LitAide

This poem was written in the year 1889 by Tennyson and he died three years later. He was old and grappling with the idea of death, he wrote this poem. The narrator is figuratively walking towards his end. He is nearing his death and he compares his impending death to crossing a sandbar (see the below image).  Sandbar It is nearly sunset and the evening star is visible in the sky. It means the poet has lived and savoured his life and now he is on the verge of death, here dusk is compared with old age. He also receives confirmation from heaven that the time has come for him to return. As he returns, he doesn't want to disturb/erode the sandbar. But he has to cross it in order to reach the ocean. Tennyson wants to get carried to heaven on a silent tide peacefully or while he is asleep. In other words, Tennyson wants to die peacefully or we can say that all he wants is painless death.  The tide on which he will be carried, should not be full of foam which will make noise as tides ...

  Brief summary This poem is one of the well-known dramatic monologues of Browning. It raises his recurring infatuation of transcending death and the belief of life after death as hailed in Hindu mythology. The title of the poem is revealing too as the meaning of the word "prospice" in Latin is to "look forward". Browning stands against the mighty death as he is a fighter and he insinuates that this could be his "the best and the last" fight. He knows it very well that despite being a brave man, he could not straightaway beat death, he is ready to embrace death like "the heroes of old". He can imagine that all the "pain, darkness and cold accompanying death end in "a minute". It is merely a task of holding on for moments of anguish, then calmness will prevail. A divine light will appear followed by his beloved, whom he has been missing for in his lifetime and finally with her and the God. Literary devices "fear...feel...fog......

The poem "Meeting at Night" written by Robert Browning is a short poem of twelve lines poem written in the rhyme scheme of abccba deffed.  Stanza 1 In the first stanza, the narrator gives an imagery of the depiction of the sea and the land, how they seem grey and black respectively. The waves and tides ebb in a circular formation. He can see the yellow half-moon above him laying low. Through these initial lines, we come to know that he is somewhere near the sea and is approaching the land through a ship. As the ship reaches the sandy shore, its speed dwindles. Through the title of the poem, we can reckon that the narrator is meeting someone at night. Another question can be raised about why he is meeting in dark. Who is he meeting? This suspense will be cleared at the end of the poem.  Stanza 2 After reaching the land, he walks a mile on the beach and across three fields and then, at last, he reaches his destination, a farmhouse. He taps on the window pan...

The poem "Evelyn Hope" written by Robert Browning narrates a story of a hyper-optimistic narrator who choose not to grieve for her just dead beloved but plans his meeting with her in their next life. The poem is a testimony to Browning's lofty optimism. Equally unusual is the narrator who is aged three times his unrequited love. She didn't know him while she was alive. His excessive hopeful nature somewhat feels unrealistic. Browning's portrayal of the narrator resembles his other poems such as "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover" where the narrator is mentally unstable and paranoid. Death is again there too of beloved's. Although here, in this poem the narrator talks philosophically about life and gives her dead beloved a leaf as a memento to remember him and his love for him in the next life. Stanza 1 The narrator begins the poem by informing the readers that the eponymous Evelyn Hope, a young girl is dead and he visits her. H...

The poem is written by Matthew Arnold. a Victorian poet. Arnold published the poem in 1850, the year in which Wordsworth died. The poem talks about three preceded literary figures - Goethe, Byron and Wordsworth and their relevance in the poet's contemporary society. Goethe is described by the poet as a sage of the age who was aware of the ailments and problems of the European people. Arnold praises Byron not for his works but for his unusual spirit and his struggle. The poet uplifts the position of Wordsworth and after his departure, he would be missed by Europeans. The poet emphasizes that Wordsworth possesses "healing powers" and no one after him would teach people how to actually feel things. Stanza 1 The poet says that Goethe, an eminent German literary figure has already died and rested in peace in the city of Weimar and Lord Byron has died too a long time ago in Greece, with his departure from the world, his struggle also came to halt. Then he says that there is ...

