T.C.
Seljuk University Institute of Social Sciences Faculty of Letters Department of English Language and Literature
STYLISTIC ANALYSES OF KHALILI`S ‘ASSEMBLY OF MOTH’AND WORDSWORTH`S ‘LYRICAL BALLADS’
Farida ANSARI
MASTER’S THESIS
Supervisor
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ayúe Gülbün ONUR
Konya – 2010
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... iv
OZET ...... v
ABSTRACT ...... vi
INTRODUCTION ...... 1
CHAPTER I: Poetry as a Major Form of Literature...... 8
1. Afghan Modern Poetry ...... 12
2. English Romantic Poetry...... 14
CHAPTER II: Khalili’s Biography and a General View on “Assembly of Moth” 17
CHAPTER III: A Stylistic Analyses of Khalili’s Poems ...... 19
1. Things When You Need Them ...... 19 A. Lexical Processes ...... 20 B. Grammatical Categories...... 21 C. Figures of Speech ...... 22 D. Cohesion and Context ...... 24
2. So Close...... 24 A. Lexical Processes...... 25 B. Grammatical Categories...... 26 C. Figures of Speech ...... 27 D. Cohesion and Context...... 29
3. Break The Arm...... 30 A. Lexical Processes...... 31 B. Grammatical Categories...... 32 C. Figures of Speech ...... 33 D. Cohesion and Context...... 35
i 4. Without Freedom ...... 36 A. Lexical Processes ...... 37 B. Grammatical Categories...... 37 C. Figures of Speech ...... 38 D. Context and Cohesion ...... 39
5. “I” In The Wilderness...... 40 A. Lexical Processes ...... 41 B. Grammatical Categories...... 41 C. Figures of Speech ...... 42 D. Context and Cohesion ...... 43
6. Mercy...... 44 A. Lexical Processes ...... 44 B. Grammatical Categories...... 45 C. Figures of Speech ...... 46 D. Context and Cohesion...... 46
7. Hope’s Candle ...... 47 A. Lexical Processes...... 48 B. Grammatical Categories...... 49 C. Figures of Speech ...... 49 D. Context and Cohesion ...... 50
8. Butchers And Shepherd...... 51 A. Lexical Processes ...... 52 B. Grammatical Categories...... 52 C. Figures of Speech ...... 53 D. Context and Cohesion ...... 54
9. Love ...... 54 A. Lexical Processes...... 55 B. Grammatical Categories...... 56 C. Figures of Speech ...... 57 D. Context and Cohesion ...... 57
10. An Assembly Of Moths ...... 58 A. Lexica Processes...... 61 B. Grammatical Categories...... 63 C. Figures of Speech ...... 63 D. Context and Cohesion ...... 64
ii CHAPTER IV: William Wordsworth’s Biography and a General View on
“Lyrical Ballads”...... 65
CHAPTER V: A Stylistic Analyses of William Wordsworth’s Poems ...... 69
1. My Heart Leaps Up...... 69 A. Lexical Processes ...... 70 B. Grammatical Categories...... 71 C. Figures of Speech ...... 72 D. Context and Cohesion ...... 73
2. A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal ...... 74 A. Lexical Processes ...... 75 B. Grammatical Categories ...... 76 C. Figures of Speech ...... 77 D. Context and Cohesion ...... 77
3. The World Is Too Much With Us ...... 78 A. Lexical Processes ...... 80 B. Grammatical Categories ...... 81 C. Figures of Speech ...... 81 D. Context and Cohesion...... 82
4. It Is a Beauteous Evening ...... 83 A. Lexical Processes ...... 84 B. Grammatical Categories ...... 85 C. Figures of Speech ...... 86 D. Context and Cohesion ...... 87
5. I wandered Lonely as a Cloud...... 87 A. Lexical Processes ...... 89 B. Grammatical Categories ...... 90 C. Figures of Speech ...... 91 D. Context and Cohesion ...... 92
Conclusion ...... 94
Works Cited...... 98
iii ACKNOWKEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Assist. Prof. Dr. Ayse Gulbun ONUR, who directed, supported, and encouraged me willingly during the process of preparing this thesis.
I would also like to express my appreciation to Aundreta Conner Farris for her valuable direction in this study.
Finally, special thanks to my husband Mohammad Tahir and my brother Hamayun for their support and encouragement.
iv v ABSTRACT
This study examines the language of a collection of poems from the two poets Khalilullah Khalili and William Wordsworth considering the unique varieties of English language usage. Their creative use of language includes an escape from banality.
In this work, stylistic devices such as their lexical processes, grammatical categories, figures of speech, cohesion, foregrounding, subjectivity, parallelism, deviation, and a critical analyses of the poems are studied in detail.
Khalilullah Khalili’s collection of poems “Assembly of Moth” and William Wordsworth’s “Lyrical Ballads” almost have the same spirit in expressing their longing for a better life. These poets have a similar approach in expressing their feelings about freedom and their respective past. Since the poems of these two poets share a common point of view in revealing the truth about life, they have been analyzed from a stylistic point of view to enable others to have a deeper appreciation for their poetry. For instance, in Wordsworth’s “Lyrical Ballads”, images of longing, memory, and freedom are major elements. He forcefully expresses the state of man in relation to his experience with such images and this is also similar to Khalili’s collection of poems “Assembly of Moth”.
In both Khalili’s and Wordsworth’s poetry, there are effective functions of longing for freedom and nature as well as a powerful source which refers to the soul. In other words, nature does not exist for pastoral taste. Its function is to create a spirit in the poems of these two poets. Moreover, their language use is very plain and meaningful. In each of them there has been found a relation between life and human desire which served as the main concern in studying and analyzing their poetry.
The aim of this study is to explore how the style of the two poets Khalilullah Khalili and William Wordswoth are different in their use of language, but this study can also express similar thoughts in their own creative way by almost uttering the same feelings in the selected poems. Furthermore, another aim of this study is to provide a brief history of Afghan and English poetry.
vi The thesis will consist of five chapters apart from the introduction and conclusion. The first chapter is about poetry as a major form of literature and a brief outline on Afghan and English poetry. In the second chapter, Khalili’s biography and a general view on the “An Assembly of Moths” are both studied. The third chapter includes an introduction to the stylistic analyses of Khalili’s Poems. In the fourth chapter, William Wordsworth’s biography and a general view on the “Lyrical Ballads” are the main concern whereas in the fifth chapter, selections of Wordsworth’s “Lyrical Ballads” are analyzed stylistically.
Finally, in the conclusion section, I have reached a synthesis that although the two poets are from different countries and come from different cultures; their major concerns are the same. They point to a similar sense of longing, freedom, illusion and disillusionment. I hope the methods and analysis that I have used in this thesis will help the learners of poetry to appreciate and enjoy the structural approach to poetry analysis in their classes.
In short, Khalili’s “Assembly of Moth” and William Wordsworth’s “Lyrical Ballads” are collections of poems which can be interlinked by their humanistic values about life. The study therefore, covers a stylistic analysis of the two collections of selected poems by using a structural approach. At the same time, the interpretation of the poems is made via a social criticism. As figurative or metaphorical language has been one of the main objectives of poetry language, the study offers all the aspects of imagery considering how poetry both disturbs and re – forms the patterns of routine language. Though each poem with its unique title seems to stand alone, there is a common ground which holds the poems together with its critical value. Some poems are tightly or loosely linked to one another. The main argument of the thesis is that there exists in both poets’ collections a sense of devotion to that that is lost and what might exist for a better life. Thus, structural analysis asserted throughout the study provides a useful perspective in comprehending the collection of poems.
vii INTRODUCTION
It is not always possible to do the things you want to do without education. Education has a crucial role in the life of human beings. Without it we cannot think of a civilized life. Hence, the two most essential things in civilized life are art and science. Science helps human beings to find the clear and obvious answers to the universe. Scientists are after the basic truths of the universe. They set their minds to research and find answers. Both scientists and artists are in search of something which they believe is real but their methods and styles are different. Artists are creative people who excite others. Specifically, they create images and through them they expect people to react. In other words, scientists are concerned with the patterns of facts while artists are concerned mainly with the patterns of feeling and poetry which generally include the most precise emotions of art.
Literature describes any written or spoken text that conveys meaning. However, in a narrower sense it includes texts such as poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction which have aesthetic value. In other words, literature is one of the informative forms of art which can manifest universal themes. As an art, it enables all readers to enlarge and improve their understanding of life. Literature can demonstrate what others have done in different periods and times. It includes life itself, sometimes it becomes an expression of one’s feelings, emotions, aspirations, and thoughts. Moody (1968), says “literature springs from our inborn love of telling a story, of arranging words in pleasing patterns, of expressing in words some special aspect of our human experience” (p.2). So there are many reasons and benefits for the study of literature in language classrooms as a source of enjoyment and cultural awareness, as well as a means of accessing language and developing one’s knowledge through figurative speech.
1 One reason for using literature in language classrooms can be to give students something to read that is more interesting than their textbooks. Using literary texts creates pleasure and an enjoyable atmosphere in the language classes for it gives students the chance to express their thoughts, feelings, and needs with their peers and teachers. It also allows students to use their imagination to visualize texts creatively. In other words, the greatest pleasure and satisfaction in literature occurs when it brings its readers back to the realities of human situations and problems. Therefore, through reading, writing, discussion, and performance, students become more empowered when they find ways to discover their own capacity. One can not deny the fact that students would enjoy the texts when its themes touch on their own experience and life. Moreover, enjoyment and appreciation of literary texts, particularly poetry, give students the ability to develop the confidence to approach different poetry books. It is for that reason that poetry, as a field of literature must be regarded as a source of enjoyment worthy of consideration in the curriculum.
Another reason for the necessity of poetry is that, it provides students with cultural and linguistic enrichment. Literature introduces students to new worlds of experience. It gives them insight into the human conditions which covers various themes. In fact, it is not always possible for students to visit other countries so literary texts are authentic resources for language learners to get information and learn about different traditions and customs. Poems, folktales, religious stories, novels, short stories, and historical legends are full of vivid contexts with characters which come from different cultural backgrounds for enlarging the readers’ information. Therefore, through the study of these texts students would explore their humanistic values for a better life. That is to say, reading literature helps the reader in making right rather than wrong choices.
Literature presents language and we use it as a tool in order to express ourselves. Thus, the study of literature not only helps learners in learning a language but also helps them in developing skills that every person needs in order to communicate in daily life. Ronald Carter and John McRae ( 1996) state that “ language is the way in to whatever areas of experience the learner wishes to explore, simply because language is the most readily accessible manifestation and expression of culture, society and experience”
2 (p.27). Collie and Slater (1996) also say that “language enrichment is one of the benefits of literature” (p.5). So the study of literature, particularly poetry, not only enables students to learn language but helps them in learning the main elements of poetry such as rhyme, rhythm, images, similes, and metaphors in addition to providing them with a rich context of lexical and syntactical backgrounds. Familiarity with these concepts helps students to improve and apply these elements in their own poetry. Furthermore, the formation of sentences and the way of connecting the ideas can improve students’ four language skills. Therefore, students who study literature are expected to have the ability to make deductions from the text by using linguistics expressions. Clanfield Lindsay (2005) proposes the advantage of literature for language enhancement as in the following:
Literature encourages interaction. Literary texts are often rich in multiple layers of meaning, and can be effectively mined for discussions and sharing feelings or opinions. Furthermore, by examining values in literary texts, teachers encourage learners to develop attitudes towards them. These values and attitudes related to the world outside the classroom. This means, literature educates the whole person. (p.1)
Literature has been an important subject of study in many countries but unfortunately there are some teachers who think that literature, especially poetry, is irrelevant and unnecessary to the needs of their students. Moreover, they think that there is no connection between the study of language and the study of literature. But actually these two are closely connected to each other and cannot be divided. Both language and literature support each other and stylistic analysis is a way to combine them. For instance, stylistic analysis enables students to make a literary analysis by examining the linguistic features of the texts. Therefore, the study of linguistics in the light of stylistic analysis helps learners to understand the language better. It also helps them to appreciate and improve language skills that are regarded in learning a language. Gilroy (1983), as well, claims that:
3 Language and literature would seem to be related, but a review of the literature of language learning finds them often worlds apart. Since 1945, literature especially poetry have been excluded from most language learning programmes, largely because of an emphasis on the study, rather than the reading of literature. (p.1)
Stylistics is a methodical study of style which concentrates on variation within the use of language. As Turner (1973) states, “Stylistics means the study of style, with a suggestion, from the form of the word, of a scientific or at least a methodical study” (p. 8). The word style refers to the linguistic habit of the writer. In other words, the linguistic structure personifies the writer’s way of writing which presents the writers tone of voice. Geoffrey N. leech and Michael H. Short (1981) states that: “Style refers to the way in which language is used in a given context, by a given person, for a given purpose” (p.10). Therefore; what the writer wants to say and how the writer wants to say it is one of the important concepts of style. In fact, style explains the manner of writing and stylistics aims to explain the structure of language. A Dictionary of Literary Terms defines stylistics as “a kin to linguistics and semantics, it is an analytical science which covers all the expressive aspects of the language: phonology, prosody, morphology, syntax, and lexicology” (Cuddon, 1979, P.663).
When students work on the language of the literary works, it makes them understand the deeper meanings of the texts without difficulty. Thus, teachers should have their students use stylistics because it enables them to identify the certain characteristics of literary texts and the general habits of writers. In fact, when the literary works are comprehensible, they would have positive affect on student’s awareness. Widdowson (1975) defines stylistics as follows:
By stylistics I mean the study of the literary discourse from a linguistic orientation and I shall take the view that what distinguishes stylistics from literary criticism on the one hand and linguistics on the other is that it is a mean linking the two. (p. 3)
Poetry is one of the earliest forms of literature. From the earliest people to the most civilized ones, it has been used in different ways for ages. For instance, in
4 prehistoric and ancient societies, poetry was in oral form and people used it as a way to record culture, law, history, religion, and stories in addition to enjoying its musicality. The epic was one of the first surviving forms of poetry that was recited or sung orally. The function of oral poetry was to help people to remember their historical events, lives, and battles. Beowulf is the only heroic epic in English literature which survived from those periods. For much of its history, poetry has been used as a product of education. Today, poetry is still used as a means to highlight the truth of life. Conversely, though poetry is an enjoyable form of literature, unfortunately most of the time it has been seen that language learners have a prejudice against it.
During the process of teaching English at Balkh University, many resources have been searched in order to help both language teachers and learners. However, the popularity of teaching literature in language classes has been accepted but today it is still a controversial matter for some language teachers because they think that teaching poetry is too difficult or even irrelevant and unnecessary to the needs of language students. Therefore, in my MA course, at Seljuk University in Konya, I decided to research and study poetry in order to encourage those who have bias towards teaching and learning poetry. Throughout my research the collection of poems “Assembly of Moth” by Afghan poet Khalilullah Khalili and the “Lyrical Ballads” by English poet William Wordsworth attracted my interest. In fact, both poets use language similarly. They also seem to share a common human experience in their poems. In other words, Khalilullah Khalili’s “Assembly of Moth’ and William Wordsworth’s “Lyrical Ballads” are collections of poems which can be interlinked by their humanistic values about life. These two poets have almost the same spirit in expressing their longing for a better life. Additionally, each poet has a romantic approach in the use of natural images in their poetry.
In William Wordsworth’s “Lyrical Ballads” images related to longing, memory, and freedom are the major elements. In fact, William Wordsworth explicitly expresses the state of man in relation to human experience and this is also similar in Khakili’s collection of “Assembly of Moth”. In both Khalili’s and Wordsworth’s poems we come across an effective longing for freedom. Though each poem with their unique titles seem to stand alone, essentially, they are actually based on similar grounds. Therefore, I came
5 to a decision to analyze and interpret their poems from a stylistic aspect in detail. That is to say, the study makes clear Khalilullah Khalili’s and William Wordsworth’s world views and their poetic manners. At the same time, the interpretation of the poems will be given within their figurative, metaphorical language usage. Therefore, I will trace the function of the images which exist in the poems of Khalilullah Khalili and William Wordsworth. In short, this study offers all the aspects of imagery, specifically, by considering how poetry both disturbs and re – forms the patterns of routine language.
Though there are studies related to the stylistic analyses of English Poetry by other researchers such as Geoffrey N, Elizabeth Deew, and Graham Hough, my study from my point of view has been dealt with for the first time. This study carries an investigation of poetic language of two poets from two different countries who share the same view points but express them differently. Therefore, hopefully this study aims to break the barriers between poetry and language teaching. Stylistic analysis, which deals with language, makes it easy for students to reach the deeper meanings of the poems. So it provides readers a practical aspect in appreciating and understanding poetry. Moreover, this study aims to provide a brief view on modern Afghan poetry and English romantic poetry for those who are interested in the field.
The main argument of the theme is that there exists in both poets’ collections a sense of devotion to what is lost and what might exist for a better life. Thus a structuralist analysis asserted throughout the study provides a useful perspective in comprehending the collections of poems by two poets. I hope the methods and analysis that I have used in the thesis will help learners to gain a new approach to poetry.
The thesis consists of five chapters apart from the introduction and conclusion. The first chapter is about poetry as a major form of literature and a short outline about Afghan modern poetry and romantic English poetry in general. The second chapter covers Khalili’s biography and a general view of “Assembly of Moth’ and in chapter three Khalili’s poems are analyzed under four stylistic categories which are defined by Leech and Short (1984). The study of lexical categories includes the study of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs besides word repetitions and lexical deviations. The
6 analysis of grammatical categories is based on sentence complexity, variation of length, and the function of deviation and its structure. The study of figures of speech includes the role of similes, metaphors, personifications, symbols, and alliterations in poems. Cohesion, foregrounding, subjectivity, and toning are also included in this chapter. Chapter four starts with the biography and a general view on the “Lyrical Ballads”. Finally, chapter six includes the stylistic analysis of William Wordsworth’s poems from “Lyrical Ballads” like that of Khalili’s. In the conclusion of this study, the two poets’s longing for freedom, illusion and disillusionment will be stated as well as the summary of the study.
