To Marguerite

To Marguerite by Matthew Arnold

YES: in the sea of life enisled,
Between him and his companion, the is separation.
Dotting the shoreless watery wild,
We mortal millions live alone.
The islands feel the enclasping flow,
And then their endless bounds they know.

But when the moon their hollow lights,
And they are swept by balms of spring,
And in their glens, on starry nights,
The nightingales divinely sing;
And lovely notes, from shore to shore,
Across the sounds and channels pour;

O then a longing like despair
Is to their farthest caverns sent!
For surely once, they feel, we were
Parts of a single continent.
Now round us spreads the watery plain--
O might our marges meet again!

Who order'd that their longing's fire
Should be, as soon as kindled, cool'd?
Who renders vain their deep desire?--
And bade betwixt their shores to be
The unplumb'd, salt, estranging sea.

Original Reaction-

The poem “To Marguerite” appears to comment on the nature of human beings to estrange each other through a metaphor. The human beings are represented as islands that once used to be connected. These islands, like most islands, are moving apart from each other, just as the author continues to stray away from another human being. In the poem, the author says he hopes one day to see the marges of the island come together and remake the continent that once existed. The island metaphor appears to represent the current situation with the author and his companion, who, from the title, can be inferred to be Marguerite.

Paraphrase:

He starts with 'Yes,' meaning he accepts some sort of offer. Between him and his companion, there is separation. The separation makes them distant. Islands are alone and separated just as individuals are. The distant between each other is marked by constant clashed. The time of day and seasons have an effect on the relationship. The music from the different islands is blocked by the motion of water. He yearns to see his companion once more while he continues to be saddened by not having the opportunity. He believes that at one point, both of them were content with each other. He is questioning a greater beings power over him and his love life. He feels God is being cruel to him by not letting him be with his companion.

SWIFTT-

The words that the author uses give the poem a longing, sad tone. The words enisled, glen, estranging, and betwixt stand out when read the poem. These words, along with the structure of the poem, make give the poem an interesting flavor. One unique aspect of the sytax is that the author asks questieions, namely in the last stanza, and then offers an answer to his own question. Further, the author uses an extensive metaphor throughout the poem. The separation of the continent into islands represents the author’s estrangement from his former companion. Finally, all of the elements discussed develop a distinct tone in the writing. The tone appears to be almost depressing with aspects of desperation and disappointment. The theme of the poem is that life is not fair and that hope may be futile.

Conclusions-

My conclusion differs from my first reaction in that I originally didn’t realize the powerful tone expressed in the poem. For the most part, however, I continue to believe that the author makes an extensive use of figurative language, namely metaphors. After completely analyzing the poem, I realized that there is actually a powerful theme and tone. The despair in the author’s voice created by a unique blend of words makes the readers feel sorry for the author.