Poetry
Anthology
Catherine Quadir
English 1102
Prof. P. Glanville
18 April 2010
Table
of Contents
Unrequited Love – Introduction to Theme
Page 1
Sylvia Plath – Biography
Page 2
Jilted – a poem by Sylvia Plath
Page 3
Percy Bysshe Shelley – Biography
Page 4
When The Lamp Is Shattered – a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Page 5
Heinrich Heine – Biography
Page 6
Why Is The Rose So Pale – a poem by Heinrich Heine
Page 7
Works Cited
Page 8
Images Cited
Page 9
Unrequited Love
Unrequited love is love that is not reciprocated or returned in kind. From as early as the 1st century , poets have written of their deep-rooted
affections for someone who either did not or could not return their affections, or was not even aware of their affections. Regardless of the
circumstances, the emotion was often strong, the pain unbearable. The 17th Century cavalier poet Abraham Cowley wrote of this intense
emotion when he penned, as quoted on the Luminarium website, “A mighty pain to love it is/And ‘tis a pain that pain to miss/But of
all pains, the greatest pain/Is to love but love in vain” (“17th Century English”).
The theme of unrequited love has been used extensively throughout the history of art. Courtly Romances treat it through the entanglements
of the soldier poet (otherwise known as the lamb in the hall) and his scorning mistress. Many of William Shakespeare’s plays develop the
theme of unrequited love, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night and Othello. This theme can also be seen in Emund Rostand’s
play Cyrano de Bergerac and Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights. The Romantics defined their movement by it. The theme of
unrequited love has also been used extensively by musicians. From folks music to opera and contemporary ballads, it is a theme understood
and appreciated from one culture to the next, from one generation to the next, from one form of art to the next.
The therapeutic benefit of poetry can be traced back to primitive man, with the chanting of poetry by Shamans or witchdoctors for the wellbeing of the tribe or individual person. The Pennsylvania Hospital, founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin, was the first hospital in the United
States that employed reading, writing and publishing poetry as an ancillary treatment for its mental patients. It is well kn own that the
suppression of deep-rooted emotions may lead to feelings of depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. Poetry is a perfect venue to express
emotions of hurt and betrayal inherent to unrequited love. Poetry is cathartic, and simply putting those feelings onto paper helps to unburden
the mind and the heart. Sylvia Plath’s choice of words and tone of her poem express the sour, acidic and corrosive feelings a
ssociated with being jilted. She metaphorically compares her broken heart to an unripe, drooping, sour plum. Percy Shelley uses the
connotations of things broken, frail, stormy and cold to describe his broken heart. Heine uses analogies of withering flowers, sorrowful songs,
and dying foliage to express his anguish at being forsaken. Plath wrote at a time when confessional poetry was gaining in popularity, and this
encompassed a method of writing that revealed the poet's personal problems with unusual frankness. She embraced her intense feelings of be
trayal and abandonment and wrote about them with sincerity and honesty. Percy Shelley was at the core of the romantic movement, a perio d
that was strongly influenced by nature, and this is ever so apparent with the many references to nature used throughout his poem. Hei nrich
Heine lived during a time of major social and political upheaval, and he became known for his witty prose, political journalism and caustic
satire. His bittersweet love poems that comprise The Book of Songs allude to his more modern view of life than that of his romantic
predecessors. As written by an anonymous contributor to The Artemis Database, “For these reasons Heine has often been labeled the first
"post- Romantic" poet, as he was one of the first poets of the nineteenth century to openly cast doubt on the values of
Romanticism” (“Heinrich Heine”).
Each of the three poets selected for this anthology have had a personal experience with the emotions of unrequited love, and these emotions
could not have been expressed in any better way than through the vivid imagery, diction, connotation and tone used throughout their poems.
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1932, and in 1962 died tragically from suicide at
the age of thirty . She graduated summa cum laude from Smith College, which is a private,
independent women’s liberal arts college in Massachusetts, and then moved to England to attend
Cambridge University on a Fulbright Scholarship. She met and married English poet Ted Hughes in
1956, and she gave birth to a daughter and a son in 1960 and 1962, respectively. Ted Hughes left her
for another woman in 1962, and Plath subsequently fell into a deep depression. It was during this
very painful time in her life that she wrote most of her greatest poems, those that would comprise
her most famous book, Ariel, published two years after her death in 1965. Perhaps it was the
immense pressure of trying to raise her children on her own, combined with an overwhelming
feeling of abandonment, that led her to take her own life in 1963.