To conclude, I would like to encourage Afghan teachers throughout my thesis to teach poetry in their literature classes and break the bias of students towards poetry classes and make the learning of poetry more enjoyable. When language students understand the lexical processes, grammatical categories, figurative speech and (Cohesion and Context) narration then they can reach the deeper meanings of literary works and make comments on literary texts. So it would help them in developing their language skills. In the conclusion section, it has been concluded that the stylistic analysis of the poems with the use of linguistic data gives a better understanding of the style of Khalili and Wordsworth’s poetry. In other words, this study can be considered as a guide for the students and the teachers who are interested in using poetry in their language classes.
7 CHAPTER I
Poetry as a Major Form of Literature
Poetry as a major form of literature makes a significant use of words in written or spoken form. That is to say, the poet finds the right words which are more rich and powerful than prose and through these words say a lot that one cannot in prose. Certainly, these words are made up of the poet’s image and through this image the poet opens up his / her own feelings. Therefore, the beauty and the art of the poetry depends on how the poet puts the words in the right order and considers the balance of ideas and words for expressing feelings. Moreover, poetry uses a very different language from what we are familiar to; and from the other genres written in prose. Perrine Laurance (1973) defines “Poetry is a language which says more and says it more intensely than does ordinary language with fewer words and in fewer places” (p.73). Elizabeth Drew (1967) as well states that “poetry indeed is not “like life”, but awakens and quickens new life” (p.31). But to William Wordsworth, poetry is “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility” (Norton Anthology, 1993: 7). According to these definitions every word in poetry has meaning, so it requires careful attention for understanding the diversity of meanings which is used by the poets.
The main purpose of poetry is to communicate and make the readers experience the same feelings which are conveyed by the poet. Actually, most of the time, the ideas are general so it easily influences the reader’s mind. In fact, poetry speaks to the human spirit and it makes them to feel something. In other words, poetry makes the readers conscious of their own feelings as well as others. For Matthew Arnold (1982), the power of poetry is that:
The grand power of poetry is its interpretive power, by which I mean, not the power of drawing out in black and white an explanation of the mystery of the universe, but the power of so dealing with things as to awaken in us a wonderfully full, new and intimate sense of them, and of our relations with them. (Pp.112- 113)
8 Poetry is different from prose since it is imaginative and creates an image in the reader’s or listener’s mind. For instance, when poets convey some messages about anger, regret, sorrow and love at the same time they try to have an effect on emotion. Moreover, the form of poetry also varies from prose since they are written in lines and stanzas. These lines are made of words or phrases which are packed with deep meanings. In fact, the main feature of poetry is figurative language. Elements such as rhyme, rhythm, tone, metaphor, simile, imagery, irony, symbol, onomatopoeia, personification, alliteration, denotation and connotation help the poet to empower his / her poetic language as well as expand the literal meaning of the words.
Rhyme is the repetition of the same similar sound, usually at the end of words. The vowel sound of two words is the same, but its initial consonant sound is different. Some poets use it in order to help the reader to remember it easily because of its musicality. Moreover, it helps the poet to have an emphasis on particular dictions that he wants to convey. In brief, it has two main functions: it echoes the sound as well as attracts the reader’s attention to verify the structure of poetry. Rhythm is also one of the elements of poetry that sets poetry apart from other types of writing. It refers to the beat and to the recurrence of sounds with the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables by the poet. It depends on the metrical pattern in poetry. Meter is the rhythm which depends not only on the number of syllables in each line but on the way those syllables are accented. Poets use it for several purposes: to create effects, to emphasize certain aspects, and to add to the musicality of their poem.
Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant or vowel sound that occurs usually at the beginning of words. Alliteration helps poets to join words or ideas with a kind of repetition to emphasize their message. In other words, like rhyme it can be used for musicality. Tone, in poetry is the manner and the reflection of the poet’s or speaker’s attitude toward his / her subject or readers. The tone gives clues for how to feel and imagine. For instance, if readers come across with ideas which make them sad and happy then it is the tone of the poem that gives them such temper. In other words, the tone of the poem tells us how the poet or the speaker feels and imagines. Sometimes the tone is the same as the mood it creates in the reader. For example, if the poet uses a friendly tone
9 then the mood of the poetry will be open and welcoming. The tone is also based on other elements of poetry such as imagery, irony, metaphor, and rhythm. For instance, when you find the poem very romantic, it is because it contains such kind of imagery. The poet uses these elements not only for a sound effect but also to suggest meaning.
Metaphor is a figure of speech concisely comparing two things, saying that one is the other. In metaphor, the figurative word is replaced with the literal word. Metaphor clears the meaning of something as well as expands one’s intellect. It compares two things indirectly which are not the same and it is made with clues such as ‘like’ and ‘as’ as does simile. Through the use of metaphor, the poets make the meaning of their poetry more forceful. Unlike metaphor simile is a direct comparison that compares two unlike things expressing their similarities. Poets use it as way of developing connotations in poetry.
Generally most figures of speech, such as simile and metaphor create a picture in the readers mind. Pictures which are offered by the poet are called images. In other words, the poet uses language in such a way in order to help readers to see, think, hear, feel, and taste with their five senses. To Collin (1984) imagery are “using comparison / symbols as a way of making people imagine things” (p.243). Images enable the reader to understand poetic language or what is being said or conveyed by the poet very clearly. Images can be created in the reader’s mind in a number of ways. It can be used in a literal way to describe something and more often, it is described in figurative (non literal) language. Moreover, through imagery, poets suggest meanings and the real experience of human beings not in abstract terms but in more perceptible and concrete forms. The terms image and imagery have been defined in the dictionary of literary term as a “ general term that covers the use of language to represent objects , actions , feelings , thoughts , ideas, states of mind and any sensory or extra – sensory experience” ( p.322).
As a figure of speech, irony is a device in which one says something in terms of it’s opposite. It can mean incongruity because people use it with the purpose of saying one thing but suggesting something else. Poets use it in order to help the readers understand something by expressing its opposite. An example of irony is in Samuel
10 Taylor Coleridge’s poem Ancient Mariner, “water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink” (Abrams, 1993: 333).
The word symbol in literature stands alone and is also means to signify something deeper. Further, a symbol can be an object, animate or inanimate, which stands for something else. The theorists of the Symbolist Movement states that “ the symbol could be something which existed in its own right , diffusing a mysterious influence around itself, and affecting the whole context in which it was placed” ( Edward Lucie- Smith, 1972, pp.16 – 18). One should not confuse the difference between symbol and metaphor. Metaphor is used for the comparison of two unlike things whereas symbol links two things whose meanings are literal and metaphorical. Onomatopoeia is another figure of speech which reflects sounds by imitation. It helps poets to convey the meaning of words through sound in the minds of the readers. Although these sounds are noisy or unpleasant, poets use it in order to create an image in the readers mind. For instance, the cat’s meow is an example of onomatopoeia that the sound reflects its meaning as well. Personification is a sort of metaphor in which human characteristics are given to an animal, an object or abstract ideas. For instance, in this line “When all at once I saw a Crowd”, Wordsworth personifies the daffodils with crowd as if they were group of people.
Words in poetry express denotation and connotation of meaning. Denotation is the literal meaning of words, the speaker says what he/ she means .In other words, it is the dictionary meaning of words, apart from what a person feels about its meaning. Connotative, on the other hand, refers to the figurative meaning of words which have a less direct meaning. The speaker says something and means another thing behind it. Connotation is one of the essential elements of poetry. Poets use it for the complexity through the words in order to make readers think about its literal meaning. Further more, the poets want to create an emotional reaction in the readers mind through the use of connotations.
11 Foregrounding is the characteristic of literary texts that draws attention to a certain aspect of language. Foregrounding makes the form complex so the reader comes across with defamiliarization. Foregrounding in poetry refers to the variety of stylistic effects and it can be notice in sound pattern (rhyme, alliteration, and meter), in grammar (ellipsis, unusual words order), at the semantic level (metaphor, and irony), and in images. Moreover, punctuation can also be foregrounded when the authors omit commas, full stops and instead use line breaks for controlling the reader’s attention. So foregrounding helps the poets to present meaning with complexity rather than ordinary language. For Paul Garvin (1964), foregrounding and the activity of foregrounding are “concepts given prominence and a particular twist in stylistics” (p.197). Mukarovsky and Havranek (1964) point out that “foregrounding occurs whenever a linguistic item, device or strategy draws attention to itself against the assumed ‘background’ norms of the language. Thus foregrounding is the textual mechanism whereby defamiliarization occurs” (P, 197).
1. Afghan Modern Poetry
Afghanistan is very famous for its poets and poetry. In fact, the tradition of poetry in this country dates back to a thousand of years. The simplicity of the language that is used in poetry enables poetry to be a popular literary form among people. It is for that reason, that most people are very enthusiastic about writing and reciting poetry in their daily lives. The subject matter of the poems mainly focuses on messages of peace, equality, and unity. For example, in the poems of great poets such as Maulana – Jalaluddin Rumi Balkhi, Khowaja Abdullah Ansari, Sanayee Balkhi, Rabia Balkhi, Rabia Adawee, Khalilullah Khalili and many others, one can find universal messages about humanity.
Actually, the preliminary movement to modernism started in the 4th and 5th decades of the 20th century. Poets such as Ustad Khalillulah Khalili, Habibullah Behjat, Mohammad Rahim Elham, Zia Qarizada, Bashir Herawi, and Huma Tarzi, were the first poets to develop modern poetry in Afghanistan. Some of these poets tend to write
12 political and philosophical poems, while others are associated with Islamic thought. The poet Khalilullah Khalili was interested in writing modern poetry like several poets in modern style with new aspects of expression. His poems ”Sorude Kuhestan” or “The Song of the Mountain” are an example of modern poetry with the same rhyme scheme as Nima, but the Kabul Literary Circle criticized him because of its modern style. Later he started writing Quatrains (four line stanza) and odes.
In fact, there are several reasons for the modernization of Afghan poetry. The first one is that, while translating foreign poetry, Western poetry particularly, found its way to Afghanistan through Iranian media. In other words, poets have not copied Western models, but rather they have acclimated to it. Moreover, the styles of some poets from Iran such as Farrokhi Yazdi, and Ahmand Shamlou also had their influence on modernizing Afghan poetry. Besides these points, some poets have also looked for new methods so they have studied world literatures such as Arabic, Turkish and others to pursue a new line in Afghan poetry. In this way, gradually modern poetry has entered Afghan literature, in spite of the pressures put on by the Kabul Literary Circle (traditionalists), who are against modernism. It was in 1962, that a collection of modern Persian poetry was published by poets. Mahmud Farani, Solyayman Layeq and Sohail Ayeneh, are the poets who started writing poems in the modern style. During this time the main subject matter of poetry was messages mostly about freedom, independence, honesty, patriotism, and the struggle against colonialism. In other words, through these messages the poets wanted to cultivate a civil society in Afghanistan as well as expand people’s social intellect (Partaw Naderi, 2006, pp. 1-2).
13 2. English Romantic Poetry
The later years of the eighteenth century were times of a movement toward social change and power in Great Britain. It was an age of new commencement not only in social and political issues but also a change in English literature. In fact, the Romantic period in English literature coincides with the French Revolution. It is during this time that many Romantic poets were concerned with the facts and ideas of revolution, although their works differed from one another. Wordsworth and Coleridge worked together, whereas Shelley’s and Keats’s poetry completely differed from their stylistic and philosophic points of view. Byron, on the other hand, did not like Wordsworth’s notion as well as Coleridge’s philosophical studies of truth. Wordsworth and Coleridge spent their days in discussions of revolution, politics, and democracy in addition to working on the theory and practice of poetry. Finally, the result of their discussion is the collection of Lyrical Ballads in 1798, which shows its crucial Romantic influence in English literature among the works of other Romantic poets (Abrahms, 2000, pp. 3 -5).
The Romantic poets’ thoughts and feelings differed from their predecessors. Their predecessors considered man as a social animal, whereas, the Romantic poets looked into themselves, into their own lives for mystery. So their individual experiences led them to a spiritual loneliness and solitude, although they were aware of their social responsibilities. They fled from the city and liked to live in the country, where there were forests and lakes. For them nature was man’s proper setting rather than society. They believed that man needed the help of nature in order to understand himself. They enjoyed both the beauty of nature and their own inner world. Shelley stated that “Hell is a city much like London” (Pat Rotgers, 1987: 276). In brief, the Romantic poets turned to nature to describe the power of different kinds of natural scenes for their own sake.
In fact, the Romantic poetry has nearly the same meaning as nature poetry, because of the importance of landscape for the poets of this period. In other words, the Romantic poets were highly interested in nature not only for its attractiveness but for the spiritual effects on their lives. Moreover, each poet of this period had his / her own view
14 about nature. For Wordsworth, nature was the source of his spiritual life. He found himself very close to nature; the natural world was felt and known by him. In other words, nature to Wordsworth was a source of mental and spiritual purity as well as being a teacher and a connection between Man and God. Whereas, for Shelley and Keats, the natural object was like a springboard (board which causes motion) for philosophical, social or personal meditation. Many of the Romantic poets found mystery as well as their deepest experience in nature. Therefore, their poems were not about external events, but about their own inner feelings and spirit (Robert Barnard, 1984, pp. 82-83).
The English Romantic poets – Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake, Byron, Shelley, and Keats created a concept of what poetry meant to them. As poetry was recognized as a work of art, the poets of the Romantic period stated that the imagination or creative power is autonomous. Wordsworth defined all good poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Kenneth Brodey, 2002:143). He asserted that, the subject of a poem should come from “emotion recollected in tranquility”. Keats, on the other hand, illustrated that “if poetry comes not as naturally as the leaves to a tree it had better not come at all” (The Norton Anthology, Abrams, 1993, p.8). Shelley also did not believe that poetry comes by study and effort, but instead suggested that “they are the products of an unconscious creativity” (The Norton Anthology, Abrams, 1993, p.6).
In the Romantic age, the lyric and the narrative poetry were the major forms so it was considered as the most important genres of poetry. The lyric poem was written in the first person “I”, and it was not the lyric speaker, but recognized as the persona of the poet himself. As in the poems of the Romantic poets such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, Smith, and others the experience and states of mind were expressed by the lyric speaker with an accurate record of facts. In fact, Romantic poetry is descriptive and meditative in which the presented scene evokes the reader’s emotion. As Wordsworth said, “not nature, but “the Mind of Man” is “my haunt and the main region of my song.” (The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 1986, P.9).
15 Romantic poetry usually introduces the reader to the landscape with human beings life, passion, and self –expression. Further more, in the poems of poets like, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley, and Keats one can find the description of their past experience. These poets looked for their own inner world of dreams, desires, hopes, and fears in order to distinguish it from the outer world. In other words, their poems were about their own inner worlds, they expressed their own feelings and personality. Therefore, the study of Romantic poetry helps students to become more aware of human experience (Sir Ifor Evans, 1964, P.42).
16 CHAPTER II
Khalili’s Biography and a General View on the
Assembly of Moths
( 1908 – 1987 )
Ustad Khalilullah Khalili, son of Mirza Mohammad Hussein Khan, opened his eyes in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1908, and died at the age of 79 in May 4, 1987. He was the last classical Persian poet and the first who introduced modern Persian poetry (Nimai style) to Afghan poetry. His main interest in life was to study classical literature so he studied with the Islamic scholars and showed a special talent in poetry. Khalili’s poems are written in Persian with perfect rhyme and regular meter and his famous poems are: ‘Tears and blood’ , ‘ Hero of Khorasan” , “Kabul jaan” , Baagh-e- baland- e- Paghman” “Saroud-e- Kahsaar” , Forty Ruba’iyat Quatrains’ and his recent collection “Assembly of Moth’ with which he received international fame in the literary world. Moreover, he was the author of more than fifty works of prose fiction, history and literary criticism.
………………………………………………………………………………………. 1. Nimai style: is based on the natural function inherent within poetry itself to portray the poet’s solidarity with life and the world surrounding him.
17 Kalili’s collection “Assembly of Moth” was translated by his son Masood Khalili and Whitney Azoy in three languages: Persian, English and Turkish. The collection “Assembly of Moth” includes a variety of subjects on sincerity, honesty, kindness, honor, dignity, and peace. The title “Assembly of Moth” conveys the mystical (Sufi) tradition, in which Moths (true seekers) fly into the candle flame (God), fearing nothing and holding nothing back. Khalili is known in his collection “Assembly of Moth” as a poet of pain. He longs figuratively for God as he says “I am like a broken bell, dropped from a late Carvan” (An Assembly of Moths, 2009, p.32). He also expresses his pain through the use of metaphors, and illusions with the temporary nature of worldly power, as he utters “the older I become”, “the darker those urges” (An Assembly of Moths, 2009,p.42). In other words, his poetry conveys messages about life’s misfortune, misery, and injustice of man to man, oppression, war, poverty, and even death.
Another of his collections is Forty Ruba’iyat (Quatrains) which has been translated into English, Persian, and Arabic. It has been published three times in Afghanistan, twice in Iraq and later in the United States. In his Rubaiyat, one can find themes of pleasure, love, beauty, and divinity. Moreover, it also reveals celestial inspirations and the inner thoughts of the great teachers of Islam and Sufism. As Khalili ( 1980) himself utters “The childern of Mankind are now more than ever in need of light and guidance in this society of today, where materialism increasingly preponderates over spirituality” (p.4).
