Introduction
Gerard Manley Hopkins was a Victorian poet, satirist, theologian etc. He is considered among the great writers of English literature. His poetry is known for obscurity, unusual diction and meter. The Sea and the Skylark is a sonnet in which first eight lines shows purity of nature and last six shows fall of human being. It was first written in year 1877 but published in 1918.
Central Idea
The poem is a great example of modern society who runs after materialism and hence it’s fall is imminent. Poet compares this degraded world with purity of nature. He recalls old ‘cheer and charm of earth’s past prime’. He thinks this world which is anti nature is going to break down and man will become part of the dust from where it was originated.
Themes
- Materialism and degradation of human world- This poem focuses on materialistic approach of the people of the world. Poet makes us remind that we are engrossed so much into this degrading world and forgetting purity of the nature.
- Purity of Nature – Poem has an important theme in the form of purity of nature against degraded physical world. Poet compares this purity of nature with two eternal symbols i.e. Sea and Skylark. He says that both of these symbols are feeling shame on current degraded world.
Figure of speech
- Alliteration – ‘flood or a fall’, ‘low-lull’, wear or wend’, ‘Left hand, off land, I hear the lark ascend’, ‘ring right’, ‘cheer and charm’, ‘make and making break’ and ‘dust, drain’ have repetition of consonant sounds at the starting of words. Hence it’s alliteration.
- Consonance – ‘low-lull’ and ‘wear and wend’ has vowel changed after consonant at the starting.
- Assonance – ‘make and making break, are breaking’ has repetition of vowel sound /a/.
- Metaphor – In ‘Moon shall wear and wend’ Moon is metaphor for time.
- Chiasmus – It’s a device in which first phrase has mirror image in second one. In this poem line ‘With a flood or a fall, low lull-off or all roar’ has chiasmus.
- Cynghanedd – It’s a welsh device where pattern of alliteration (consonants), accent and rhyme is used in combination. In the poem ‘Left hand, off land, I hear the lark ascend’.
Symbolism
The poem has two very suggestive symbols that are ‘Sea’ and ‘Skylark’. Both of them represents ancient pure form of nature. Poet has chosen these two symbols due to their existence since ancient times and whose existence was still mostly unchanged.
Biblical Effect
The poem talks about the origin of man and also his end. It mentions how god created the first man, ‘Adam’, out of dust and breathed into his nostrils life. The poem also mentions the end of man as the Bible says all living beings will enter into graves (will become dust) and rise at the call of God. So man came from dust and will become dust in the future too. This makes the poem based on the bible too.
Structure and Rhyme Scheme
The poem is an Italian sonnet having fourteen lines. The rhyme scheme of the poem in the first eight lines is ABBA ABBA which is embracing rhyme. While in the next six lines it is CDC DCD.
Critical Appreciation of Foreign Poetry
Copyright Ourguruji 2024. All rights reserved.