Sylvia Plath belonged to the movement known as Confessional Poetry: first person poetry of a very
personal nature. When Post-Modern writers use this mode, they do so in a way that opposed the
Romantic use of it. Where the Romantics use first person to reach out to their readers and provide
comfort, The Confessional Poets used it to force the readers to pay attention to the chaos and
incongruity of life. They forge a first person connection to the reader or listener, then use
fragmented structures and disturbing themes and images to underscore the random, chaotic, and
disturbing nature of life in the Twentieth Century. She is a master at this representation of life. A
prolific poet during her short life, she used verse to articulate her speaker’s deep-rooted feelings of
rage, anguish and anxiety. Her only published novel, The Bell Jar, is believed to be autobiographical
in that Plath uses the events surrounding the main character Esther to articulate feelings of
depression and anguish experienced during adolescence. On the American Academy of Poets web
page, it is said that “her work is often singled out for the intense coupling of its violent or disturbed
imagery and its playful use of alliteration and rhyme” (‘Sylvia Plath”).
As her estranged husband, Ted Hughes, had copyright control over Plath’s work, he published three volumes of her work, but
not before admitting that he had “cautiously omitted some of the more personally aggressive poems” written in 1962 after the
breakup of their marriage (Qtd. in Hayman, 201). 1982, Plath was awarded the Pulitzer prize for her work in The Collected Poems, thus
making her the first poet to win a Pulitzer prize after death. Her poem “Jilted” describes the speaker’s anguish over her
husband’s infidelity and the breakup of their marriage.
“Jilted“
by Sylvia Plath
1
2
3
4
My thoughts are crabbed and sallow,
My tears like vinegar,
Or the bitter blinking yellow
Of an acetic star.
5
6
7
8
Tonight the caustic wind, love,
Gossips late and soon,
And I wear the wry-faced pucker of
The sour lemon moon.
9
10
11
12
While like an early summer plum,
Puny, green, and tart,
Droops upon its wizened stem
My lean, unripened heart.
This poem is written in a simple abab rhyme
scheme. The words of this poem were expertly
chosen to describe the sour and acidic feelings that
accompany betrayal and abandonment.
The tone of this poem is sour and caustic.
In line two, for example, Plath compares her tears
to vinegar – a substance that is corrosive, pungent
and stinging (2). She then he refers to an acetic star
(4), and describes a caustic wind (6). Both of these
words imply a tone that is harsh and corrosive.
Plath also uses the depicts imagery of a sour
expression that ensues after tasting a lemon, and
she metaphorically refers to herself as the moon –
alone, cold and desolate (7-8). In the last 4 lines of
the poem, Plath metaphorically compares her
drooping and wilted heart to that of a small, sour,
unripe plum. Plath expresses her pain at being
jilted and describes her disposition as being sour
and caustic, and her heart now wilted (9-12).
The melodic rhyme scheme of the poem,
combined with dark imagery and harsh
consonant sounds, is incongruous and ironic.
This is not surprising, in a Post-Modern poem
that presents the impossibility of love and order
in a chaotic world. Life isn’t stable or
comforting. Neither is love. Plath well represents
this truth with typical Post-Modern incongruity.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) is one of the best known of the English Romantic movement. As Dr. Priscilla
Glanville suggested in a lecture a lecture at State College of Florida, this movement was characterized by a
celebration of emotion and rejection of reason, an emphasis on the inner life of the individual, narcissistic selfreflection, a shift in sympathy from the victor to the victim, and a celebration of the anti-hero (“Romanticism
Lecture”). The Romantic speaker feels intensely and suffers greatly. As Glanville noted, the critic Walter
described this as the Romantic desire to feel “tremblingly alive” (“Romanticism Lecture”).
Where love was concerned, the Romantics emphasized the fact that the intensity of the emotion mattered more than whether one was happy or
sad. Thus, unrequited love was a major theme in their work, for it allowed for the expression of a great depth of sorrow. In a Romantic poem,
as in the work of Shelley featured in this anthology, it is better to acutely suffer than to calmly experience joy. Dark imagery, ornate rhyme
schemes and melodic iambic pentameter assist the Romantic poet is creating these haunting works full of longing, pain, and frustrated desire.
Shelley was born in 1792 in West Sussex England. As was suggested by an anonymous contributor to the litfinder Database, he was ill treated by his
father, a wealthy country landowner. As a result, he became a rebellious youth (“Percy Shelley”) . He was nevertheless extremely smart, and very involved
in the philosophy, politics, and issues of his day. For example, in 1804, when he was only twelve years old, he was expelled from University College,
Oxford, for expressing Atheistic views. Shelley was passionate about life and, according to the anonymous contributor to the litfinder ,he masterfully
A
“channeled his passionate pursuit of personal love and social justice into poetry” (“Percy Shelley”). In his biographical essay for the Dictionary of
Literary Biography, John Greenfield writes that “Percy’s active imagination was fueled by his early reading of many Gothic romances” (“Percy
Bysshe Shelley” ).
