shakespeare expresses more or less the same sentiments as expressed in “The Folly of Being Comforted” by W. B. Yeats, but with more emphasis. The first five lines indicate the true definition of love and the practicalities expected of the lovers. The theme of the poem is: true love is eternal. Trust and understanding are like the bricks of the mansion of love. By stating “That looks on tempests and is never shaken”, the poet indicates that the edifice of love is built rock-solid, and their relationship is based on trust and understanding. It is constant and strong and will not bend or break. Love is measureless and its depth is difficult to comprehend. Time cannot subdue love and it remains permanently itched in the hearts of lovers "even to the edge of doom," meaning it endures until the last day of life. The lover is so confident about his feelings and thinking on love that he boldly asserts that if he is proved wrong about his observations on love, then he is willing to recant all his writings on love and states that no man has ever sincerely loved. In this sonnet, Shakespeare explains grassroots realities related to love and it does not contain anything metaphysical or recondite thought. There is nothing to note about rhyming except the appropriate blending of open and closed vowels. Sonnet 43 “How Do I Love Thee” is a love poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861), who elucidates her deep love for her would-be husband, poet Robert Browning. Robert responds to her love by giving her pet name “my little Portugee.” In singing the glory of love it beats “The Folly of Being Comforted” by W.B Yeats and Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare. For this sonnet, she has chosen the Italian model adopted by Petrarch. The theme is love in its earnest form. The poet wraps up the thought within the form of the sonnet, a 14-line poem with a defined rhyme scheme and meter (mostly iambic pentameter). Love in its noblest form is detailed in this sonnet, as the poet describes the intensity of her love and promises that her love for her husband-to-be will transcend even death, God permitting. This means her love is beyond the attractions of the body and reaches the spiritual dimensions. It is love in its purest form, and passion has limited role to play in such relationships. Browning makes liberal use of alliteration in the poem like thee, they (line 8); my, my (Line 10). The important figure of speech in the poem is anaphora—“I love thee” is used in 8 lines and “I shall love thee” in the concluding line. The repetition helps to build rhythm and reinforces the theme. Apart from love, admiration, language and communication (of love), identity and mortality are the important themes of this sonnet. The love of Browning challenges and defies death. “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning (1812-1889) is also a love poem, with a moral component. If one thinks that that the same sweet emotions of love mentioned in the three poems mentioned above are ingrained in this poem as well, one is in for disappointment. The theme of the poem is secular obligations take precedence over love. No consideration for beauty is shown by the Duke, when he meant royal duty, as per his own considerations and yardsticks. The story of love has been depicted in the historical context of the era. The Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso, is the speaker of the poem and it is written in the backdrop his second marriage. He describes the late Duchess’ behavior as disgraceful, as she flirts with everyone. The poem comprises rhyming pentameter lines. The rhymes act as the subtle driving force of the contents of the story explained through the poem. Browning creates a colorful character in the historical context of Italian Renaissance, of which he is much fascinated. This poem engages the readers at the psychological level, and raises the question of suppression of the females and male dominance. The reader is mesmerized of the beauty of the language of the poem, and on the other hand is shocked about the horror associated with the fate of the Duchess and the powerful dramatic development created by Browning. He describes how violence and sex have become the symbols of the modern urban dwelling conditions. Conclusion I have chosen the above poems as they relate to nobility of love and the intimate relationship of the lovers. The poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, however, shows a weird form of love but I like this poem for the beauty of its language. All the four poems are by talented writers who are brilliant amongst the best. They are all-time greats in the literary world. The subject of the poets is love, which is my favorite topic, and the authors have opened their hearts with painful honesty and with great insight of poetic application. The emotions articulated in the poems have universal appeal with harmonious blending of philosophy and secular realities. Their poetic talents have emerged from a powerful mind and the strong willpower and are thought-provoking for the readers. The language of each of the poets is brilliant for its style. With minimum of words, maximum is told and the powers of observation and description are extraordinary. Works Cited Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. Sonnet 43. Browning, Robert. My Last Duchess. Shakespeare William, Sonnet 116. Yeats, W. B. The Folly of Being Comforted. Read More