In 1950, Ustad Kalili taught literature in Kabul University and he served as working as a Minister of Culture and Information. In 1960 and 1970, he was Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Finally, he spent the rest of his life as a refugee in different countries. He fled to Germany as a refugee in April 1978, and then moved to United States where he wrote most of his poetry about the war in his country. After that, in the late 1980s, he traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan and spent the rest of his life there. He died in Pakistan and his graveyard is located next to the tomb of the great and famous Pashto poet Rahman Baba.
18 CHAPTER III A Stylistic Analyses of Khalili’s Poems
1. Things When You Need Them
Where are the shields? when arrows descend in showers? Where are the feathers? and wings when I want to fly? My friends live far away. Where’s the homing pigeon? Where can I find the messenger, the morning breeze from home?
The title of the poem “Things When You Need Them” opens with the poet’s voice for desire and necessity. We are aware that he is calling for help to be safely equipped. Although he starts by stating a physical situation, a need to be protected by a “shield”, he is not subjective because he knows people who have suffered like him in this world. So the title almost summarizes the whole sense of the poem that one must be prepared for an attack.
The poet starts with raising rhetorical questions in the first, second, third, fourth , and the last three lines, with the repetition of “where” four times and “when” two times to express wonder. With the words “shields” and “arrows” he visualizes the settings of early battle fields. It seems that the poet is helplessly caught in the battle and wants to get away from a trapped position. In the first and second lines, he is aware of his unprotected position and asks for a shield to be physically protected from the arrows.
19 Actually, he is suffering mentally because people attack him verbally and their words hurt him as if he is under the shower of arrows. With the “shower” image he wants to say that, the pain is terrible and impossible to bear. Therefore, in the third and fourth lines, he creates a bird image with the words “feathers”, “wings”, and the action to “fly” in order to tell us that he wants to leave everything behind and set himself free. In the fifth line, there is a strong desire to get away from the fire zone. He longs for peace and his friends. He realizes the fact that, he has been left alone from the one’s who love him so he is not able to share the burden. It is interesting that although there is no chance that he will be able to get away from his trapped position as a human being, he still can imagine it.
In line six, he uses a bird image as a “pigeon”, making its nest. This reminds him of a safe place. This exists like a far – fetched dream. At another level, “pigeon” functions as a symbol for his wishes for peace in his homeland. Therefore, in line seven, he looks for a messenger to bring news from the place where his friends live. Finally, the last line ends with a question that expresses his strong desire to have a link with home and the “morning breeze” which is fresh. The function of this line is to further illustrate his yearning for his own country.
A. Lexical Processes
The lexical analyses of the poem ‘Things When You Need Them’ is based on the forms of nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and their functions in the development of the poem. A number of concrete nouns such as (shields, arrows, showers, feathers, wings, home, pigeon, messenger,) are used in order to create the visual image of a battle field directly / indirectly. In other words, the poem is composed of not only objects of perception, but with the process of perceiving. The occurrence of first person pronoun ‘I’, in the fourth and seven lines are an indication of it. So the reader is given not only the description of a scene but an account of significant personal messages. The lexical
20 imagery also helps readers to reach a conclusion about the topic of the poem that it is urgent to be prepared before hand.
In the poem, we notice that adjectives and adverbial phrases such as “far away, homing pigeon, morning breeze” have different functions in the poem. The term (far away) has a negative meaning as it emphasizes that the poet’s “friends” are not available. These terms indicate the poet’s struggle within the situation and also a desire to return where he usually lives. The change of events in the poet’s life is presented through the changes of place: from peace to war and from home to battle field. Moreover, the repetition of the definite article “the” five times: “the shield”, “the feathers”, “the homing pigeon”, “the messenger”, and “the morning breeze” make the syntactic meaning of the poem more precise.
The verbs such as “descend”, “fly”, “live”, and “find” are dynamic as they indicate a movement as well as convey an important part of the meaning of the poem. These verbs express the poet’s psychological state and imply the hardship of his life. As in line five, the verb “live” informs the reader about the importance of the poet’s friends who are present but not close, “far away”. The model auxiliary verb “can” stands for the poet’s desire to find a “messenger”. The interrogative adverbs “where” repeated four times and “when” two times, are questions that contribute to the abstract meaning of the poem. It also depicts the poet’s wonder and helplessness.
B. Grammatical Categories
In a grammatical study of the stylistic analyses, the main focus is on the study of sentence types, sentence complexity, clause types, clause structure, noun and verb phrases, and also word classes. The form of the poem consists of an eight line stanza which includes interrogative and statement sentences to emphasize the main theme of the poem. The poet needs to be protected from an unexpected attack. In line five, he uses one statement sentence for he wants to announce that his friends live far away.
21 The poem has almost the same length in each line, although there is a difference in structure. As in the first four lines: “Where are the shields” “when arrows descend in showers?” “Where are the feathers” “and wings when I want to fly?” are interrogative sentences, the fifth line is declarative to announce that the poet’s friends live far away: “My friends live far away.” Moreover, the last two lines are interrogative and they are separated with a comma. Although the sentence constructions are different it still powerfully emphasizes the strong sense of being unsafe: “Where can I find the messenger” “the morning breeze from home?”
Words have denotative (literal) and connotative (figurative) meanings in the poem. With denotative words “My friends live far away”, “where can I find the messenger”, the poet utters what is real but with connotative words “Where are the shields”, “when arrows descend in showers”, he is less direct, says something and means another thing. With this figurative language he presents his condition and emphasizes that he can not get away from his trapped position. The images “shield, and arrows” highlight the significance and awareness of his own condition.
C. Figures of Speech
In the analyses of figures of speech, stylists consider the deviations at the semantic, grammatical (syntactic), phonological or graphological level. Symbols, foregrounding, metaphor, similes or personification, onomatopoeia, metonymy, paradox, and irony are also essential elements of stylistics.
Semantic deviations function at level of meaning in terms of the ironic event in which the poet finds himself in the position of being under an unexpected attack. The reader cannot easily grasp his position till the end of the poem, because of the description of the battle equipment (shields, and arrows). Almost at the end of the poem the poet’s isolation from his friends is depicted. “My friends live far away”, “where can I find the
22 messenger” and “the morning breeze from home?” are all about the poet’s circumstance which is the opposite of what he has expected.
Deviation of the phonological scheme is based on the sound patterns used in different form such as ‘Yea’ instead of ‘Yes’. This poem does not have such a form, but the Rhythmic deviation (alliteration and rhyme) creates harmony and an aesthetic sound variation in words like (Where, When, are, arrow, showers, feathers, messenger, far, fly). There is pleasure in the sound itself and it associates with the sense of music and rhythm. The rhyme of these lines assists the structure of the poem and helps the reader to remember it easily.
Graphology deviation occurs in terms of variation from the norms of the lines themselves with the use of capitalization to foreground the general idea. But in this poem the poet does not use such a form of deviation. Instead, the beginning of five lines: “Where are the shields”, “Where are the feathers”, “My friends live far away”, “Where’s the homing pigeon”, “Where can I find the messenger” are all written in capital letters, whereas the second, fourth, and the final lines start with a small letter: “when arrows descend in showers?”, “and wings when I want to fly”, “the morning breeze from home”. Moreover, the last two lines are also separated with a comma to create a deeper meaning in the poem.
One of the most important symbols is the “pigeon”. The concrete noun “pigeon” symbolizes the abstract meaning of the urgent need to contact the friends who are far away. The “Pigeon” also symbolizes peace and gathering of friends in harmony. In the poem, foregrounding provides an emphasis in stating language. For example, the poet, by repeating three times the word “Where” and “When” highlights a particular situation as well as heightening the sound pattern (alliterations, and rhymes). Thus, repeated words attract attention for they denote meaning in deeper structure.
23 D. Context and Cohesion
The last category in Leech and Short’s stylistic categorization is the analyses of context and cohesion. Under cohesion analysis the discussion is of whether one part of the poem is linked to another. This category is called the internal organization of the text. In terms of context analysis, the social relation between the author and the reader is considered; does the poet address the reader directly, or through the words or thoughts of some fictional character? What linguistic clues (pronouns) are used?
In the poem “Things When You Need Them”, there is a logical and referential link between each line. In the second, fourth, and eighth lines the prepositions (in, to, from), are used to add to the meaning of nouns (arrows, shower, breeze and home). The poet is very direct in the narration of his poem. It is because he knows people that suffered like him so he announces that one should be aware of an unexpected strike. Moreover, the possessive adjective “My”, and subjective pronoun “I”, gives reference to that of the speaker of the poem who is actually the poet himself.
2. So Close
If God would turn the wheel, return my youth, I’d hold you, sweetness of soul, Against my bosom, I’d cling to you so close There’d be no telling Where one of us began and the other ended.
24 The title of the poem implies a kind of wish for being “close” to one’s beloved. The first and second lines start with the poet’s desire from God to turn the wheel and let him be young. In other words, the poet longs for his youth because he misses it. He wants to change his fate. The “wheel” is the wheel of fortune of the medieval years. God only has the power to change the fate of mankind. There is a longing for his powerful years. In the third line, he personifies the soul that he would grasp it with love and kindness with all his power “I’d hold you, sweetness of soul”. He wants his youth back in order to appreciate the “sweetness of soul”. Thus, in the fourth and fifth lines, he welcomes his soul and desires to embrace it with love “I‘d cling to you so close”. In the sixth line, his soul is again personified with “you” that he would hold on and embrace it in such a way that people would not be able to separate them from each other, “there’d be no telling”. In the last two lines, he summarizes that nobody would be able to distinguish the body from the soul, one from the other: “where one of us began”, “and the other ended”. A complete unity is his dream.
A. Lexical Processes
Lexical categories include the poet’s choice of words and their meanings. The emphasis is on nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs and their function in the development of the poem “So close”. Moreover, in this category the vocabulary study focuses on whether they are simple or complex; formal or colloquial; descriptive or evaluative.
The study of nouns indicates whether the nouns are abstract or concrete; whether they occur frequently referring to events, perceptions, moral qualities or social qualities. In the poem “So close”, a number of abstract nouns (youth, sweetness, soul, and bosom) are used in the description of the poet’s longing process for his past. The concrete noun (wheel) helps the reader to understand the abstract meanings hidden on the surface structure of this line: “If God would turn the wheel”,
25 and would therefore, “return his youth”. In other words, the noun ‘wheel’ signifies abstract meanings and concreteness is subordinated to abstraction.
The adjective “close” expresses the poet’s emotion for he does not want to be away from his soul, and the gradable adjective “one” marks that he is not different from the soul. The adjective “other”, once more emphasizes that there would not be anything existing between them (he and his soul). The words “turn, return, hold, cling, begin”, are used as dynamic verbs which reveal the poet’s wish to revisit his past. The adverb “so” , adds to the semantic level of the poem in which the poet wants to be near to his soul in a way “so close” that people would not be able to distinguish them from each other . The model auxiliary verb “would” is repeated in the third, fifth, and sixth lines, to indicate that the poet intensely, with all his senses, is really misses and dreams of his past such that he longs to embrace it.
B. Grammatical Categories
In the analyses of grammatical categories: sentence types, sentence complexity, sentence length, sentence structure, clause types and structure, noun or verb phrases, and word classes (prepositions, conjunctions, determiners, auxiliaries, and interjections) are examined. In brief, grammatical categories present the general features of sentence structure in the poem “So Close”.
In the poem, we notice that the poet uses a conditional if clause: “If God would turn the wheel”, in order to return his youth so his dream would come true. In the first line, the definite article “the” underlines the circle of time “wheel”, as well as refers to the poet’s past. In the last line, again the article “the” precisely highlights that the poet does not want to be separate from his soul: “where one of us began” “and the other ended”. In line six, the “ing” form is placed perfectly to ring a sound in “telling” as if no one on earth would be able to tell the difference between the body and soul. Rhythmically with “there” he emphasizes the sense of clinging to one
26 another. Their uniting becomes visual with the flow of the lines as he omits punctuation in the final three lines. Moreover, the first three lines are separated by commas to express the poet’s desire clearly, but the last line ends with a full stop to conclude the poet’s aspiration. The sentence lengths and number of words in each line are almost the same, except the first and third lines in which he depicts the pace of a turning wheel, a wish full of desire, “I’d hold you, sweetness of soul”, and “If God would turn the wheel”.
C. Figures of Speech
In this category the study of grammatical and lexical schemes, phonological schemes, and tropes (syntax, semantic, and graphlogical), deviations are included because they convey meaning in the deeper structure. In the analysis of grammatical and lexical schemes, the main focus is on the repetitions and parallelism; whether there are formal or structural repetitions on the rhetorical effect of the climax, and anticlimax. In this category the study of preposition can also be included.
In the poem “So Close”, repetition is categorized as semantic and syntactic repetition. Semantic repetition occurs when each of the verbs (turns, return, hold, cling) convey the same meaning in the poem. The syntactic repetition includes the repetition of forms, structure and events. In the first, second, fifth, and sixth lines we have almost the same structure with the repetition of the word classes (would turn, would hold, would cling, and would be). Parallel structure in the narration of the poem is conveyed with the poet’s wish for a unity with his soul.
In the analyses of phonological schemes of the poem “So Close” , the main concern is about the phonological patterns of rhyme, alliteration, and assonance; the use of vowel and consonant sounds; and interaction of phonological features with meaning. In the poem, there are internal rhymes (words inside of individual lines) such as (would, hold, youth), this is what we mean when we say a poem rhymes.
27 These rhymes contribute to the musical quality of the poem and like rhythm it affects the sound pattern in the poem. In other words, the use of consonants, vowels and rhymes affect the reader’s feelings. The poem’s subject matter is emphasized better and it also helps the reader to memorize the poem easily.
Words (turn, the, to, sweetness, soul, so, be, began), are alliterations which function as emphatic sounds in the poem. The poet composes like a piece of music to create sound effects in the semantic level of the poem and it holds the reader’s attention to what he wants to underline. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds that can be found anywhere in a word. The title “So Close” has assonance. (Turn, return, there, Where, be, began), are also assonances to reflect the sound pattern in the poem. Finally, in the study of tropes the semantic (symbol, paradox, irony, image, simile, metaphor, personification) and syntactic (phonological or graphological) deviations are also the main concern of figurative speech.
Symbolizing is an indirect representation. In the poem “So Close”, the word “wheel”, symbolizes the circle of time. The poet wishes if God turns the “wheel” of time he would embrace his past, “youth” with pleasure. He uses a paradox, when the reminiscences of the past are trustworthy and the past seems to be existing in the present. Therefore, he concludes that if he had a chance to return to his youth “there’d be no telling” “Where one of us began” “and the other ended”. The symbol is a unified body with the soul. When the body and soul unite, he would feel more powerful and confident.
Image in poetry is the picture that the poet is drawing in our mind. Thereby, we can perceive it through our five senses. It helps the poet to convey his subject as it is, not in an abstract term, but in a more perceptible and concrete form. In the poem “So Close”, the “wheel”, image helps the reader to visualize the process with our mind’s eye. The poet uses this image to compare it with the circle of time. He gives the reader the feeling that if his “youth”, or his past turns like the vivid image of a “wheel” his life would gain meaning. Personification is also a kind of metaphor in
28 which we speak of an inanimate object, or an abstract concept, as if it has a living body. The poet personifies his soul when he uses the pronoun “you” instead of “soul” in these lines “I’d hold you”, “I’d cling to you so close” “where one of us began”. Besides that, the soul is also personified as having a nature which is “sweet”.
D. Context and Cohesion
Under context analyses, the main focus is on the poet’s relation with his reader whether he is subjective or objective and how he conveys his subject matter to the readers. But in cohesion analysis, the links between sentences (coordinating conjunctions, or linking adverbials), and the connections of meaning are the main concern to be analyzed.
In the poem “So Close”, the poet’s relation with his readers is objectified by the use of “I” and “My”. So the poet has a different identity from his readers, however the reader is invited to share his vision in the sixth and seventh lines as “there’d be no telling”, “where one of us began and the other ended”. Moreover, the use of definite article in the first line “If God would turn the wheel” is part of a more general strategy of involving the reader to witness what might happen in his journey to the past. The most notable feature of cohesion in the poem is the repetition of “would”, which highlights the poet’s desire for being young throughout the poem. Prepositions such as (of, against, to), adds to the meaning of nouns (soul, and bosom). Moreover, the subjective pronoun “I”, and objective pronoun “us”, helps the reader to grasp the theme of the poem more easily. Flow and musicality are also a part of cohesion. The intensive closeness is almost visualized with the rhythmic tone of the poem.
29 3. Break the Arm
A soft breeze touches the purple flower. My eyes weep a river of tears. Today my gazelle is burning with grief. Oh God, break the arm of the butcher.
The title of the poem conveys an order related to violence. It reflects a negative action for those men who oppress and destroy nature for their own benefit. Thus, the poet is sorrowful and wants not himself but God to “break the arm”, of such evil people.
The poem in the first line opens with the existence of a peaceful harmony in nature “A soft breeze touches the purple flower”. The poet is affected by the beauty of nature and appreciates nature’s power. Like a Romantic poet he can read the language of nature and it is its aesthetic beauty that makes life meaningful. He wants to declare that a great harmony exists in nature but people do not appreciate it and don’t have the sense to see it. In the second line, he is moved and cannot control his feelings. Here we witness a spontaneous overflow of feelings. Instinctively, his eyes shed tears like a “river”. How can men destroy such a beauty? He is distressed and helpless. So he uses the metaphor “river” to display his agony. In the third line, he gives the image of an innocent and harmless creature such as “gazelle”, which is disturbed by the evil action of mankind in this world. When he says “my gazelle”, it implies that he is the only one aware the destruction, not others. Therefore, in the fourth line, he wants God to punish such evil people; the hunters who also slaughter other creatures in the universe. To conclude, all these depictions imply that there is a longing for the existence of peace in nature.
