The Second Coming (p.1122)

In the poem, The Second Coming, Yeats presents a very graphic scene of the end of the world.  In the first stanza he describes the conditions of the world around him. Since Yeats wrote this poem shortly after World War I, he was describing how post war England looked and felt to him. Yeats writes “Turning and turning in the widening gyre/ The falcon cannot hear the falconer;/ Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/ Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,”.  The creation circles farther away from the creator.  The growing independence leads to an increasingly distant relationship and that lack of control over the bird allows it to stray.   

England after the war was in such bad shape that it felt as though the end of the world, for them at least, was near. Yeats must have felt as though the growing independence of the people allowed its relationship with God to weaken.  That weakening relationship was what Yeats identified as the “centre” that could not hold and would eventually collapse as anarchy broke the societal controls.  That weakening relationship between man and God and between citizens and the formerly controlling institutions in Britain allowed people to grow numb in their response to increasing sin.  The balance of independence and one’s ability to be self-conscious enough to be convicted by their sin is delicate.  The moral compass of the people malfunctioned as they circled away, ever higher, and more distant from their creator. The Bible presents events where similar conditions were present.  In Genesis, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed after the sin of the people became overwhelming.  Fire burned the unrighteous because they became blind to their own sin.  The Great Flood that was survived only by Noah and a few of his family was a second event that demonstrated the same response by God to the overwhelming and omnipresent sin of the people.  In the final days the Bible promises the righteous people will be raptured and will leave the unsaved to inhabit the Earth.  Evil will be the standard and the remaining people will not be convicted in their sin.  Finally, the sky will open and the people will see Jesus coming on the clouds with legions of angels to do battle with the forces of evil.  Armageddon will be the final destruction of evil.

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst/ Are full of passionate intensity.” (lines 7&8)  The Apostle Paul also described how man commits sin with passion and is not able to detect his own condition.  If he resists the saving grace offered freely to him and continues to revel in his sin, he will be given over to his sin and abandoned.

In the second stanza he describes the “revelation [that] is at hand” (line 9). As soon as Yeats begins to describe the Second Coming a sphinx-like creature appears. “ A shape with the lion body and the head of a man,/  A gaze as blank and pitiless as the sun.” (lines 14&15) Yeats believes that the sphinx is there to bring the end of the world.  Yeats’ reference to a beast is not unlike references to a beast in the Bible’s books of Daniel and Revelation.  Yeats believed the end was inevitable and that is also what the Bible describes.  Yeats’ belief that some revelation was at hand is indicative of how badly he thought society in post-war England had become. 

I think it is common today for people to comment on how bad our society has become.  Surely some revelation is at hand and the second coming of Christ could be due.  I don’t know when it will be and no one can claim to know but if the falcon could somehow return closer to the falconer, maybe the falconer’s words could be heard and his instructions heeded.

Glory of Women (p.1099)

The poem, Glory of Women, by Siegfried Sassoon was an interesting critique on how women interact with men.  I read the poem a few times and each time came away with something different.  The first time I read the writer’s take on how women “love us when we’re heroes, home on leave,/ Or wounded in a mentionable place.”(lines 1&2) I thought how the writer was actually being critical of women rather than praising them.  The fact that he refers to the reasons the women loved the men implied that the reasons were superficial or misguided.  If a man is loved when he is heroic or home on leave, it might mean that the women are not so loving or devoted when the men are less than heroic or away from home.  If a man is loved when he’s wounded in a mentionable place, it implies that a man suffering from an unseen injury, as Sassoon was when treated for “shell shock”, is less lovable and less heroic and therefore not worthy of a woman’s love.  Maybe it was that undercurrent of misogynistic sarcasm that struck me after several readings.

The writer also seems to be critical of women’s intelligence when he says, “You worship decorations; you believe/ That chivalry redeems the war’s disgrace.” (lines 3&4) The writer seems to imply that only men, especially the poet, are able to discern the ravages of war and the disgrace that is involved in modern warfare.  “You make us shells.  You listen with delight,/ By tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled.” (lines 5&6) Again, I took it that the poet believes women only listen to men to be delighted by their tales of heroism and daring.  The cheap thrills they get from those tales betray the actual horror of the lives broken and ended prematurely by the fighting.

