This poem was originally written in a form of a letter to Sara Hutchinson, Wordsworth’s sister-in-law with whom Coleridge was in love. It is a personal poem.
An ode is a very complex lyric and very often the Greek Odes
were used on a formal occasion. The pattern is much more complicated than an
ordinary lyric. The ode was a complicated song or a verse form used by poets to
convey their pains and sadness. When poetry is written in a complicated ode
form it can be defined as a Pindaric Poem after classical poet Pindar. Normally,
the Pindaric quotes are not used and so when a very personal poem is presented
in a very formal way it is done with this type of an ode. This poem is a very
personal poem presented in a very formal way.
The theme of the poem in some respect is of the damaged
self. Coleridge was a sensitive human being. He is suffering throughout the
poem but he does not want the lady to suffer. It is an honest poem. One of the
things troubling him is that he feels that the poetic faculty within him is dying.
He feels that he cannot write the way he used to because his mind is troubled. In
its original version the poem was a verse letter written to Sara Hutchinson and
most of the material in this poem is related to a personal theme. A lot of his
emotions are suppressed, and the stress is on subjectivity. If the poem lacks a
certain coherence of pattern and organization, it is because of his origin. Throughout
the poem the poet writes in a personal mode. It is in the free Pindaric code
form. The poem has a conversational tone.
The poem begins on a very casual note where the poet is commenting
on the external environment, on nature and the arrival of a storm. With this he
is suggesting that there is also a storm in his mind and at the end of the stanza
he wants the storm to break out because he has a perpetual feeling that he is
losing his writing capacity.
In the Ballad of Sir Patric Spence we see an intimate, juxtaposition
of young and promising with the wasted and worn out.
Dejection on ode is a prayer where he does not want the
lady to suffer. He does not want her to wear any sin. He wants her to be pure
and happy. The poem begins with a supposingly casual statement about the weather.
The scene that is created is a heavily evocative scene. The moods of nature
harmonize the moods of man. The thoughts of the poet are influenced by what is happening
to nature in the world around. The poet wishes that the storm growing inside
him breaks open, he is scared of his lack of feeling. He thinks that there is
not enough emotion in his pain. He believes that once the storm has passed, he
will be able to experience a certain part and he can go back into his old
state. He wants to do away with the pain in him. He does not mind the pain but
he does not want any numbness. He says that if the storm inside him erupts
there will be some sort of feeling, some sort of devotion.
In the light of what is going to follow later in the poem,
the opening lines are written with a cool detachment. It is mystery as the poet
is very troubled and extremely disturbed. In the sky the poet tries to find
symbolic language for his turmoil. Coleridge like Wordsworth is scared that he
can no longer summon up a response to natural feelings. In his poem we see just
blank despair so that the original assurance with which he started is deceptive
and misleading. Fear is juxtaposed with love.
In the third stanza he brings out the empty dull pain. The emphasis
is on the scene of stifling grief and lack of feeling. This numbness and not
being able to relate to nature troubles him. He is able to register all the
changes in nature and all beauty in the surroundings, but emotionally he is no
longer able to participate in nature. His mind is in a turmoil. Even when he
describes the natural environment he links it up with his own sorrow.
In the last two lines of the third stanza he talks about his
attitude to morality. He believes that moral and emotional harmony are
necessary to feel earths loveliness. He says we cannot blame nature for what is
happening to oneself. Nature gives us what we give her. If we feel troubled we
like to believe that nature is also troubled. The poet is longing for a
spontaneous overflow of feelings. He says that he cannot project his soul abroad
because of the smothering weight that lies upon his heart.
In the first three lines of the fourth stanza there is a
cry of despair as well as the honesty of the man. There is an expostulatory tone
which tells us that we cannot blame nature for our shortcomings. Nature is
constant and does not change. In stead of nature keeping the heart alive to
love and beauty, it is the souls self producing joy that gives life to nature.
In the fifth stanza, the poet says that he is guilty, but
he does not want the one he loves to be sad, he wants to see her happy. He does
not want her to suffer.
The sixth stanza is a biographical account of what has
happened and how he has lost the most important faculty for his – his imagination.
Things were very different formerly. Joy and sadness both have a part in his
life. He realized that those hardships were temporary and would pass away. He had
a sense of flexibility and could always look for some thing to compensate him. He
was always able to appreciate the beautiful things when he was young and he had
a lot of afflictions, but they did not worry him. He believes now that he has
sunk so low that he cannot regain the optimistic feeling which he feels he has
lost.
In the seventh stanza he says that he wants to escape from
the unpleasant realities of life. There is a description of the wind and he imagines
in the wind various pictures. This stanza actually shows that his imagination
is as vivid as before. He describes the raving wind which blows above the bare
mountain tops, destroys trees and shed leaves. He is slowly creating an eerie
atmosphere by referring to the witch’s house.
The wind seems to remind him of an unholy cold winters night.
The fierce sound of the wind reminds him of a retreating army and when the
sound of the wind dies he is reminded of a lost child who weeps for his parents.
The poet does not realize how powerful his imagination is.
In the last stanza he prays that his beloved has peace and joy.
Although he is suffering he does not want her to suffer. He says that one way
of being happy is to be at peace with oneself. He is unable to relate to nature
because he is not at peace with himself. He hopes that the lady can always
identify nature because she is pure and free from sin. We see Coleridge’s
altruism in these lines. In Coleridge’s poem the focus is away from himself in
contrast to Wordsworth’s poem where the focus is on himself. Coleridge believed
that in order to appreciate nature you have to be in perfect harmony with her. He
wants the woman to have complete emotional integration with the life around
her. The poem ends with a blessing.
Questions:
Show how Coleridge’s poetry reflects a sense of wonder in
the presence of the unknown. (You can also use Kubla Khan, Rime of the Ancient
Mariner to explain).
Explain Coleridge’s mood in the poem ‘Dejection an Ode’. How
has he used nature to reflect his mood?
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