30 A. Lexical process
The poet’s choice of words and their meaning in the poem is significant. The emphasis is on the words such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and their function in the development of the poem. The study of nouns indicate whether the nouns are concrete or abstract; whether they occur frequently or they refer to events, perceptions, moral qualities or social qualities. Moreover, what use is made of collective nouns and proper names is also considered in the study. The poem “Break the Arm” has a number of concrete nouns (flower, eyes, river, gazelle, arm, and butcher), which describe the poet’s subject matter. These concrete nouns help the reader to visualize the scene in their mind’s eye. Moreover, these concrete nouns signify the abstract meanings of (breeze, and grief), in the poem.
In the study of verbs, the main focus is on whether the verbs play an important part in the meaning of the poem; whether they are stative or dynamic (refers to actions, events) or whether they are transitive or intransitive. Two types of verbs are used in the poem: transitive and intransitive. The verb “touches” is transitive, it has an object complement which is “the flower, while the verbs such as “weep”, and “burning” are intransitive, they do not need an object complement, but express the complete meaning of the poem. These verbs are also called dynamic verbs; it is because they convey actions in themselves. In the third line, the verb “is” is used to describe the noun “gazelle”, which burns with grief.
For an adjective analysis, the main focus is about the frequency and kinds of adjectives (physical, psychological, visual, auditory, colour); whether they are restrictive or not; gradable or non – gradable; and attributive or predicative. In the poem, the adjective “soft” is attributive; it describes the abstract noun “breeze”. They unite and complete each other. The adjective “purple”, tells us about the colour of the concrete noun “flower”, and the possessive adjective “My”, characterizes the referent of the nouns “eye” and “gazelle” directly. The adverb “Today”, functions as an adverb of time. The poet is aware at the moment that his gazelle is suffering and will
31 suffer forever. The exclamation “oh” in the final line is stated with “God” to create a specific effect of helplessness and disappointment. “Oh God”, he orders “break the arm of the butcher”. The reader is aware that with the exclamation “oh” the poet is reluctant in uttering the order but is urged to do so.
B. Grammatical categories
In the study of sentence types, the main focus is on whether the poet uses only statement sentences, or questions, commands, and exclamations. The poem consists of declarative sentences, except line four, in which the poet exclaims to God to “break the arm of the butcher”, who harms nature. The first and second lines are in simple present tense. The poet expresses a present condition. Harmony exists in nature but unfortunately, human beings destroy it. Therefore, his tears flow like a “river”. The poem has a simple and plain structure. The first line, “A soft breeze touches the purple flower”, helps the readers to clearly imagine the scenes in their minds and how harmony exists in nature. In the second line, the poet gives his identity for he longs for such a harmony as a human being “My eyes weep a river of tears”. He uses the metaphor “river”, in order to describe his sensitiveness. He is moved by such a delicate sight.
It is significant that although the sentence length slightly varies the first three lines consist of seven words, but the last line with two definite articles ends with eight words, to summarize the theme of the poem: “Oh God, break the arm of the butcher”. The prepositions “with” and “of” “, are used to convey a relation between two entities. In the second line, the preposition “of”, adjuncts two nouns “river” and “tears” but in the third line, “with” functions as predicative adjunct. “Today my gazelle is burning with grief”. In the fourth line, “of” functions to relate two noun phrases “the arm” and “the butcher”.
32 On the level of word classes, the focus is on the study of rules in which the words are constructed. It helps the readers to recognize a word by its structure. In the first line, the suffix “es” conveys the meaning of the verb “touch” in present tense, and in the second line, the suffix “s” changes the verb “tear” to become the noun “tears” . In the third line, the word “burn” is the gerund class of noun which ends in – ing – form of “burning”, which is designated as a verbal noun. The suffix “er” in the words “flower” and “butcher” allows the words to be pronounced with the same syllable sound.
C. Figures of speech
In the study of figures of speech, semantic deviation occurs at the level of meaning in the poem in terms of an awareness of the poet. He experiences great harmony in nature, but mankind destroys for its own benefit. Unfortunately he is the only one who is aware of this destruction “Today my gazelle is burning with grief”. In the first line, “A soft breeze touches the purple flower” deviates with the structure of the second line “My eyes weep a river of tears”. By violating the poem’s order, the poet wants to attract the reader’s attention to a deeper meaning. In fact, the deviation does not break the unity in these two lines, but it changes the style in the narration of the poem. It emphasizes that nature has a harmony in itself, but human beings destroy it, which makes the poet feel sad, “My eyes weep a river of tears” because he has witnessed how harmoniously an element of nature - “The breeze” softly touches the flower.
Deviation can also be used in grammatical structures which are also called syntactic deviation. As in the first line, “A soft breeze touches the purple flower” deviates with the structure of the second line “My eyes weep a river of tears”. By violating the poem’s order, the poet wants to attract the reader’s attention to a deeper meaning. In fact, the deviation does not break the unity in these two lines, but it changes the style in the narration of the poem. It emphasizes that nature has a
33 harmony in itself, but human beings destroy it, which makes the poet feel sad, “My eyes weep a river of tears”.
Deviation at the phonological level is based on the sound patterns such as rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, and assonance. How these phonological features interact with meanings is also the main concern of the study. Rhythmic deviation creates an aesthetic sound variation in the poem. The poet uses rhythm to create effects and to emphasize certain aspects or ideas. In the poem, the rhythm can be heard quite loudly by the repetition of “my” and the definite article “the”, in order to affect the meaning of the poem: “My eyes, my gazelle, the purple flower, the arm and the butcher”. We can hear the rhythm better when we read it aloud.
Repetition makes an important contribution to the musical quality of the poem, and like rhythm it affects the sound. In the poem “Break the Arm”, words at the ends of lines have similar sounds such as “flower” and “butcher”. Alliteration in the poem occurs with the repetition of the same consonant sound, at the beginning of each word such as (breeze, burning, break, and butcher). Assonance is another vocalic rhyme which consists of the repetition of similar vowel sounds. Words such as (breeze, break, river, tears, weep, grief”, are an example of it. The poet uses these sounds in order to affect the reader with the poem’s musicality. This adds to the meaning by enlivening a sense of disappointment related to the violence of mankind.
Graphology deviation occurs in terms of variation from the norms of writing with the use of capitalization to foreground the general idea of the text. In the poem, there is not such deviation in the middle of words, but each line starts with a capital letter after a full stop which is the normal style of writing. The metaphor “My eyes weep a river of tears”, describe the poet’s passionate state. The amount of weeping and the tear are so great that it is likened to a flowing river. Literally, of course, tears cannot form a river, but metaphorically speaking it can be seen from the “river” tears that he cries so much. In the last line, the word “butcher”, symbolizes the evil character of some people who desire to oppress and kill innocent creatures.
34 D. Cohesion and Context
Under cohesion, an analyses of the ways in which sentences are connected or linked to one another is considered. In the first line, the definite article “the” is a mark of reference to a particular flower “the purple flower”, and in the second and third lines, the possessive adjectives “My”, gives reference to the first – person speaker who is the poet himself. In the last line, there is another syntactic cohesion in which two noun phrases “the arm” and “the butcher” are related by a preposition “of”, which is part of the same sentence: “Break the arm of the butcher”. The function of the definite article “the” is to identify “arm” and “butcher” which are contextually known to be unique. The poet shares his experience with the readers, who are already familiar with such implications in their own lives. In other words, the use of definite articles in these two noun phrases “the arm” and “the butcher” are part of a more general strategy of sympathetically involving the reader in the content of the poem. Hence, the narrator – reader relationship is objectified by the use of “My”, so we feel that the poet has a separate identity from ourselves, but we may be also invited to share his vision when he yearns for God to break the arm of such evil people who cause destruction in the world. Although, each line depicts entirely a different picture with its action and feelings, there is still a unity maintained in the content because of a successful and skillful cohesion.
35 4. Without Freedom
Alas, there’s no gladness in our fate, Only grief, pain cruelty and destruction. Science, art, industry, power, army- Without freedom, these don’t mean a thing.
The title “Without Freedom”, suggests the poet’s great desire for freedom. It seems as if he has no option for satisfaction when freedom does not exist. Nothing can be independently achieved in his life. Therefore, he suffers a lot because life makes no sense for him without freedom.
The first and second lines, start with the poet’s complaining voice for he has spent all his life in pain and sorrow. So he expresses his deep and strong reaction to his fate with: “Alas, there’s no gladness in our fate” “only grief, pain cruelty and destruction” exist. He evaluates people’s bad conditions, and realizes that his people have never been happy in their lives. In the second line, he utters a series of different stages of suffering with “grief”, “pain”, “cruelty”, and “destruction”. In the two final lines, he summarizes that life without freedom is nonsense and it would never let people progress. So in a way, he wants to encourage people to struggle for freedom. Otherwise “science”, “art”, and “industry” would not help them to progress while they are also restricted and under control they cannot gain anything from them since they have neither liberty nor freedom. He longs for a complete freedom because he does not want his people to be colonized.
36 A. Lexical Categories
The following analyses of lexical categories are based on the forms of nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, compound words, words with particular suffixes, and their functions in the development of concrete or abstract nouns. A number of abstract nouns such as (gladness, fate, grief, pain, cruelty, destruction, science, art, industry, power, and freedom), are used in the poem’s content. The poet repeatedly uses abstract nouns in order to assert his perceptions about not being free. The repetitions of these nouns lead the reader to grasp the concrete meanings hidden below the surface structure. In the poem, we notice that the adjectives “glad”, “free”, and “destructive”, by the addition of the suffixes (ness, dom, tion) are changed into abstract nouns: “gladness”, “freedom”, and “destruction” to cover a universal meaning. Moreover, the verb to be, “is”, functions to predict the real life of the poet: “Alas, there’s no gladness in our fate”. He has lived in exile for a long time. Therefore, the depiction is a vital experience for the poet.
B. Grammatical categories
In grammatical categories of stylistic analyses, the main focus is on the study of sentence types, its complexity, and word classes. The sentence type of the poem “Without Freedom” is exclamatory. The poet cries out and protests because he has spent all his life in distress. We have first hand experience and a series of miseries: “Alas, there’s no gladness in our fate”, “only grief, pain, cruelty, and destruction”. In the last two lines, we can notice that one idea is subordinated by another to emphasize the significance of a “Science, art, industry, power, army”, “Without freedom, these don’t mean a thing”.
37 The average sentence lengths in each line are five, six, and eight words. The first line begins with a classical exclamation without an exclamation mark. So it is more authentic in expressing the poet’s sorrow. In other words, it stands as a factual and philosophical reality that “there’s no gladness in their fate” and in the second line we are aware of the poet’s complaint “only grief, pain, cruelty and destruction” remain unchanged in their life. In the serial part of the poem he applies commas in order to emphasize his feelings clearly. Each time he choose different words to visualize the suffering almost physically and “destruction”, as a final adjective, functions meaningfully by not having freedom and achieving its aim. It destroys everything. The detailed descriptions of the poet’s suffering help the readers to understand the value of freedom in their life. The last two lines point out the main idea of the poem: Since, art, power, and army- without freedom which exists in their lives have lost their meaning. Human beings need freedom, without it there would not be any progress in their life.
C. Figures of Speech
Semantic deviation functions at the level of meaning when the readers cannot easily grasp the reasoning of the poet’s unhappiness till the last line of the poem due to the poet’s description that all the facilities of life like “science, art, industry, power and army” do not mean anything without freedom.
Deviation at the phonological schemes is based on the phonological patterns of, rhyme, alliteration, and assonance; the use of vowel and consonant sounds; and their interaction with meanings. Rhythmic deviation creates a harmony and there is an aesthetic sound variation in the poem. The poet uses rhythm in order to emphasize certain themes that he thinks are important. So the readers can hear the beat or the rhythm when they read the poem aloud. Half internal rhymes such as “art”, and “fate”, are used to create an audible sound effect. Alliteration in the poem occurs with
38 the repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of each word such as “there”, “these”, and “thing”. These devices help the poet to create sound patterns as well as illustrate the semantic level of the poem.
Graphological deviation occurs when the poet varies from the norms of the text itself with the use of capitalization in order to foreground the general idea of the poem. The poet does not have such a style in this poem, instead he uses punctuation marks to attract attention and avoid ambiguity. The third line, “Science, art, industry, power, and army –” ends with a dash as punctuation, which is more emphatic and indicates a sharp turn in thought and the final word “army” breaks the beat and strikes the reader differently because of its unexpected turn. He uses this mark before the summarizing statement “Without freedom, these don’t mean a thing”, in order to have an appropriate effect on the reader’s thoughts. Moreover, the last line begins with the word “Without” which foregrounds the general idea of the parts. The function of commas in each line is to show where the main part of the poem begins. It also helps the reader to understand the poet’s meaning clearly.
D. Context and Cohesion
In the poem there is coherent and referential link between each line. In the first line, the first person plural pronoun “our”, clarifies the semantic structure of the poem in which the poet longs for liberty for all mankind. In the second line, the conjunction “and”, shows the connection between the two nouns “cruelty and destruction”. In the last line, the demonstrative pronoun “these”, is used instead of the nouns “science, art, industry, power, and army”, in order to summarize that without freedom nothing means anything in a human beings. Moreover, the poet’s relation with the reader is objectified by the use of the possessive adjective “our fate”. So by suggestion, he wants to invite his people to strive for freedom.
39 5. “I” In The Wilderness
There’s a tree on our way ahead at the mountain’s summit, And a nest on the branch of that tree. Now pay attention: My grief is like the mountain; My life is like the tree. And this “I” is like a small bird, singing on its branch.
In the title “I” In The Wilderness” the poet attracts the reader’s attention by addressing himself as “I” in the midst of untouched nature.
The poem opens with a voice of a story telling tone. Therefore, the first three lines begin with the poet’s narration. Once upon a time “There was a tree on our way ahead”, “at the mountain’s summit”, “And a nest on the branch of that tree.” In the fourth line, his narration takes shape by an intervention “Now pay attention”. This line divides the eight line stanza into two. The first part is concrete with its physical description while in the second part he includes himself with his feelings and devotion to life itself. In the fifth line, he creates the image of a mountain in order to compare the greatness of his grief which is as huge as a mountain. In other words, he expresses that his burden is like a stable mountain. In the sixth line, he again repeats the image of a “tree”, in order to compare it with his life which is deeply rooted. But by uttering his grief like a “mountain”, he makes the reader think of his pessimism and insignificance. In the two final lines, he exemplifies himself with the “bird” image which is singing on the branch of a tree. In fact, with the “singing bird” image he wants to verbalize that he would never stop writing poems in his life because it is the only way that he can share his burden with others and this would exemplify himself.
40 A. Lexical Categories
In the poem, the words “tree”, “mountain”, “nest”, and “branch”, are used as concrete nouns in the depiction of a setting. Through these concrete nouns of natural image the poet illustrates an idea expressed in abstract words like “grief”, “life”, and”way”. They are used as abstract nouns to express his feelings. Moreover, the concrete image of the “bird” helps the readers to visualize with their mind’s eye. “Small” as a gradable adjective describes the littleness of the bird which the poet likens himself to. The repetition of the verb to be, “is”, helps the poet to predict the reality of his life. The intransitive verb “singing” indicates an action when the poet composes poetry. In the wilderness his tune would only add a small note to the song of nature. His awareness and consciousness of his own position is interesting. Although his contribution seems insignificant, he still goes on singing his song.
B. Grammatical Categories
In the poem, the average length of the sentences in words varies due to the poet’s narration. In the fourth line, a short sentence as an announcement is used in order to direct and attract the reader’s attention: “Now pay attention”. In the first three lines, we can notice that one idea subordinates another: “There’s a tree on our way ahead”, “at the mountain’s summit,” “and a nest on the branch of that tree”, but they are connected by a prepositional phrase “at” and a conjunction “and”. Prepositional phrases (on the branch, like the mountain, like the tree), are used to function as adjectives to describe the nouns “mountain” and “tree”. The possessive adjectives “My grief”, and “My life”, are used to give a personal reference to the poet himself. Moreover, the demonstrative adjective “there”, and “that”, are used in order to make evident the poet’s depiction. Besides that, the function of the definite article “the” is to identify “mountain” and “tree” which are contextually known to be unique.
41 C. Figures of Speech
The poet begins the poem with a vivid image of a tree on the top of the mountain, which has a nest on its branch. Then he likens his life to the “tree” and his grief to the “mountain”. In these lines he uses semantic deviation which operates at the level of meaning. Moreover, when he uses the first person pronoun “I”, with a quotation mark in the middle of the sentence, grammatical deviation attracts attention. Graphological deviation occurs with the use of capital letters at the beginning of some lines to emphasize or highlight certain images. At the end of the second line, the punctuation mark of comma shows where the main part of the poem begins, and it helps readers to understand the poet’s meaning and prevents ambiguity. In the fourth line, the colon is used as punctuation to lend emphasis and to illustrate the first part of the poet’s narration. In the fifth line, he uses a semicolon for clarity and to link a series of grammatical elements in which he wants to create a strong pause.
In phonological level, alliterations, the repetition of consonants sounds “there, tree, the, this, that, mountain, attention, bird, branch”, are used for several purposes: to slow the pace of the lines, to create a dramatic tone, and to give pleasure to those who read it aloud. Assonance functions by the repetition of vowels sounds as “on” and, “of”, to achieve a particular kind of sound effect in the poem.
The poem has a tale – telling tone with the harsh voice which introduces a stress. In the second part of the poem an internal, personal effect is achieved. In other words, there is a self revealing tone which is conscious of its place on earth. The concrete images of “mountain”, “tree” and a “bird” make the description more vivid to the reader. And there is no doubt, that the readers are already familiar with such images when the poet uses them, in the form of similes and metaphors. Similes are easy to notice because they make the comparison quite clear by using the words “like” or “as”. In the fifth and sixth lines, “My grief is like the mountain”, “My life is like the tree”, are used to compare grief with the mountain and life with the tree.