Thomas Babington Macaulay, a noted English political and literary figure wrote this essay in 1835 and his recommendations were included in the English Education Act of 1835 along with Lord Bentinck's. The essay is about Macaulay's suggestion to fund education in India in English medium in rather than wasting 'limited' resources of British on Indian vernacular languages such as Sanskrit or Persian. The essay begins with his idea of educating people of illiterate India in foreign medium i.e. English. He is so proud of the language that at first, he doesn't find the need to point the benefits of English language. He then illustrates the worth of the language and the rich content available in the fields of History, Polity, Jurisprudence(law), Metaphysics, Governance and emphasizes that Greek is no superior to English from which it derived many things. He intends to build the confidence of aspiring learner by describing how all the sublime intellectual material, inclu...

The poem is written by Matthew Arnold, a Victorian-era poet and critic. The poem is based in ferry port of Dover, Kent. The poem highlights Arnold's conviction of people's losing faith in his era as Victorian-era was an age of realism, confusion and there was stress on morality. The poem starts with a lovely description of the natural surrounding and then Arnold comes upon the issue of losing of faith and he tells his beloved to hold on to him in this world which he describes as consist of no good things. Stanza 1 It's evening time and the narrator sits by the sea, describes the sea as calm. Then he says that the tides are in their full limit and the moon is situated above the straits. The light first shines on the French coast and the light shuts off, then it sparkles the cliffs, lies on the English side, which spreads in vast area and tranquility prevails here too. He sends for his beloved to come to the window and tells her that he finds the breeze blowing in the nigh...

The poem "To Marguerite"  is written by Matthew Arnold, a Victorian poet and critic. The poem highlights the Age in which witness the spread of science and in which the existence of God is under scrutiny and we finds here in the poem , the poet’s disbelief in God. The idea of isolation of people from each other is presented in the form of islands representing human beings. We can infer the poet’s sadness over the too much individualism of people, they want to unite with each other but couldn’t do it due to the modern God who share no sympathy with human beings and shows no mercy on them. Stanza 1 In the first line, the poet compares human beings as a cluster of isolated islands which are separated by straits and among them lies invisible boundaries and uncontrolled waves. Millions of human beings live alone due to lack of understanding and their contention to only oneself. The people (islands) feel the potential to connect with each other but are aware of the long di...

The poem "Shakespeare" is written by Matthew Arnold, a Victorian-era poet and respected critic. We can say that it is written as a tribute to The Bard (Shakespeare) who is undoubtedly the most acclaimed English literary figure who has ever lived. Stanza 1 The poet hails Shakespeare and agrees with other people that he holds immunity to be free from other's questioning or criticism. He and other people ask about extraordinary works which haven't lost its relevance and applicability and we just wonder how can a person knows about mankind this much. He's dead for centuries and "art still" in our mind but remains silent and we wonder about his vast knowledge which unravels more when we dive into depths of his works. Arnold compares him to "the loftiest hill" to which the stars offer its allegiance. Stanza 2 The poet continues his superior description of him. He says that he walks firmly with "steadfast footsteps" in the sea without ...

The poem "My Last Duchess", a type of Dramatic Monologue is written by Robert Browning, a Victorian poet. It is written in Rhymed couplets of iambic pentameter. The poem presents the same the influence of Patriarchal society in which men dominates women and decide their life and wishes. Browning also wrote another male dominated poem " Porphyria's Lover ". The narrator, Duke of Ferrara invites or it seems, orders an associate of his guest to watch his collection of exquisite paintings, particularly a portrait of his ex-wife. He describes the reason behind the expression on her face, and then her wife's characteristics and goodness, then he reveals a feature of her which he hates, and he also insinuates that he had her murdered. The associate, who listens to his story, actually accompanies his master to arrange a marriage between the latter's daughter and the Duke. The narrator, i.e. the Duke, walks with an unknown guest and shows him his collection of ...

The poem "Porphyria's Lover" penned by Robert Browning. It is a type of Dramatic Monologue , a form in which an individual, not the poet, narrates the poem. The poem exhibit abnormal psychology and eccentricity of a person who without any hesitation murders her lover, just to relieve her from "the conflict", upholding his action with justification. The poem has some similarity with Browning's other poem " My Last Duchess " in which the Duke similarly have her murdered for a petty reason. The narrator describes the rainy late evening and the strong and gloomy wind begins to blow. It breaks the top-most portion of Elms tree and it seems that it has grudge against it. The lake has also bear its brunt of it. These may be signs of bad omen. The narrator listens to all above phenomenon with his "heart fit to break". It seems that he is a little discontented and wait for someone i.e. his beloved, Porphyria. She enters and shut the door because...