In the summer of 1814, Shelley left his first wife, Harriet Westbrook, for Mary Woolstonecraft Godwin,
whom he subsequently married in 1916 upon Herriet’s suicide. In 1818, Percy and Mary Shelley
left England and moved to Italy, where, , according to the anonymous contributor to litfinder he
became less intent on social reform and more devoted to writing poetry to express his ideals
(“Percy Shelley”). The selection in this anthology is an excellent example of this phase of his work.
Shelley’s poetry is sensual and passionate and became especially so after the death of his son William in 1819. In 1822, while sailing on his schooner, Don
Juan, Percy encountered a storm and drowned at the age of 29. His body washed ashore and he was cremated on the beach near Viareggio. His ashes are
buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, Italy.
“When the Lamp is Shattered"
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
When the lamp is shattered
The light in the dust lies dead-When the cloud is scattered
The rainbow's glory is shed.
When the lute is broken,
Sweet tones are remembered not:
When the lips have spoken,
Loved accents are soon forgot.
As music and splendour
Survive not the lamp and the lute,
The heart's echoes render
No song when the spirit is mute:-No song but sad dirges,
Like the wind through a ruined cell,
Or the mournful surges
That ring the dead seaman's knell.
When hearts have once mingled
Love first leaves the well-built nest;
The weak one is singled
To endure what it once possessed.
O Love! who bewailest
The frailty of all things here,
Why choose you the frailest
For your cradle, your home, and your bier?
Its passions will rock thee
As the storms rock the ravens on high;
Bright reason will mock thee,
Like the sun from a wintry sky.
From thy nest every rafter
Will rot, and thine eagle home
Leave thee naked to laughter,
When leaves fall and cold winds come.
In this poem, Shelley uses a simple abab rhyme scheme, haunting
imagery and melodious sound, references to nature, and haunting
emotional excess: all characteristic of Romanticism.
Shelley uses strong words and onomatopoeia to express his speaker’s
suffering and frustration when love is not allowed to grow and flourish.
The speaker metaphorically compares his broken heart and lost love to
the extinguishing light of a shattered lamp (1), the dissipation of a
rainbow (4), and a broken musical instrument that has lost its
ability to give the gift of sweet music (5).
When the heart is broken, it can only relate to sad dirges (13) or the
mournful sounds, such as the ringing of a bell to indicate death (16).
In lines 17 through 20, he celebrates the typically Romantic idea that
when love is lost, it is always the weaker heart that suffers the most
(17-20 ).
The speaker references death, when he symbolically compares himself
to a cradle or bier – a stand on which a coffin or corpse is placed before
burial. In this strong statement, his is asking why did love chose him as
its last resting point before it died and was lost forever (24). He then
uses beautiful imagery, to compares his grief to that of a destructive
storm that blows by without reason, like the incongruity of a warm sun
on a cold, wintery day (26). Finally, he refers to the vulnerability and
insecurity that one feels after love is lost, and compares the death of
love to the death of foliage in the fall, and the inevitable assault of the
cold and unforgiving winter (27-32).
Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) wrote poetry during the Gothic
Literary Movement.It began in the late 1700s, when a revival
of Gothic architecture was also celebrated. A rejection of elitist
Neo-Classical values and the celebration of the Age of Reason,
the Gothic movement was a precursor to the larger Romantic
Movement. It shares the Romantic emphasis on emotion over
reason, but has less of an emphasis on Nature in the physical
world and more on human nature In her State College of
Florida lecture, Dr Priscilla Glanville describes this defining
Gothic quality as “phastasmagoric” (“Romanticism Lecture” ).
Heine was born in Dusseldorf to a respected Jewish family. As
was suggested by an anonymous Artemis database article, as
his parents wanted him to go into business, in 1817, he was
ok of poetry
sent to Hamburg to begin an apprenticeship with his uncle
Salomon Heine, a wealthy and influential banker. (“Heinrich
Heine”). Heinrich wisely convinced his uncle to let him go to
the University of Bonn to study law, then instead studied
literature and history instead. As was also suggested by the
Artemis article ,Heine had an innate talent for writing, and he
formally began his writing career as a student when he
published his first book in 1822 (“Heinrich Heine”).
Heine gained literary notoriety with the publication of his
third volume of poetry, the immensely popular Buch der
Lieder (Book of Songs) in 1856. This collection has
unrequited love as its central theme, and as noted in an
anonymous Litfinder database article, it is believed to have
been influenced by his unsuccessful attempt to seek the
hand of his cousin Amalie during his apprenticeship in
Hamburg (“Heinrich Heine Criticism”)
This collection of poems established his
popularity as a lyric poet (a form of musical
poetry that emphasizes the expression of
personal
feelings rather than trying to narrate a story).