42 Finally, in the seventh line, the poet directly compares himself to a small “bird singing”.
D. Context and Cohesion
The relationships among ideas are clear and descriptive, each idea is related to one another logically like in a strong telling linear line, “There’s a tree on our way ahead” “at the mountain’s summit” so the reader can easily see the picture as if on a canvas. Transition words, prepositions, conjunctions, and demonstrative pronouns (there, at the, and, now, my) helps the reader to understand the poet’s theme clearly and avoid ambiguity. The poet invites his reader to watch the same scene and to share his vision. The possessive adjective “our” objectifies the poet – reader relationship; “There’s a tree on our way ahead”. The poet attracts the reader’s attention with a shift in tone in line four by uttering “Now pay attention”. The unity is maintained by the repetitive images of nature. A camera – eye technique is used. From an overall picture we zoom to the detail: from a mountain to a tree, from a tree to a branch and a nest and finally to a chanting “small bird”.
43 6. Mercy
Have mercy, Master of infinite possibility. Have mercy, Creator of wind and cloud and rain. Mercy on the pale dryness of orphans’ faces. Mercy on the flood of poor men’s tears.
The title of the poem, presents the poet’s great faith and his trust in God when he longs for God’s compassion on the lives of human beings. In other words, the poem conveys a spiritual tone, as he calls for God’s kindness towards mankind and to have mercy on them.
The first line begins with the poet’s prayer: “Have mercy, Master of infinite possibility” in which he asks God’s sympathy on mankind. In the second line, we are aware of God’s creation that the whole universe is under his power so the poet repeats his yearning for mercy. He emphasizes God with natural images, “wind”, “cloud” and “rain”. In the third line, the poet begs for God to show pity and kindness for the children in poverty. With the use of “pale dryness of orphans face”, the poet wants to have God’s mercy as well as attract reader’s sympathy for a needy people. In the last line, he figuratively compares “poor men’s tears” to a “flood”, in order to emphasize the amount of suffering, hardship and sorrow of mankind.
A. Lexical Categories
At lexical categories the study focuses on the study of the forms of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and their function in the poem “Mercy”. The poet uses words such as “possibility”, “dryness”, “mercy”, and “tears” as abstract nouns in order to depict his subject in the poem to have God’s pity towards “orphans”. The concrete
44 nouns as “Master”, “wind”, “cloud”, “rain”, “faces” and “flood”, are used to illustrate the action and power with kinesthetic images. Two times the repetition of modal verb “Have” reveals the poet’s request to God, for shedding sympathy on people. The non – restrictive adjective “infinite”, expresses God’s unlimited kindness upon human beings. Moreover, “pale” and “poor”, are used as adjectives to describe the color of the deprived which emphasizes poverty.
B. Grammatical Categories
The sentence type in the poem “Mercy” are of an exclamatory form which express the poet’s strong feelings towards people who are in need . The poet yearns to get something done for people who live in poverty.
Similar to the previous poems, variations in sentence length in words are six, nine, and eight. Moreover, God’s power is depicted with capital letter “C” in “Creator”. In the poem, we can notice that prepositional phrases such as “of infinite possibility”, “of orphans’ faces”, “on the flood of poor men’s tears” are used to state the poet’s intentions, and to present stress in the poem. The poet makes little use of the conjunction “and”; whereas the prepositions “of” and “on” are used six times. These are the symptoms of the concreteness of the poet’s description, and the definite article “the”, helps the poet to visualize the person “the pale dryness of the orphan” and “the flood”.
45 C. Figures of Speech
In the analyses of figures of speech deviation at semantic, syntax, phonological or graphological levels with its metaphors and personifications are considered.
Repetitions are a tool for the poet to depict his feelings and opinions. Semantic repetition occurs when the words or lines are repeated to signify a definite meaning: “Have mercy, Master of infinite possibility” “Have mercy, Creator of wind and cloud and rain”, “Mercy on the pale dryness of orphans’ face”, “Mercy on the flood of poor men’s tears”; whereas syntactic repetition includes repetition of structures, forms and events. Parallel structure in the poem points out the unity of flood with the poor men’s tears. These two concrete images have parallel structures. The poet compares them in order to indicate how people shed tears when they are in poverty.
The poet uses alliterations or consonant sounds “mercy, master, possibility, pale, poor”, for the purpose of sound effects. Assonance, as the repetition of vowel sounds, “Have, and, of, on, orphan”, are used to affect meaning and tone in the poem. In the last line, the metaphor “flood” is indirectly compared with the “tears”, to make the meaning of the poem more forceful.
D. Context and Cohesion
In the poem “Mercy” there is a logical and referential link between each line. It begins with the poet’s praying tone to God for people who are actually needy. Each idea is linked by prepositions and conjunctions that connect one part of the poem to another. So the readers can follow the poet’s ideas and feelings easily. The poet is not subjective, he calls for God’s mercy for all mankind especially to “orphans” who
46 are unprotected and lonely figures in their childhood years when they need the affection of their parents. The poets wants the readers feel sympathy towards the helpless and pray for God to have mercy upon all mankind. The one worded title “Mercy” is effective and suitable for a four line single stanza poem which has a praying tone.
7. Hope’s Candle
A solitary orphan -- pain - ridden and voiceless - Suddenly, somehow, cries from the heart of the desert. If someday you want to reach an oasis, Don’t let the candle of hope slip from your Palm.
The title “Hope’s Candle” is a clear metaphor that states the theme of the poem on being helpless but still having hoped in order to survive. With the “candle” image the poet reflects the brightness and the darkness existing together in the life of mankind. In other words, a candle should always be lit no matter what the condition is, so that one must not be in complete darkness.
The first three lines depict a tragic situation. Being lonely and homeless like an “orphan”, in the “desert” emphasizes helplessness and suffering. His pain stems from his being “solitary” and oppressed. Although he keeps quiet and “voiceless”, “somehow” unexpectedly he exclaims and raises his voice from a “desert”. In other words, there is a great disillusionment for being unaccompanied and lonely in the first part. It is outstanding that in a six line stanza, the third and sixth lines consists of a single noun “desert” and “palm” with a full stop. With the image “desert” the poem also shifts to a hopeful tone. In line four, we have a distant voice which is full of
47 hope to reach the fountain. It advises that one should not lose hope even in a very bad condition. The poem in the final three lines, with the image “oasis” speaks of hope which one must not let go from his own hands “Don’t let the candle of hope slip from your”, “palm”.
A. Lexical Categories
The poet begins the poem with the depiction of an orphan who cries from loneliness as if he is in a desert and in the second half of the poem there is advice that one should not be hopeless whatever the conditions are. “Orphan”, “desert”, “candle”, “palm”, as concrete nouns, are used in the depiction of the poem’s theme. Moreover, these concrete nouns illustrate the ideas which are expressed in abstract words “pain”, “oasis”, and “hope”. The emotive and auditory adjectives such as “solitary” and “voiceless” are used to describe the orphan and his feelings in the poem. The words “cries”, “reach”, “slip”, “want”, “let”, are used as dynamic verbs to express the action of the orphan’s sorrow as well as to suggest how one can overcome his / her bad luck. In the second line, the adverb “suddenly” and “somehow”, functions as the adverb of manner and deviates in its semantic level with the previous line. We are aware of the orphan’s quietness in the first line, but in the second, for some reason all of a sudden there is an implication of a scream. In line four, the adverb “someday” , is used as an adverb of time, the poet advises that people should not be hopeless because sooner or later “someday”, they would be happy so they should be patient .
48 B. Grammatical Categories
Variation in the poem’s structure enriches the style of the poem. In the first two lines, compared to the third and sixth lines, the poet constructs long sentences in order to get the attention of his readers and to present the vivid picture of an orphan’s suffering. The third and the last lines are very short; one worded lines “desert” and “palm”, but they are visual and key nouns that depict the first two lines. The effects of placing these short lines at the end of the two lines are powerful. In spite of the length variation, the poem is not complicated or obscure.
The main clauses are coordinated with the subordinated clauses as in “If someday you want to reach an oasis” and “Don’t let the candle of hope slip from your palm”. The negative expression of “Don’t let”, emphasizes that one should be aware of “hope’s candle”, and by no means lose his / her aspiration. The prepositions “from, of, and to” display their important function in the semantic part of the poem. These prepositions are the vital elements to complete the meaning. Moreover, the role of the preposition “of” in the second line is to relate two noun expressions “the heart” and “the desert”, whereas the former expression is an abstract noun and the latter is concrete.
C. Figures of Speech
In the analyses of figures of speech, the study of deviation is considered to be important however, there is an interruption of a usual order; it operates in terms of theme and structural pattern.
Semantic deviation occurs when the poet describes two different acts of an orphan. While describing the “orphan” in the first line, he uses the adjectives “solitary” and “voiceless” however; he utters that suddenly the orphan “cries from the heart of the desert”, in the second line. This deviation helps the reader to focus on the
49 meaning of both conditions. Deviation also occurs when the poet wants to emphasize certain words. The words, “suddenly”, “If”, “Don’t”, and “Palm” are written with capital letters initially to highlight their importance within the flow of action. Moreover, deviations of punctuation also attract attention. Although the first line ends with a dash, the second line starts with a capital letter “S” and the fourth line ends with a comma but the next line starts with the capital letter “D” in “Don’t” and it is also interesting that this line does not end with a full stop but the last line ends with a full stop.
“Candle” is an important symbol in the poem since it is repeated many times in the poem. Moreover, the poem’s title “Hope’s Candle” also symbolizes the importance of patience and hope while you are in darkness. In other words, when people are unhappy they must not give up hope. In the poem, we can notice that the orphan’s loneliness is compared to the vivid image of a desert. Literally, of course, the desert does not exist but metaphorically speaking, it represents his loneliness.
The poet applies sound effects in order to make his readers understand the orphan’s pain and loneliness. Alliteration in the poem occurs with the repetition of the same consonant sound. Usually at the beginning of words “solitary, suddenly, somehow, someday, slip, pain, and palm”. Alliteration occurs in order to create sound effects in the ear of the readers. The repetitions of vowel sounds “orphan”, of, oasis, voiceless”, are also used as assonance to achieve a particular kind of effect in the poem “Hope’s Candle”.
D. Cohesion and Context
The poem “Hope’s Candle” contains realistic ideas as well as coordinating conjunctions, pronouns, and prepositions that join the sentences to make more sense and harmony. The pronoun “you” in the fourth line: “If someday you want to reach an oasis” encourages the people to be hopeful and to show them how to cope with
50 hopelessness if they want to be successful in their life. In the first line, the coordinating conjunction “and”, is used in order to join two words. Moreover, repetitions of two consecutive hyphens (--) in the middle and at the end of the poem are more emphatic, it separates the words in order to make a clear explanation of the orphan in the poem: (A solitary orphan --pain - ridden and voiceless--). The function of dash (-) between two words “pain” and “ridden” is to evoke a sudden and serious thought about the orphan’s condition.
8. Butchers and Shepherds
Why, oh God, since you created the deer, Did you also go and make desert wolf? And why, in addition to merciless city butchers, Have you made shepherds in the wilderness?
The poet, with the title “Butchers and Shepherds” presents two opposite positions; the “Butcher” who kills and the “Shepherd” who tends the flock of sheep.
In the first line, he asks God why the “deer” was created, and in the second line, he again wants to know why the deer’s enemy, the wolf, exists in the same desert. These two animal images immediately recall the opposing forces of good and bad, “shepherds and “butchers”, innocence and evil are respectively implied. If there are Shepherds protecting and guiding the deer what is the meaning of Butchers? On the contrary, if there are butchers why should Shepherds tend the sheep? The core question is how could both be the creation of God? In the final two lines, he summarizes that since the cruel “Butchers” exist in the city then what is the use of “Shepherds” in the desert: “And why, in addition to merciless city butchers”, “Have you made shepherds in the wilderness?” The poet’s intention is to point out a truth
51 that, in the city there are bad people and it is no use if the “shepherds” are outside the city or not. The shepherd will eventually end up in the hands of butchers.
A. Lexical Categories
The following analyses of lexical categories are based on the forms of nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs and their function in the development of concrete or abstract nouns. A number of concrete nouns such as (deer, desert, wolf, city, wilderness, butcher, and shepherd), are used in the description of the poem’s content. The poet uses these concrete nouns in order to present his theme of cruel “merciless” city butchers who make others suffer. The concrete nouns lead the reader to realize the abstract meanings hidden below the surface structure. Therefore, the reader is given not only the description of a scene but an account of the significant personal messages and imagery which help the reader to reach a conclusion about the topic of the poem. Adjectives such as (merciless) describe the cruel acts of the wolf, and butcher that the poet is aware of its existence but has difficulty in understanding their existence. With the adverbs “also” and “in addition” he conveys his surprise that why God has created two opposite creatures “shepherds” and “butchers” in the world.
B. Grammatical Categories
In the poem, we notice that the poet uses interrogative sentences: “Why, oh God, since you created the deer”, “Did you also go and make desert wolf?”, “And why, in addition to merciless city butchers”, “Have you made shepherds in the wilderness?” in order to find the answer why God has created two opposite creatures in the world. In the first line, the definite article “the”, underlines the wild animal “deer”, which stands for honesty or goodness, and in the last line , again the definite article “the” precisely questions “why God has made shepherds in the wilderness?” while there are nasty butchers in the city. Moreover, commas between the
52 independent clauses in the first and third lines: “Why, oh God, since you created the deer,” “And why, in addition to merciless city butchers,” help readers to understand the poem’s meaning and prevent ambiguity. The role of the prepositional phrase “to merciless” and “in the wilderness”, in the last two lines are to relate noun – expressions.
C. Figures of Speech
Semantic deviation operates at the level of meaning in terms of the contradictory nouns “deer”, “wolf”, “butcher” and “shepherd”. This deviation helps the reader to focus on the character traits of the “deer” and “wolf” as well as “butcher” and “shepherd”. Innocence and evil in terms of people’s intentions toward one another is implied with the contrasting nouns. There are questions raised to end the poet’s curiosity about God’s intention, “And why, in addition to merciless city butchers”, “Have you made shepherds in the wilderness?”
At graphology level, we can notice in the poem that each line started with initial capital letters “Why”, “Did”, “And”, and “Have”, to symbolize a deeper meaning. So the reader can feel the emphasis, value, concept, and opinion of the poet more clearly. In the poem, “Shepherd” and “butcher” are important symbols which symbolize the good and sinful character of human beings. In fact, these symbols transform the poet’s ideas into visible forms and lead to a kind of recognition of mankind’s faults. Moreover, it foregrounds features and leads the reader to interpret the real and dreadful acts of some characters in the world.
53 D. Cohesion and Context
The poet is talking directly to God and reminds the reader that animals like “deer” and “wolves” exist together but he first imagines that God has created the “deer” first and then the “desert wolf”. He wants to discover the order and mentality behind creation. Moreover, he asks in every line a question in order to maintain unity in the stanza. He wants to understand the order of the universe which God has created. The repeated use of the question word “why” add to the flow of the poem. The use of “oh God” after the question word “why” in the first stanza followed with “and why” in the third stanza, help to create a respectful and calm tone which is not aggressive but peaceful. The function of the article “the” is to identify “deer” and “wilderness” which are contextually the main images of the poem which signal a familiarity with the reader who is already aware of the violence in nature and among mankind. Therefore, it allows the reader to pity and understand the situation.
9. Love,
you’re the alchemy of my life, Physician and medicine for my every disease, Poem, theme, inspiration – all in one – My passionate drunkenness and my finest wine.
The title “Love” reveals the role of love in the poet’s life. The title accompanied with a comma and the first line starts with a small letter “y”, in order to say more about the poet’s strong feelings of love. The description is composite of
54 many variants. It is the “alchemy” of the poet’s life. In other words, he is transformed by it; it converts him from one state to another. Here we have the poet expressing his own consciousness about love and its importance: “you’re the alchemy of my life”. It has a magnificent spiritual power which makes his life meaningful. Although “love” is an abstract word the poet tries to describe its power over him in physical terms so that it becomes something concrete. The reader becomes aware that the poet would not be a poet if “love” did not have an essential role in his life. This powerful metaphor helps readers to realize that “love” has the power to cure every “disease”. In the second and third lines, he likens “love” to a “physician” and “medicine”. In line four, with the single word “Poem”, he emphasizes that he would not be a poet, if love hadn’t existed in his life; therefore, it is his muse. In the final three lines, he summarizes that “love” is his subject or “theme”, and his motivation or “inspiration”. Using dash as punctuation, he separates all in one to emphasize the capacity of love, and what love means to him. Finally, “love” is likened to the finest “wine” which raises his emotions and makes him feel passionate.
A. Lexical Categories
A number of concrete nouns “alchemy, physician, medicine, wine” are used in the description of “love” in each line. These nouns signify abstract meanings “disease”, “theme”, “inspiration”, “drunkenness”, and concreteness is subordinated to abstraction. The poet uses these concrete nouns in order to present the value of “love” in his life. Therefore, the reader is given not only the description of “love” but concrete images which help the reader to reach a conclusion about the topic of the poem and its importance in the poet’s life.
In the first line, the verb to be, “are” carries an important part of the meaning in the poem. The poet describes what “love” is when he personifies it with the pronoun “you”. In other words, through this verb “are” the poet expresses his perception about the word “love” which has a powerful effect in his life and as a
55 medicine, cures all of his illnesses and maladies. The adjectives “every, passionate, finest” are used as attributive adjectives to indicate the positive moods of the poet. With the use of the adjective “finest”, he compares that love is the best medication in which to treat every disease.