The poem "The Lotos Eater" is penned by Alfred Tennyson, a Victorian-era poet. It is based on the journey of Roman Mythological hero Ulysses and his crew mariners. His other poem "Ulysses" also draws his long journey after the war of Troy. The poem was inspired by his visit to a mountainous region in Spain along with his close friend Arthur Hallam. Stanza 1 Ulysses along with his Mariners are returning back on his legendary voyage after the end of the Trojan war. He points towards the land and exhibits some more courage till they reach the land, the rising wave would help them to reach the shore. In the afternoon they reach the island. The land has an unusual environment, dullness and weakness are fused in the air. One feels tired upon breathing the air and enters the dreamy state. The full moon stands above the valley. The narrow stream falling from the cliff appears like a smoke coming downward slowly. Stanza 2 There are many streams flowing in the land tha...

The poem Ulysses is written by Alfred Tennyson, the leading literary figure of Victorian poetry. It is written in blank verse and based on the adventures of Roman mythological hero Ulysses and narrated by Ulysses himself who wants to continuously travel and discover new worlds. The poem is a dramatic monologue. The poem begins with Ulysses finding it odd to meet his wife Penelope because she would have grown old and may not identify him after such a long time. He also thinks that he is no profit to his native people and termed them 'a savage race' because he doesn't share the resemblance with them as they lead a boring life and unfruitful life in which they just eat, sleep and hoard things, even they don't recognize their king. Ulysses doesn't have any intention to live like them, he wants to travel to various places, explore new wonders and committed to live his life to the fullest. In his journeys, he has experienced both cheerful moments and harsh adversitie...

The poem is written by Alfred Tennyson, a major Victorian poet.  It derives the inspiration from the Arthurian legends of Elaine of Astolat. The poem is divided into four parts. Part I introduces us to the physical setting of the region of Shalott and nearby places. Part II describes the mysterious character of the lady of Shalott and the curse upon her. Part III deals with the description of the hero, Sir Lancelot. Part IV tells the unfortunate fate of the lady after running away from the tower. Part I Stanza 1 On the side of the river lie the fields of Barley and Rye which covers the land and spread in a large area such that it "meet the sky" and there is a road which goes through fields to the castle of Camelot which constitutes of many towers. People walking through the road gaze the lilies grown around the island of Shalott. Stanza 2 The breeze blows through the trees of willows and aspens and shakes them, it blows so fast that it strikes the waves of the river w...

The poem is written by Alfred Tennyson, a Victorian poet. It is written in Blank verse. The poem presents the agony of Tennyson caused by the death of his loved ones in previous years. He reminisces those happy days and the memories and impression of the familiar ones strike his heart and bring tears from his eyes. Stanza 1 The poet doesn't know why the tears begin to flow from his eyes without any recent bad happening or maybe he is aware of the cause but tries to repress the mental pain. The tears might flow due to some deep sadness arise in his heart and makes an outlet in form of tears. The season of Autumn goes on and the poet gazes on the fields and contemplates the good old days which are gone. Stanza 2 As the poet thinks deep about past days, he says that when the first rays of sun fall upon the ships, it seems that his friends who are long gone returns from the underworld ( the world of the dead) i.e. the memories of them enliven them in poet's mind. But as the ...

The poem is written by Alfred Tennyson, a Victorian poet. It was written as an elegy in the memory of his close friend, Arthur Hallam. The pain he was going through reflects in this poem. Stanza 1 The beginning lines of the poem describe the grief and depressed state of the poet. He says that just like the sea finds its outlet by striking its waves on the gray stone on the shore, he wish he could express his repressed thoughts and sadness that is burning inside his heart. Stanza 2 In this stanza, Tennyson gives examples of fisherman's  children and young sailors. The fisherman's boy who along with his sister can play and shout freely and involve in frolic activities. He considers a young sailor lucky as he can sing a song in his boat without any stress and repression. Stanza 3 Tennyson notices that the huge ships return to the harbour. He feels that something is missing from his life, a friendly physical touch of a hand and a familiar voice of a loved one who has left...