Critics of his work have often noted, as the
anonymous Litfinder critic did, database, that
his “ early poetry reflects the influence of
Romanticism in its emphasis on love and
despair, as well as in its pervasive tone of
reverie. But Book of Songs also abounds with
realism, skepticism, wit, and irony”
( “Heinrich Heine Criticism”).
Heine’s lyrics were extremely popular and used by all of the major composers of his era,
including Mendelssohn, who composed the music for this anthology’s selected poem
“Warum Sind Den Die Rosen So Blass? or “Why Is The Rose So Pale?” Perhaps because
he was liberal and quite sensitive, as was suggested by the anonymous Litfinder article,
Heine was increasingly disillusioned with Germany. He emigrated to Paris in 1831, where
he remained for most of his life (“Heinrich Heine Criticism”).
Why Is The Rose So Pale
by Heinrich Heine
1.
2.
3.
4.
Oh Dearest, canst thou tell me why
The Rose should be so pale?
And why the azure Violet
Should wither in the vale?
5.
6.
7.
8.
And why the Lark should, in the cloud,
So sorrowfully sing?
And why from loveliest balsam-buds
A scent of death should spring?
9.
10.
11.
12.
And why the Sun upon the mead
So chillingly should frown?
And why the Earth should, like a grave,
Be mouldering and brown?
13.
14.
15.
16.
And why is it that I, myself,
So languishing should be?
And why is it, my Heart-of-Hearts,
That thou forsakest me?
This poem uses a simple abcb rhyme scheme and many references
to nature, which hint at Heine’s influence on the Romantic
period. However, the use of grotesque imagery when treating
nature is characteristically Gothic (12).
This lyric poem uses such imagery often to express a deep,
heartfelt sadness. In the first stanza, for example, Heine
compares the witherin of love to that of withering flowers in
valley (1-4). He then metaphorically compares the dirge of lost
love to that of a Lark’s sorrowful song (5-8). The depiction of a
lark singing a sorrowful strong is used in this poem to emphasize
deep emotional pain, as larks are generally notorious for their
excellent vocal abilities with beautiful songs that cascade down
from the sky (5-8). When a lark can no longer sing a beautiful
song, then the tragedy must be great.
The Gothic imagery emphasizes the tragedy of loss as it references
the scent of death coming from the lovely balsam buds – normally
notorious for the pleasant balsam smell emanating from the
opening buds and leaves in the spring (7-8). The sun is a metaphor
for the speaker’s emotional state, for he describes his sadness as if
the sun had lost its warmth, and all of nature had begun to whither
and turn brown, thus signifying the death of all that was once
beautiful (9-12)
This haunting model of Gothic love closes with an expression of
heartfelt grief in a single question: “Why did you forsake
me?” (16)
Works Cited
“17th Century English: Cavalier Poets.” Luminarium.org. 04 Feb. 2007. Web. 16 April 2010.
Glanville, Priscilla. “Romanticism Lecture.” State College of Florida. 1 Jan. 2010. Classroom Lecture.
Greenfield, John R. "Percy Bysshe Shelley." British Romantic Prose Writers, 1789-1832: Second Series. Ed. John R. Greenfield.
Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 110. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 17 Apr.
2010.
Hayman, Ronald. The Death & Life of Sylvia Plath. New York: Carol Publishing Group. 1991. Print.
“Heinrich Heine.” Artemis. Web. 10 April 2010.
“Heinrich Heine Criticism.” Litfinder. Web. 16 April 2010.
“Percy Bysshe Shelley.” Litfinder. Web. 15 April 2010.
“Sylvia Plath.” Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. April 14, 2010.
Images Cited:
Listed in Order of Appearance
Hearts. N.d. Yahoo Images. Online image. 11 Apr., 2010.
Candle Smoke. N.d. Yahoo Images. Online image. 7 Apr., 2010.
Rose Black and White. N.d. Yahoo Images. Online image. 11 Apr., 2010.
Fall Trees. N.d. Yahoo Images. Online image. 7 Apr.,, 2010.
Plath Image. N.d. Blogspot.com. Online image. 7 Apr., 2010.
Trees at Night. N.d. Yahoo Images. Online image. 11 Apr., 2010.
Percy Bysshe Shelley. 2011. Berkshire History.com. Online image. 13 Apr., 2010.
Weekes, Henry. Monument to Shelley. 1853. Online image. 13 Apr., 2010.
Candlelight. N.d. Yahoo Images. Online image. 10 Apr., 2010.
Oppenheim, Daniel. Heinrich Heine Portrait. 1831. Wikimedia.org. Online image.
13 Apr., 2010.
Gargoyle. N.d. Yahoo Images. Online image. 10 Apr., 2010.
July Pink Rose. N.d. Yahoo Images. Online image. 10 Apr., 2010.
Graveyard Scene. N.d. Yahoo Images. Online image10 Apr., 2010.