B. Grammatical Categories
The repeated adjectives or nouns “my life, my disease, my finest wine, passionate drunkenness” refers to the poet’s affection and it states the fact that he has no wish in life except love. In the poem, we can notice internal deviation, which is the use of long lines “you’re the alchemy of my life,”, “and medicine for my every disease,” followed by shorter lines “Physician”, and “Poem”. The effect of placing the short lines is powerful because it requires great concentration from the reader as well as pointing out the main idea of the poem: love is the poet’s therapy; it illuminates his soul and makes his life more meaningful. In the description parts of the poem, the poet applies commas and the conjunction “and” in order to help the readers to be aware of love’s importance. The poet’s aim is for readers to also figure love as a Physician in their minds that they may grasp the main idea of the poem.
Another grammatical aspect of the poem is the use of the prepositions (of, for) and the definite article (the). The role of these prepositions is to relate the two noun expressions “alchemy of my life”, and “medicine for my every disease”. These nouns are in abstract and concrete forms so it helps readers to perceive the poet’s “love” with their mind’s eye. The definite article “the” emphasizes and lets the reader know that love is “the alchemy of his life”. Moreover, in the fifth line the metonymy explains this line more clearly in the phrase “all in one”. Thus, it is sure that love is deeply felt by the reader with the usage of this metonymy since the word “all” puts emphasis on what love means for the poet.
56 C. Figures of Speech
In the poem, we can notice that the poet likens love to “alchemy”, a “physician”, “passionate drunkenness” and the finest “wine”. The semantic deviation operates at the level of meaning. He tries to depict that nothing makes him happy without love. Love changes his life into something precious (metal to gold). Moreover, with an optimistic view he prepares the reader for a happy life with love. The similarity of sounds in these words (Physician, and inspiration) implies similarities of meaning outsides as inside in the poem. Graphological deviation occurs with the use of capital letters at the beginning of some lines “Physician”, “Poem”, “My passionate drunkenness” to highlight the significance of “love” in the poet’s life.
The concrete noun, “Physician”, provides an abstract meaning in the poem since it functions as a symbol of treatment. He is cured by love. The poet likens love to a physician and considers it to be the medicine of his life. The metaphor in the third line “medicine for my every disease” once again points out its effect on him. Literally, of course, love cannot be medicine, but metaphorically speaking it can be seen as the medicine of every disease for it has a healing power.
D. Cohesion and Context
The reader finds the depiction of love at the beginning of the poem. However, in its deeper structure, there appears a parallelism: love is medicine for every disease. The poet expresses his feelings about love and compares it with the alcoholic drink “wine” which offers happiness to him. The use of the superlative adjective “finest” helps the reader to easily involve in making a comparison between the two words love and wine.
57 The poem “love” is narrated in first – person singular. The possessive adjective “my” is used to inform the readers that love is something precious in the poet’s life. He conveys his message in the present tense when trying to share his ideas about the importance of it: “you’re the alchemy of my life, physician and medicine for my every disease”. In the depiction of love, the words “physician, medicine, inspiration, passionate drunkenness and finest wine” all function for the purpose of foregrounding and their effects. Moreover, the conjunction “and” is repeated two times to create a flow and avoid ambiguity.
10. An Assembly of Moths
The moths assembled one night at the hem of a garden . They came from every direction to burn at the candle’s base. Suddenly a red bee appeared, seeking admission, Buzzing its alien bee song but claiming moth citizenship. “What’s this noise,” asked a moth “that breaks death’s silence? Expel him from our assembly of lovers.”
Said another moth, “Let’s first find out Who he really is, not rely on guesses. Let’s examine him in the ways of Love Then, if he fails, we can throw him out.” So the moths said,
58 “Whoever you are, fly to the city, And check on the candles all across town. If you observe any of them in flame Come back like the wind and let us know.”
So that bee, Unfamiliar with love’s secrets, Unschooled in pain and fire and love’s song, Observed a candle burning in every household, Observed – but only observed – a whole town of small flames . Satisfied, the bee rushed back to the moth assembly And reported his detached findings: Candle flames everywhere.
But the moths, in one voice, said, “You’re no lover. No place for you in this assembly. If, like a real moth, you knew love’s lesson, You’d fly into the first candle flame And burn.” Not every crazy man is like Majnoon. Not every fly has the bravery of a moth.
59 The title “An Assembly of Moths”, presents the reader with multiple meanings which have religious, social and political references. The “Moth” instinctively cannot control itself. It longs for fire and light and it is tragic that what it longs for also causes its death. In the poem, moths (true seekers) fly into the candle flame (God), fearing nothing and holding nothing back. In other words, men and their love of God are compared to the vivid image of “moths” gathering. The title can be read as the gathering of people who share the same spirit. It is this spirit that drives its source from the love of one’s own country. For its religious interpretation, with the image of the “bee” and the “candle” the poet suggests that some pray to God with a confused heart rather than by their pure devoted spirit as the “bee” does. But from a political point of view the bee can be interpreted as someone, from outside claiming citizenship without sincerely loving the country.
Structurally the poem consists of four – eleven line stanzas. It begins with a description of the situation by introducing the “moth’s’” and the “bee’s” relation to each other based on strong feelings for one’s own country. The first stanza opens with the repetition of the title and a time sense which is at “night” and a setting which is at the corner of a “garden”. The two insect images are personified in terms of the abilities of human beings. They can talk, utter their ideas, be playful, and even make judgments. The poet narrates that one night the moths come together around the candle in order to burn in the flame. By nature, they are instinctively driven into flames. Then unexpectedly a bee appears and tries to enter the assembly. Very soon from its unfamiliar voice they recognize that the “bee” cannot be one of them. Since the “bee” cannot make a sound as the “moths” do so they decide to send it away. The “bee” may be innocent but still they are suspicious because it is not of their kind. Therefore, they want to expel it from their assembly.
60 In the second stanza, they give a test to see whether he is sincere in his claim: “let’s examine him in the ways of love” .Although instinctively the moths know that they cannot check because they have to burn. The depiction reveals that belonging to a place is very important. There might be a great longing to be at home. In the third stanza, since the “bee” is from outside, he is not able to share and understand the same feelings the “moths” have. So the bee comes back with some information that: “Candle flames everywhere”. The last stanza, summerizes that since the “bee” is unfamiliar with love’s pain , fire and love’s song , the moths decide to discard him from their assembly. Finally, the last two lines are didactic. It teaches the reader a lesson that we cannot call every crazy man a lover like Majnoon and every fly has the bravery of a moth to fly into the fire. In fact , Majnoon is the person who devotes himself to his love and the moth is an insect that instinctively loves light and what it loves also causes its death. These two lines also suggests that a true lover has no control over itself and can even die.
A. Lexical Categories
The following analyses of lexical categories is based on the forms of nouns, adjectives , verbs , repeated words and their function in the development of the poem. A number of concrete nouns like ( moth, bee, garden, candle, flame, fire, city , town, household ) are used in the description of the poem. These concrete nouns signify abstract meanings such as ( love, noise, admission, death, silence ,and bravery) . The repetition of certain concrete nouns as “candle” five times and “flame” four times contribute to an absract meaning within the poem. The poet repeatedly uses these nouns in order to convey his implicit messages about the characteristics of “moths” and “bees”. Moths instintively run into the flame without caution whereas the bee watches the “candle’s flame” from a distance. They have different natures. The repetition of these nouns leads the reader to realize the abstract meanings hidden
61 below the surface structure. Therefore, the reader is given not only the description of a scene but an account of the significant personal messages.
In the poem, “red” “alien”, “crazy”, “unschooled”, “small” are adjectives that emphasize how different the “bee” is . Its color also stands out like a foreginer. The poet uses the adjective “alien” for the song it sings while depicting the importance of belonging to one’s own country and singing a native song. For the poet, if a person is foreign “alien” she /he would remain an alien forever. The adjective “real” is more emphatic for it underlines that if the bee had been like a “real” moth, it would have known what love was and would have died in the flames of the candle. To “know love’s lesson” means you’d fly into the candle’s flame and burn.
Verbs are more frequently used in this poem. Most of them are dynamic, which indicate movement : came, come back, assembled, rushed, seeking, break, throw, check, fly, find out, burn, expel, etc. The auditory verbs are used for the explanation of activities like : asked, buzzing, claiming, reported, and said. The visual and intransitive verb, “appeared” and the repetition of the verb “observed” occurs three times for a significant value of the semantic level of the poem. The bee is conscious of its mission whereas the moths are uncontrollably, and blindly devoted. The repeated verb “ observed” functions to put a safe distance. The third time “observed” appears with the words “but” and “only” to indicate that the “bee” would never be able to experience and understand the true sense of devotion and love : “Suddenly a red bee appeared”, “ Observed a candle burning in every household”, “Observed”, “ but only observed”. The poet underlines the fact that the bee can never be like the moth. They can be on good terms with moths but must not claim citizenship. The bee is different in nautre and would act in a different way.
62 B. Grammatical Categories
Deviation in sentence structure enriches the style of the poem. The depiction of six worded long sentences and the one worded short sentences allows the tone of narration to be fluent. The pace shifts from light to heavy and vice versa. In the poem, we can also notice a series of main clauses coordinate with the subordinated clauses : “ The moths assembled one night”, “at the hem of a garden”, “ They came from every direction”, “ to burn at the candle’s base”. Inversions are another aspect of grammar in this poem. In the depiction of the “bee” the poet utters many sentences in the inverted form, “ so that bee” , “ unfamiliar with love’s secrets” , “ Unschooled in pain and fire and love’s song”.
C.Figures of Speech
In this category, Semantic deviation occurs when the poet applies multiple themes in the description of the “Moths” narration. The poet depicts a mystical love through the “Moths”. The moths fly around the candle’s flame ( God ). But from another level of meaning, the poet likens a person to a “bee” who is at a distance and from outside claims citizenship. This deviation helps the reader to focus on both physical and character traits of the “Moths” and the “bee”.
In the poem, deviation can be noticed in terms of punctuation or capitalization. In the last stanza, words such as “You” and “Majnoon” are written with capital letters to create a philosophical comment. The important symbol in the poem is the “ Candle” which is repeated five times. It symbolizes the importance of the gathering of people around a light in every house or country. Besides, it also symbolizes the lovers devotion to their beloved which can be experienced in the “candle’s flame” if they are true lovers.
63 D.Context and Cohesion
The poem “An Assembly of Moths” is narrated in third person form. There is direct and indirect speech which depict the characters of “Moths” and “bee” as well as their thoughts and feelings,“ What’s this noise” asked a moth “that breaks death’s silence? Expel him from our assembly of lovers.” Indirect thoughts presents the ideas and feelings of the poet himself. The cohesion is maintained by the direct links between each stanza. The narrative voice is rich in that it changes tone without breaking the story line. The poet depicts the character of the “moths” and the “bee” as well as their thoughts and feeling by using direct and indirect speech as seen when a moth askes “What’s this noise,” asked a moth “ that breaks death’s silence?
The poet controls the pace of the poem by using quotations and specific descriptions to guide the reader both physically and mentally: Said another moth, “Let’s first find out who he really is, and not rely on guesses. Let’s examine him in the ways of love. Then, if he fails, we can throw him out”. The poet conveys his messages in the present tense while the story is narrated in the past in order to comment on or emphasis on one’s nationality and allies.
64 Chapter IV
William Wordsworth’s Biography and a General View on The “Lyrical Ballad”
(1770 – 1850)
William Wordsworth, son of John Wordsworth, was one of the greatest Romantic poets of 19th century English literature. He was born on the 7th of April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, in the Lake District of Northwest England. He grew up in that District, enjoying the beautiful sights which inspired a love of nature since his childhood. But unfortunately, he did not spend his peaceful childhood years with his parent’s love for a very long time. His mother Ann Cookson Wordsworth died because of pneumonia when he was at the age of eight and then five years later he suffered one more lost with the sudden death of his father John Wordsworth. Although, he had three brothers and a sister, Dorothy, to whom he was closer than anyone else throughout his life, he still suffered from loneliness till his death. Wordsworth continued his studies with the help of his uncles in Cokermouth and the local Hawkshead grammar school in Penrith, a poor village where he stayed with his grandparents. In 1787, he attended at St. John’s College in Cambridge and took his B.A degree from that college in 1791 (Ian Ousby, 1991, p. 1023).
65 William Wordsworth’s life was full of adventure. He spent most of his time on walking tours. He visited places which were famous for the beauty of its scene and countryside. In 1790, he journeyed to Switzerland, Italy, and Revolutionary France. The Revolution in France called his interest so he visited it in November 1791, for the second time. There he joined the party of Revolution and shared his sympathy with the common people and spent his time with them. Besides that, he gained experience during his life in France. It was during that time, that his political ideas and his poetic talent began to shine. In 1792, he composed his ambitious poem “Descriptive Sketches”, which described more his political freedom than his love for nature .Then he fell in love with a French girl, Annette Vallon and fathered a girl named Caroline. Shortly, after his daughter’s birth, he faced financial problems and it forced him to return to England. After his return home the sudden occurrence of war between England and France prevented him from rejoining Annette and his daughter Caroline. However, he supported them financially for some years. Wordsworth felt very guilty and distressed when he left his Revolutionary friends and Annette. Actually, his identity as an English poet and his sister Dorothy also prevented him from leaving his country.
In 1797, Wordsworth met the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge at Somerset and became a close friend of him. Samuel Taylor Coleridge together with Dorothy Wordsworth’s sister helped Wordsworth to recover from his sense of guilt to Annette and from his disillusionment about the French Revolution. These two friends spent days with each other. They talked about poetry as well as shared their thoughts, and writings. In 1798, they published the collection of poetry “Lyrical Ballads”, which symbolized the beginning of the English Romantic Movement in English literature. The collection included both Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” and other lyrics. The subject matter of Coleridge’s poems was supernatural. His poems made the unfamiliar believable. Wordsworth, on the other hand, wrote his poems about ordinary life and he used the real language of ordinary people. Thus, his poems in “Lyrical Ballads” centered on nature, poverty, the sufferings of old age, children, common people, and
66 human emotions. Wordsworth used colloquial language and simple structure in order to express his personal feelings more clearly to men. Therefore, his poems are subjective.
In 1800, Wordsworth published the second volume of pomes in which he longed and felt homesick when he and his sister Dorothy spent the cold and long days of the winter in Goslar, Germany, in 1798 – 1799. He emphasized that a poet must use the language which is used by men in their everyday life. For that reason, the language of his poems is a selection of the language which is used by men. Here, he means the language of those people who live in the country. He wrote a Preface for his ‘Lyrical Ballads’ that explain poetry as follows:
The principle object, then, which I proposed to myself in these poems was to choose incidents and situations from common life and to relate or describe them, throughout, as far as was possible, in a selection of language really used by men; and , at the same time, to throw over them a certain colouring of imagination, whereby ordinary things should be presented to the mind in an unusual way; and, further, and above all, to make these incidents and situations interesting by tracing in them , truly though not ostentatiously , the primary laws of our nature: chiefly , as far as regards the manner in which we associate ideas in a state of excitement . (The Oxford Anthology of English literature, Frank Kermode, p.595)
To conclude, Wordsworth, the creative poet of Romantic period was concerned with a sort of spiritual happiness. He found this happiness just in nature as well as in his innocent childhood. In other words, Wordsworth was the poet who first experienced an object in nature and then wrote his poetry in association of his present feelings. As he said: “emotion recollected in tranquility” (p.89). Moreover, his separation from his Revolutionary friends, his sense of guilt to Annette, war between
67 England and France, themes of death, endurance, were all the experiences of his life that underlie many of his great poems.
The major theme of Wordsworth poetry is the influence of nature on man. Therefore, as a reader we can feel and understand his infinite happiness and his full appreciation for the beauty of nature in the poems: “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, “The Rainbow”, “Daffodils”, and in the poem “To the Cuckoo”, Wordsworth tried in his poetry to attract the reader’s attention with true emotions and feelings. He did not want his readers just to think, but to feel what exists with their soul. He supported his claim with his following words:
I have said that each of these poems has a purpose. I have also informed my reader what this purpose will be found principally to be: namely to illustrate the manner in which our feelings and ideas are associated in a state of excitement.( The Oxford Anthology of English literature, p.597)
Wordsworth married his childhood friend Mary Hutchinson, a lake country girl, after arranging a friendly separation with Annette and his daughter Caroline. He wrote poems at all times of his life and died at the age of eighty in 1850. Then his wife published his autobiographical epic “The Prelude” after his death. His poetry introduced him as one of the greatest poets of the Romantic period in the history of English literature.
68 Chapter V
A Stylistic Analyses of William Wordsworth’s Poems
1. My Heart Leaps Up
My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So is it now I am a man; So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die! The Child is father of the Man; And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety.
The title “My Hearts Leaps Up”, suggests how nature affects the poet’s heart. In this poem, the poet clarifies his relation with nature. He even wants to say that if he ever looses this relation with nature, he would prefer to die.
Structurally the poem consists of nine lines. In the first line, the poet expresses his feelings with his heart beat. There is a magnificent nature creation. He looks at nature and its beauty excites him: “My heart leaps up when I behold”. The magnificent creation “rainbow” with its colorful sight amazes him. In the second, third, and fourth lines, he realizes that he has always felt the impact of nature. He finds life worth living because the aesthetic beauty makes him happy.
69 In other words, in all the stages of his life nature plays an important role. In the fifth and sixth lines, it seems that he is very sure of his relation with nature that it will never die away and if it does, he wants to die. There is no need to live without appreciating it. His existence on earth becomes meaningful only with nature’s existence.
In the final three lines, he announces that children have superior power to men because of their closeness to nature and God. He also believes that the child is innocent and men have a lot to learn from a child. He understands the importance of his childhood and for that reason he misses his childhood: “The Child is father of the Man”, “And I could wish my days to be”, and “Bound each to each by natural piety”. He wants to return to his childhood years and be innocent as he once had been. For him those years exist without prejudice and pretense. There is a social criticism on the corruption of society because of the Industrial Revolution. People did not pay adequate attention to nature.
A. Lexical Categories
The poem “My Heart Leaps Up” starts with the poet’s realization for he is moved by nature and its attraction. ‘Heart’, ‘Rainbow’, ‘Sky’, ‘Child’, and ‘Father’ as concrete nouns, are used in the description of the poet’s relation to nature. These concrete nouns signify abstract meanings so concreteness is subordinated to abstraction. The abstract noun ‘piety’ adds a religious sense to the poem by emphasizing the importance of God’s creation. Therefore, the reader is not given only the description of the scene but brings an explanation to the poet’s feelings as well.
70 In the final line, the adjective “natural”, describes the noun “piety”. The poet desires to live within nature so that he can each day appreciate God’s creation. Verbs like “leap”, “behold”, “began”, “grow”, “let”, “die” “wish” and “bound” are all dynamic. These verbs express the poet’s affection towards nature and its beauty. At a lexical deviation level, some words and phrases are over used; and therefore, emphasize deeper meaning while attracting the reader’s attention. In the third, fourth, and fifth lines, the adverb “so” is repeated three times, to indicate the close relation of the poet with nature and his realization of its beauty : ‘So was it when my life began’, ‘So is it now I am a man’, ‘So be it when I shall grow old’.
B. Grammatical Categories
Variation in sentence structure attracts the attention. It forces the reader to stop at important points in the poem. The two short lines: ‘a rainbow in the sky’, ‘Or let me die!’ are quite significant since they indicate the poet’s wish to be bound by natural piety as well as show the strength of his confidence. Moreover, the depiction of long lines gives clues for the reader about the theme of the poem.
Main clauses coordinate the subordinate clauses in these lines: ‘My heart leaps up when I behold’, ‘So was it when my life began’, and ‘So be it when I shall grow old’. In spite of the uses of clauses, the poem is not complex to understand. In the description parts of the poem the punctuation marks: commas, semicolons, and linkers help the reader to understand the poet’s feelings clearly. As in the second line, use of the colon as punctuation, gives examples to the poet’s affection for nature: “A rainbow in the sky:”, “So was it when my life began” “So is it now I am a man”. The comma at the end of line five helps readers to understand the poet’s intention much clearer and prevents ambiguity: ‘So be it when I shall grow old’.
71 Besides, the use of semicolon clarifies the relationship between ideas. He has become mature as he realizes the beauty in nature, “So was it when my life began;” “So is it now I am a man”.
The repeated pronouns and verbs referring to the thoughts, state the fact that nature has a strong personal influence on the poet’s life as well as present the main idea of the poem: “My heart, my life, my days, I behold, I shall grow old, I am a man, and I could wish”. The poem’s subjectivity cannot be ignored in spite of its universal message, that nature has such a potential beauty that it must not be destroyed.
C. Figures of Speech
In “My Hearts Leaps Up” semantic deviation operates at the level of meaning. The poet tries to imply that he finds his true happiness only in nature because it excites him and he has felt that since his childhood: “My heart leaps up when I behold” “A rainbow in the sky”, “So was it when my life began”, then he utters his philosophic motto: “The Child is father of the Man”. It seems that the poet appreciates and understands the importance of his childhood because children are innocent and not as corrupted as men. Therefore, he believes that children are closer to God and nature.
Graphological deviation occurs with the use of capital letters at the beginning of words: “Child and Man”, to emphasize or highlight that, children are more powerful than man because of their closeness to God. With this poem the poet wants his readers to realize the significance of their childhood experience. One of the most important symbols is the “Rainbow”. Although it exists visually and not present as a touchable object, it combines the seven colors in which light is composed. This symbol is used to exemplify God’s and nature’s power. His heart has been affected by the sight of a rainbow. It had been so when he was a child, an adult and will also be the same even when he is old.
72 The metaphor “The Child is father of the Man”, is a very powerful phrase which summarizes the Romantic approach to nature and mankind. Behind this figurative language the poet tries to say that childhood is a time of innocence. Children approach and enjoy nature without destroying it because they are close to God. They form a powerful relation with nature as if they are part of the natural world.
D. Cohesion and Context
The poem has an obvious use of logical and referential links between each line. The first person pronoun “I” is repeated four times in order to highlight how he loves and believes in the power of nature: “I behold, I am a man, I shall grow old, I could wish, my heart, my life, my days”. In line seven, the repetition of the definite article “the” makes a reference and accompanies a noun so it makes the poem less ambiguous: “The Child is father of the Man”. In a sense, the poet talks to the reader through expressing his feelings that he has been inspired by nature since his childhood. The function of the prepositions “in, of, by” is to relate two noun expressions. The conjunction “or”, shows the poet’s reaction to mankind and relation to nature.
73 2. A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
A slumber did my spirit seal; I had no human fears: She seemed a thing that could not feel The touch of earthly years.
No motion has she now, no force; She neither hears nor sees; Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course, With rocks, and stones, and trees.
The poem “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” is a short ballad, in which the poet tells the reader about the death of a woman. The poem consists of two stanzas which includes four lines. In both stanzas, death is associated, by contrast, with activity.
In the first line, a sleep “slumber” prevents the poet from reality. In other words, he has been innocently unaware of his own spirit: “A slumber did my spirit seal”. In the second line, he has never thought that something bad would happen: “I had no human fears”. In the two final lines, the poet imagines her as an eternal being that would not die.
In the second stanza, the poet gives the reader the woman’s present situation after her death. In the first and second lines of this stanza, the poet utters that she is motionless and can no longer see or hear anything. The poet describes the woman’s death in a way that helps the reader to visualize that once she could do everything: “No motion has she now, no force”, “She neither hears nor sees”. In the last two lines, he explains that the woman becomes a part of the earth; rolling with it daily and turning into a dust and uniting with the “rocks” and “trees”. Moreover, he uses the image “trees” in order to highlight that nature is something alive “immortal” whereas man is mortal.
74 A. Lexical Categories
The poem contains a number of physical and concrete nouns “spirit, human, earth, rocks, stones, and trees”, but these concrete nouns are subordinated by abstract nouns “slumber, fears, years”, so that concreteness is subordinated to abstraction. Some of these nouns refer to movement as well as to the poet’s perception: “I had no human fears”, “No motion has she now, no force”, “Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course”. The poem is concerned not only with objects of perception, but with the process of perceiving them; the occurrence of the subjective pronouns “I” which refers to the speaker and the third person pronouns “she”, whom the poet is describing, are the symptom of this. The poet pretends that he knows nothing about the woman’s death and puts himself in the position of a character wondering about the upcoming events.
In the poem, we can notice that the verbs carry an important part of the meaning. Most of the verbs are dynamic since they indicate action, activity, and changing condition: “She seemed a thing that could not feel”, and “No motion has she now, no force”, “Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course”. The past and the negative form of the auxiliary verb (could not) indicates that the woman is unable to recognize her surroundings because her five senses do not work any more.
On the semantic level, there is contradiction. The woman was full of life once but not now. Moreover, the subject – verb (Rolled) is more emphatic since it summarizes that the young woman turns over the death’s dust and leaves the earthly life forever. Auditory verb (hears) is used for perceiving of sound that the woman lacks. In line four the adjective (earthly) ends in (y) and it tends to have emotive connotations. Its major syntactic function is predicative because it underlines the theme of the woman’s death: “the touch of earthly years”. The preposition ‘in’ accompanies the dynamic verb of ‘Rolled’, and adds to the meaning that the woman has turned over the ‘earth’s diurnal’ substance.
75 B. Grammatical Categories
In “A slumber did my spirit seal” declarative sentences are used in order to inform the reader that the poet has been unconscious of the young woman’s death: “A slumber did my spirit seal”, “I had no human fears”, “She seemed a thing that could not feel”. The sentence structure is quite simple and the average of sentence length in number of words in each line is five, six, seven, and eight. Variation in the length of sentences maintains the reader’s interest as well as explains the woman’s current situation.
Another grammatical aspect of the poem is the use of the negative and repeated words. The poet frequently uses the word ‘no’ while describing the unexpected events of the death of the young woman to signify isolation and death: (no human fear, could not, no force, no motion, neither hears, and nor sees). Moreover, it helps the reader to imagine the way the young woman once was: with power and life. In the description part of the poem the poet applies semicolons, colons, and commas in order to make his depiction more clear. In the first, third , seventh , and eight lines, the semicolon is used for clarity as well as a means of linking equal phrases in which the poet wants stronger pauses : “ A slumber did my spirit seal;” “ I had no human fears:” “No motion has she now, no force;” “She neither hears nor sees”. In the second line, colon lends emphasis at the end of the line: “I had no human fears,” In the two final lines, commas signals that the young woman is “Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course” and lists the graveyard’s rocks and stones : “ With rocks , and stones, and trees”.
The Prepositions “of, in, with”, and two times repetition of the conjunction “and”, helps the poet to join his ideas while adding to the meaning of the poem. The preposition ‘with’ indicates an ingredient, the woman becomes part of rocks and stones, whereas “of”, and “in” signify that the young woman does not exist any more in this world. Here “The touch of earthly years” may also used metaphorically.
76 C. Figures of Speech
Semantic, grammatical, phonological and graphologial deviations are studied in this category since they represent meaning in the deeper structure. At the semantic deviation level, there is a violation in the meaning of the poem. The ‘young woman’s death’ in the poem creates a contradiction between the death and the poet’s desire. In fact, it seems that the poet has imagined her as something untouched by death. : “A slumber did my spirit seal; I had no human fears”.
At the graphological deviation level, words are written with capital letters at the beginning of each line to maintain the flow and musicality of the poem. Moreover, the poet applies sound effects with the use of alliteration or consonant sounds (slumber, seal, seemed, stone, fears, feel, rolled, round, and rock) in order to impress his readers with the painful fact of the young woman’s death.
D. Context and Cohesion
The poem has logical and referential links between each idea. The connection in meaning is reinforced by the repetition of words from the same semantic field. For instance, by repeating negative phrases (could not feel, no motion has she now, no force, neither hears nor sees), the poet tries to share his shock with the reader regarding the sudden death of the young woman while trying to accept the painful experience.
The definite and indefinite article “a” and “the” in the third and fourth lines are a mark of coreference: “She seemed a thing that could not feel”, “The touch of earthly years”. With indefinite noun phrase: ‘a thing’ the poet makes the event of the woman’s death something unfamiliar and something beyond believe. He wants to believe in the fact that the woman is no longer alive.
77 With the definite article “the” he sympathetically involves the reader and helps them to imagine the way the young woman once was. Unity is maintained at the very end where the poet finally accepts the truth.
3. The World Is Too Much With Us
The World is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not. – Great God! I’d rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
The title “The World Is Too Much With Us” is like a public statement for it makes the reader realize the fact that sometimes people are so busy in their daily lives with daily cares that they do not appreciate what has been offered to them in nature by God. The poet believes that human beings can achieve their real happiness only in nature. Through this poem he wants to utter his message. With the progress of ‘Industry’ people’s relation with nature is lost. In other words, the title from the start is criticizing our doings in the world. We are destroying what God had offered to us. Therefore, we have a destructive role on earth.
78 Title is repeated in the opening first line and it continues with “Late and soon”. The structure of the line is divided because the poet wants to state that there are two separate facts. The World is also protesting its destruction by displaying its beauty to mankind.
In the first three lines, the poet states that human beings are so busy and full of activity in their daily lives by making and spending money, that they do not have time to look and enjoy the beauty of nature that God granted to them as a powerful gift. Unfortunately, human beings are always engaged in something “material” so they do not observe the natural beauty existing near them.
In the next two lines, the poet is complaining and criticizing the senselessness of mankind. We do not appreciate the harmony and beauty that exists in nature. It no longer excites us for we are indifferent towards our blessing. When he likens “the sea” opening its chest to the moon it implies that nature is in harmony within itself. But people are out of tune with nature and all the beauty of nature is wasted by them because they have never appreciated it. In line nine, the poet divides on the line into two with punctuation marks. The first part “it moves us not” is a complete judgment in itself. The beauty in nature unfortunately does not appeal to our senses. With the dash and exclamation “- Great God! I’d rather be” he regrets and wants to live in the early years as a Pagan who worshiped nature. In the final four lines, he states that, he would like to stand on the lovely and pleasant meadow so that he could have a look a bit that would make him feel less wretched because he would be able to share his feelings with everybody. But now he is the only one realizing nature’s power.
79 A. Lexical Categories
Lexical study focuses on the study of the forms of nouns, adjectives, and verbs. The poet uses ‘nature, sea, moon, flower, horn, and lea’ as concrete nouns in order to enliven, the function of nature’s imagery visually in the poem. These concrete nouns serve for the manifestation of certain abstract meanings related with value such as “spending”, “power”, “boon”, “bosom”, “tune”, and creed’, within the poem. Nature is the major functioning noun since the poet tries to strike the reader by displaying the insight and capacity of it. The poet complains that human beings do not enjoy its beauty which is at reach: “Little we see in Nature that is ours”.
In the poem, ‘little’ as a gradable adjective, emphasizes ignorance, recognition and unawareness of mankind. The emotive adjectives “away, sordid, sleeping, outworn, pleasant, forlorn, and old” reveal a state as something alive. With another gradable adjective “less” the poet expresses his regret about the engagements of human beings. So he believes that had he been a Pagan, he would have enjoyed it.
Verbs carry an important part of the meaning at a semantic level, “Standing”, “lay”, “move”, “gather”, “suckled”, “rising” are all dynamic verbs that underline movement and the poet’s vision of nature. The visual adjectives “see”, “glimpses” “sight” emphasize that human beings do not even look at nature which is a great gift to them from God.
80 B. Grammatical Categories
In the grammatical study of stylistic analyses, the focus is on the study of sentence structure, complexity, and word classes. The sentence structure is simple although it includes images. The lengths in the number of words are seven, eight, nine and ten. In the depiction of mankind’s nature, repeated sentences indicate their corrupted side. “Late and soon”, “Getting and spending” “We lay waste our powers”. The final two lines are repetitions in the sense that the poet would like to witness two mythological figures “Proteus” and “Triton” to pay his respect to them.
C. Figures of Speech
Semantic and graphological deviations exist in the poem because they constitute depth with its structure. The title “The World is Too Much With us” is a semantic deviation as the poet wants to indicate not the number of people on the earth but a concern about their deeds. In “We have given our hearts away” he does not literary mean that people have no heart, but they have become insensible and cannot use their five senses to appreciate nature. Therefore, they are not able to see the aesthetic beauty in it. From the beginning of the poem, the poet complains that human beings do not pay as much attention to nature as their daily activities. He tries to convey that mankind should discover the mysteries in nature. Then at the end of the poem he ironically reminds the Pagan, however, he does not believe in Paganism rather he merely wishes to have glimpses of the sea gods Proteus and Triton.
81 A deviation in graphology occurs with the violation of capitalization and punctuation. In the first and third lines, “World” and “Nature” are written with capital letters in the middle of the sentence to present an emphasis on the major images of the poem. Graphological deviations indicate that the poem is based on the mentioned phrases. The second line starts with a capital “G” although the first line ends with a comma. The same is repeated three times while even capital letters exist after the semicolons. Capitalization functions for the reader to be aware of the significance of the scenes in nature.
D. Cohesion and context
In the beginning of the poem “The World Is Too Much with Us”, there is first person plural pronoun in the objective case. When the poet is talking directly to the reader “we” and “us” are used, and while he refers to himself as “I” keeps the reader’s attention close for the flow of the action.
The poet wants to inform the reader about the beauty and the useful effects of nature for human beings. Then he puts himself in the position of a Pagan and utter about the upcoming events. “Great God! I’d rather be” “A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn”. The poet conveys his messages about general social truth and industrial life with, “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers”. The present continuous tense structure is meaningful as the reader recognizes the behavior of mankind while the never ending, consuming event is criticized. Sentences do not vary in length; therefore, there is a unity which also creates a harmony. The readers feel the presence of the objective tone of the poet as he reminds them the realities of the industrial age.
82 4. It Is a Beauteous Evening
It is a beauteous evening, calm and free, The holy time is quiet as a Nun Breathless with adoration; the broad sun Is sinking down in its tranquility; The gentleness of heaven broods o’er the Sea: Listen! the might Being is awake, And doth with his eternal motion make A sound like thunder – everlastingly. Dear Child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here,
If thou appear untouched by solemn thought, Thy nature is not therefore less divine: Thou liest in Abratham’s bosom all the year, And worship’st at the Temple’s inner shrine, God being with thee when we know it not.
The title “It Is a Beauteous Evening” refers to an attractive scene of a sunset. In this fourteen line sonnet the poet describes a simple walk beside the beach with a religious power which he experiences in nature.
The first line starts with amazement. The poet is astonished while experiencing a magnificent evening. Its serenity “calm and free” influences him. It is a very pleasant evening, like an evening of prayer. He discovers a spiritual atmosphere in the air. The quietness is like a “Nun” being “breathless with adoration”. The holy person’s devotion and adoration to God is likened to his own adoration to nature. The sun is setting peacefully and the sky hangs over the sea. Serenity and tranquility dominate the spiritual atmosphere of nature. In line six, the poet attracts attention with his order
83 “Listen!” He announces that the powerful living being is alive, “the mighty Being is awake” and it makes a sound like “thunder” that is so strong that one cannot ignore it. In line nine, he calls the child (his daughter Caroline) who walks besides him: “Dear Child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here”, “If thou appear untouched by solemn thought” , “ Thy nature is not therefore less divine”. The poet depicts that his daughter has innocent heart. This doesn’t mean that she is ignorant. God is with her even when she is not aware of it, “God being with thee when we know it not”. To Wordsworth, nature is enough to motivate a powerful religious experience. Therefore, he visualizes her innocence and relates it with God, as if she is always protected by God.
A. Lexical categories
The following analyses of lexical categories are based on the forms of nouns, adjectives, and their functions in the development of the poem. A number of physical and concrete nouns (Nun, sun, sea, thunder, child, and shrine) are used in the description of the settings of each line. These concrete nouns are used for the presentation of certain abstract meanings such as adoration, tranquility, gentleness, worship, bosom and nature’s beauty within the poem. All of these nouns refer to the vision of a beauteous evening. They all create an image which serves the source of life. It is important to note that the readers are given not simply a description of a scene, but an account of the relation between the visual world and an observer who tries to comprehend and interpret it. Therefore, the poem is concerned not only with objects of perception, but with the process of perceiving them.
84 In the poem, we notice the adjectives related to the visual image such as (awake) and to auditory images such as (calm, sound, quiet, breathless). However, adjectives such as (beauteous, broad, eternal, everlasting, solemn, inner, untouched, less divine, and free) are related to the poet’s perception in order to emphasize his reverence and worship of God. These adjectives also outline the poem’s theme: the girl walking with Wordsworth is Caroline, his daughter by Annette Vallaon. So he thinks that after her death she would be carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The poet applies deviation in “walkest” and “liest” in order to maintain emphasis on the tone and rhythm while implying his daughter’s innocence. “Dear Child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here” “thou liest in Abraham’s bosom all the year”.
B. Grammatical Categories
Similar to the previous sections, the focus is on the study of sentence types, structure, and complexity. The poem “It Is a Beauteous Evening” begins with five declarative sentences which announce how harmony exists in nature “ It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,” “the holy time is quiet as a Nun”, “Breathless with adoration; the broad sun”, “Is sinking down in its tranquility”, “The gentleness of heaven broods o’er the Sea”. There is almost no variation in sentence lengths to shift the tone until line six which starts with a sudden order. “Listen!”
In the description part of the poem, the poet uses commas, semicolons, and colons, to compose a specific flow until line eight with “everlasting”. The reader is made aware of the fluency of the scene because it is read without a break. “Breathless with adoration; the broad sun”, “The gentleness of heaven broods o’er the sea:”, “Dear Child! dear Girl! that walkest with me hear”. The nouns and adjectives serve the same level of meaning (calm, free, quiet, adoration, tranquility, gentleness, holy, divine,
85 shrine) to refer to the main theme of poem that the poet is affected by nature. The structure of the sentences is simple and the language is colloquial.
C. Figures of Speech
In the analyses of figures of speech Semantic deviation occurs at the level of meaning as the poet uses personification. His simple walk beside the beach is accompanied by spiritual power. Evening with its serenity is likened to a “Nun” as nature is believable and produces a sound. Images of nature are used figuratively. It seems as if the poet believes that being close to nature enables one to be inspired by religious power. He imagines his daughter as a part of nature although she is not aware of it. She is actually in heaven. “If thou appear untouched by solemn thought”, “Thy nature is not therefore less divine” “Thou liest in Abraham’s bosom all the year”, “And worship’st at the Temple’s inner shrine” “God being with thee when we know it not”.
Deviation at the phonological level is based on the sound patterns used in different form such as “beauteous” instead of “beauty”, “walkest” instead “walk” and “liest” instead of “lie”. These rhythmic deviations create harmony and an aesthetic sound variation in the poem. Graphological deviation occurs in the poem with the use of capitalization. All the beginning sentences are written in capital letters which foreground the general idea in each line. Moreover, he applies the capital letters in the middle and at the end of some lines in order to emphasize a deeper meaning in the context “Thy holy time is quiet as a Nun”, “Listen! the mighty Being is awake”, “Dear Child!dear Girl! that walkest with me here”.
86 D. Context and Cohesion
The poet expresses his message in the present tense when trying to share his thoughts about the beauty of nature with God’s magnificent creation. It inspires him to experience the power of religion. The first four lines, beautifully illustrate this point and his affection towards nature. Harmony in nature is depicted delicately and with adoration. Cohesion in the context is evident in the first part. While addressing his daughter in the second part, the poet applies variation and repetition in words which foreground deviational effect: “Dear Child! dear Girl ! that walkest with me here” . Through this variation the poet tries to hold the reader’s attention as well as share his feelings with his readers.
5. I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud
I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never – ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
87 The waves besides them danced; but they Outdid the sparkling waves in glee; A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company; I gazed – and gazed – but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.
Structurally this poem consists of four six line- stanzas. In the first stanza, the description of the sight and place is presented like a picture. The poet describes how he wanders over the valleys and hills like a random cloud: “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, “That floats on high o’er vales and hills”. Then suddenly he comes across a crowd of eye – catching shiny flowers, dancing in the gentle wind. He could see exactly their location “Beside” the lake and is amazed by their golden color. “A host, of golden daffodils” “Beside the lake, beneath the trees” “Fluttering and dancing in the breeze”.
In the second stanza, the poet gives more detail about the daffodils. They shine and sparkle so powerfully like the stars: “Continuous as the stars that shine” and they remind him of a cluster of stars because there are so many flowers packed together that even in a single glance he could see of them: “They stretched in never – ending line”, “Along the margin of a bay”, “Ten thousand saw I at a glance”, and “Tossing their heads in sprightly dance”.
88 In the third stanza, he compares the waves of the lake to the waves of the daffodils. Then he finds that even though the lake is “sparkling”, the daffodils win because they have more delight: “The waves beside them danced; but they”, “Out – did the sparkling waves in glee”. The poet realizes that he like any other poet could not be happy in such a cheerful friendship: “A poet could not but be gay”, “In such a jocund company”. He looks at the scene for a long time but is unable to understand what he achieves from that experience: “gazed – and gazed – but little thought”, “What wealth the show to me had brought”. In the concluding stanza the poet describes what he has gained from the experience of the daffodils. Later, when he is free or feels “pensive” he remembers the daffodils, visualizing them with his “inward eyes”. So they make him happy and he wants to join and dance with them: “And then my heart with pleasure fills, “And dances with the daffodils”.
A. Lexical categories
In this category, the main focus is on vocabulary study; whether they are simple or complex, descriptive or evaluative, general or specific. To what semantic fields do words belong is also the main concern of this part. Words such as (cloud, vales, hills, crowd, daffodils, lake, tree, stars, bay, couch, eye, heads, heart), are used as concrete nouns in the depiction of the setting of each line. These concrete nouns signify abstract meanings such as (breeze, dance, waves, glee, wealth, mood, bliss, solitude, and pleasure), so concreteness is subordinated to abstraction. The repetition of the concrete noun “daffodils” two times in the first and in the last stanzas contributes to the unity and underlines an abstract meaning within the poem. An abrupt change in his mood takes place. He feels fresh and cheerful like the “dancing daffodils”. It signifies the poet’s close identification with nature that surrounds him and it helps the reader to reach a conclusion about the topic of the poem, “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud”. Nature is full of surprises like this but to see them you have to go out into nature.
89 The words which are used in the poem are simple and descriptive. They describe a time when the poet meandered over the valleys and hills, alone without being disturbed by others. “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, “That floats on high o’er vales and hills”. Then, he comes across a crowd of daffodils stretching out over almost everything he could see. The poet uses various adjectives such as: “lonely, high, golden, milky, sprightly, glee, sparkling, gay, jocund, vacant, pensive, and inward”, while depicting the daffodils, or his perception about the beauty of nature. With the adjective “golden” the poet draws a yellow picture of flowers on the canvas for the reader, whereas, with the adjectives “sprightly”, “gay”, “jocund” he makes his description more vivid and gives them movement.
In the poem, verbs such as: “wandered, floats, fluttering, dancing, twinkle, stretched, saw, tossing, gazed, glance, lie, flash, and fills” carry an important part of meaning in presenting the poet’s feelings and depiction of the “daffodils”. With verbs “saw”, “gazed”, and “glance” the poet’s vision is highlighted. They are described as living creatures: “Ten thousand saw I at a glance”, “Tossing their heads in sprightly dance”. Verbs such as “tossing”, “stretched”, “dancing”, “fluttering”, and “twinkle”, are dynamic since they indicate the movement of flowers. The movement of daffodils changes the poet’s mood, he is excited so he wants to dance with them: “And then my heart with pleasure fills”, “And dances with the daffodils”.
B. Grammatical Categories
In a grammatical study of the stylistic analyses, the focus is on the study of sentence types, structure, its complexity and repeated nouns or verbs.
90 The poet likens himself to a “cloud” which floats with the winds. He is driven wherever his instincts take him. The poem has almost the same length in words throughout the poem, (five, six, seven, eight, and nine) but in some lines it varies due to the detailed depiction. The effect of placing the short sentences at the end is powerful since long sentences require the reader to be aware of the importance of the depictions. Usually, short sentences present the final observation or comment to the reader. In the description parts of the poem, the poet applies many commas, semicolons, colons, conjunctions and prepositions in order to help the reader figure the natural scene in their minds and avoid ambiguity. The poem’s structure is very understandable and plain. The poet constructs statement sentences in order to state his discovery about the “daffodils” in nature.
Another grammatical element of the poem is the abbreviation of words such as “o’er” in the second line of the first stanza and “oft” in the first line of the final stanza, which maintain the flow and changes tone of the poem and foreground syntactic deviation.
C. Figures of Speech
Semantic, grammatical, phonological and graphological deviations are studied in this category since they constitute meaning in the deeper structure. Moreover, symbol, simile and personification are also included in this study. At the semantic deviation level, there is a violation in the meaning of the poem. In the first stanza, the poet compares himself to a cloud, “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, “that floats on high o’er vales and hills” in order to reveal his connection with nature while personifying the “daffodils” as a “crowd” or group of people. In the third stanza, he compares the waves of the “lake” to the waves of flowers: “The waves beside them danced; but they”,
91 “Outdid the sparkling waves in glee”. The last stanza describes the kind of recollection in tranquility or the poet’s experience of “daffodils”, which makes the poet feel delight, “And then my heart with pleasure fills”, “and dance with the daffodils”.
Grammatical deviation can be observed in words such as “o’er” and “oft”, in order to highlight and attract attention to the form: “That floats on high o’er vales and hills”, “for oft, when on my couch I lie”. Moreover, these two words also make a phonological deviation since the poet uses “o’er” instead “over” and “oft” instead “often” in order to make a sound variation. The concrete noun “daffodils” provides an abstract meaning in the poem and is a symbol of amusement and happiness. The poet describes the “daffodils” at the beginning of poem in detail with adjectives: golden, milky, jocund as well as personifying it as a “cloud” and as a “crowd”.
D. Cohesion and Context
“I wandered Lonely As a Cloud” is narrated on first person by the poet himself. He expresses his ideas about the importance of being a part of nature to his readers. In the depiction of the “daffodils” the poet uses repeated sentences to employ unity and musicality in the poem. The pace reflects the delight in his voice: “Fluttering and dancing in the breeze”, “Ten thousand saw I at a glance”, “Tossing their heads in sprightly dance”.
The reader is confronted with the detailed depiction of the “daffodils” in the first three stanzas, although there is complexity when the poet compares himself to a “cloud” and then personifies the “daffodils” as a “crowd” in the first stanza, but the complexity creates a sense of unity on the surface structure. In the last stanza, the poet who shifts in wise passiveness can recall the beauty of the “daffodils” as they were because he had observed them carefully.
92 In other words, he appreciates the memory of the “daffodils” when he is in the field and later in lonely moments he realizes their worth and beauty once again: “For oft, when on my couch I lie”, “In vacant or in pensive mood”, “They flash upon that inward eye”. Hidden in his minds eye he can visualize it as it was and he owes this experience to being alone. One can inhale nature with all his senses if he is not disturbed by outside forces. One can find his peace of mind in nature as nature has the potential in itself to offer everything positive to mankind. So the poet not only shares his ideas about the importance of nature but at the same time signifies his close identification with it.
93 Conclusion
Poetry is a form of literary art which inspires the mind and feelings of both poet and reader alike. Writing poems requires a careful selection of words to create a special form of language to express deep thoughts economically. Mainly, a poet has to reflect and share experiences so it helps the reader to enter into new worlds. Moreover, poets are very careful in creating an aesthetic quality in order to attract and evoke the reader’s sensual and emotional responses.
As it is stated in the introduction, teaching poetry is always problematic. There has always been an aversion and fear where poetry is concerned as a class study. One can understand that the fear of the students stems from not being able to understand the poems. In this study, what is rephrased for such classes is the use of stylistic analysis by considering its four categories (lexical process, grammatical categories, figures of speech and cohesion and context) which deal with the language of a literary work, and then enable those to enjoy the deeper meanings of the poems. In order to reach this aim, the languages of poetry of the two poets Khalilullah Khalili and William Wordsworth have been scrutinized with a stylistic analysis. Since stylistics deals with the language of literary texts, students are directed to analyze those texts lexically, syntactically, graphologically or phonologically, which is supposed to be enjoyable during their language learning process.
This study attempted to prove that although two poets Khalilullah Khalili and William Wordsworth are from two different nations, their concerns are very similar in revealing the human experience. Although their poems are about their own experiences and are subjective, they are universal. Since these two poets express their ideas with similar images of longing, illusion and disillusionment, I analyzed in detail, and interpreted some of the poems from the collections “Assembly of Moths” and “Lyrical Ballads” from a stylistic point of view.
94 During this study it was discovered that there exists a great sense of longing to what is lost and what might exist. For instance, Khalili’s collection “An Assembly of Moths” includes various themes like injustice, oppression, freedom, war, poverty, and nature. We also come across the same themes in Wordsworth’s collection of “Lyrical Ballads”. That is to say, through the function of certain images these themes become evident and death is also a major theme for both poets. Khalili’s and Wordsworth’s poetry display a reality which reveals at the same time their philosophy. It is interesting and a fact that the works of both poets have become universal. Moreover, their use of language is simple. The readers would enjoy reading it each time, because they can discover more in time. In other words, the reader would not understand the meaning on the surface, but when they analyze it they would understand the effort which was put in by the poets.
In both Khalili’s and Wordsworth’s poems freedom and nature are major themes. Khalili expresses his great desire for it in “Without Freedom” by stating the different stages of his suffering as “grief”, “pain”, “cruelty” and “destruction”. We can notice almost the same dedication to nature in Wordsworth’s poem “My Hearts Leaps Up”. In this poem, Wordsworth longs for his childhood or his past because those days remind him of his freedom. In addition, his past exists without prejudice and pretense. The study has reached a conclusion that both Khalili and Wordsworth have their own dreams, hopes, and fears. All poems serve to unite people so that the world would be a better place or everyone to live.
Khalili and Wordsworth use similar natural images for the same purpose, words such as “breeze, tree, daffodils, flowers, cloud, rain, river, and mountain” show nature as a powerful source which can heal the soul and function to create spirit in their poetry. Wordsworth’s poem “The World Is Too Much With Us” and Khalili’s poem “Break the Arm” almost overlap in message by including a sense of nature and appreciation. They criticize that men destroy nature. In other words, both of the poets are angry with mankind, in general, because man has a destructive role on earth. Khalili
95 states that, great harmony exists in nature, but human beings destroy it for their own benefit and he seems to be the only one who is aware of this destruction. Therefore, he is concerned and suffers a lot. In the same way, Wordsworth regrets that mankind does not appreciate the nature that God has granted to mankind as a powerful gift.
The poet Khalili expresses his pain through the use of similes and metaphors in the poem “I” In The Wilderness”. As he says, “My grief is like the mountain”, “My life is like the tree”, “And this “I” is like a small bird”, “singing on its branch”. Here he mocks himself as a tiny bird and his suffering exists like a huge mountain. Moreover, in the poem “Butchers and Shepherds”, he identifies the “deer” with innocence and “shepherd” and “wolves” as pitiless “tyrant butchers”. Striking contrasts occur in images to point out a truth which is essential to mankind. The readers can very easily recognize both poets’ moods immediately by their poems musicality especially when they are sorrowful and concerned about their society. In other words, Khalili and Wordsworth compose the sound effects in their poems perfectly. The heavy and light tones become almost visual in their poetry.
The study depicts how the stylistic markers of Khalili and Wordsworth collections provide the reader with an understanding of their style in detail. For instance, their uses of deviation, repetition, parallelism, are some of the markers of their poetry. They also repeat certain words, phrases, and scenes in order to underline what is essential for them. The parallel structure in their poetry functions for the sake of unity. Natural comparisons in both collections function for similar purposes. They believe in nature’s pure positive power. What exists in nature is pure and suggests reality. Deviation also occurs at the phonological level of the poems when Wordsworth uses “beauteous” instead of “beauty”, “walkest” instead “walk” and “liest” instead of “lie” in order to apply sound variation in the poem. Deviation in the poems of both poets at the graphology level can also be noticed in terms of capitalization and punctuation marks. At the syntactic deviation level, variations of sentence lengths have been analyzed and as a result, for visual and rhythmic effects it has become the common
96 feature of their poetry. In some of their poems the long sentences follow the short ones in order to imply a clearer and deeper meaning.
To conclude, the study of poetry with a stylistic analysis explains Khalilullah Khalili’s and William Wordsworth’s artistic style much better, in relation to their world views. What is proven is that although the styles of these two poets are not exactly the same their sincere tone and their love of mankind are very similar. Their uses of language with the functioning of images express the same feelings in their selected poems. Although each poem, with its unique title stands alone, they are based on similar grounds. Moreover, this study may lead language teachers to use literature, particularly poetry, in language classes within the scope of stylistic analysis which would be helpful for the students to improve critical thinking skills.
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