Sassoon ended his poem with a grim commentary on the true feelings he harbored inside.  “O German mother dreaming by the fire,/ While you are knitting socks to send your son/ His face is trodden deeper in the mud.” (lines12-14)  What attack on women could be more mean-spirited than to attack the relationship between a mother and her son?  The picture of a woman knitting socks to send her son while enemy troops defile his dead body by trampling his face into the mud gives the reader an advance preview on how devastated the mother will be when the death of her son is reported.  Moreover, that her son’s death was not mourned and that men trampled his lifeless corpse into the mud with complete disdain for his passing.  The poet makes it a point to mention the woman is German as if those women are worth even less than the English women.

After reading this poem a few times I was convinced that the writer was deeply bitter and held special resentment for women.  Why he felt this way isn’t clear in the poem but I found his prejudice and disdain for women to be shallow, insulting and thought provoking.  Why did he feel the horrors of war escaped the intellect of women?  Was it because women did not fight?  Certainly the horrors of war would become entirely real for the German woman knitting socks to send to her son when the news of his death reached her.  Unlike the dead soldier, however, the mother would be left to feel her loss and contemplate the horrors of war each day for the rest of her life.

The Soldier (p.1098)

In the poem The Soldier, by Rupert Brooke, patriotism and national pride are given a fitting requiem.  The poem written to be read at a memorial service, as it was in Brooke’s memorial, describes a soldier who was born and bred in England and shaped by its environment.  The pride with which the narrator describes his special background lets the reader know that only a select few could claim such citizenship and belong to this elite group.

In reading the poem I was smiling as I thought of a proud young man honored to be an Englishman and prouder still to have enjoyed the benefit of a life formed in a special way, “A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,/ Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,”. (lines 5&6) The verses have a romantic air that the reader feels as much as reads.  When I thought of a young man representing his country and proud to claim his heritage it was heartwarming.  I tire of reading critic after critic complain about how bad it is in our country at this time.  To be the “hated American” across the globe is tiresome to the point of making me sick of hearing the complaint instead of being ashamed to be an American.  To read a poem about a young man so proud of who he is, where he is from, and how special it was to be privileged in that way, I was refreshed. 

Although the poem is called The Soldier, I didn’t pick up on any military theme or any of the ugliness of war.  The poem almost seemed to be about a young man taken far from home and longing for home in a way that he suddenly appreciated what home was and what it meant to claim that place as his home.  The poem could have been plucked from the inside breast pocket of a man saving his final thoughts for someone close to read in the event of his passing.  It could have been an old man or a young man, someone traveling on business or someone forced to fight in a foreign war.  The fact that the title claims the latter as the narrator gives the feeling that it could have been written in a foxhole on a dark, damp night while the writer was frightened and thinking of a pleasant past as a pacifier for the long lonely night.  As I thought of the poem in that setting it gave the words an added poignancy.  That feeling found its mark with the final verses of the poem, “Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given,/ Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;/ And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,/ In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.” (lines 11-14) I wonder if Brooke dreamed of England while he was away and believed there was a special place in heaven for him after he was gone.

Thou Art Indeed Just, Lord (p.778)

In the poem Thou Art Indeed Just, Lord,  Hopkins is distressed because he has a sort of writers block, and he is asking God why he is allowing this to happen to him. He says “Why do sinners’ ways prosper? and why must/ Disappointment all I endeavor end?” (lines 3&4) He does not understand why God allows others to produce works but he “strain,/ Time’s eunuch, and not breed one work that wakes.” (lines 12&13)

Hopkins is frustrated because he thought God was his friend. He believes that if that were true, he would not have these troubles. Hopkins’ concern is a classic one demonstrated throughout the bible. In situations more dire than the one in which Hopkins finds himself figures like Job, David and Jeremiah asked the same question.   The complete destruction of Job’s family, possessions, and health while Job was an upright man; the plight of a would be ruler pursued by a unrighteous king; and a prophet of God preaching to a lost world and his imprisonment are all examples that escaped Hopkins’ notice.

Who hasn’t experienced the same sort of question when things go wrong?  Hopkins touches a common human emotion when he asked why sinners prosper.  Hopkins believes God is withholding blessings and in so doing, allowing Hopkins to strain while failing to produce that which he attempts to create.  It struck me that I’ve often wondered why sinners prosper while I work diligently to produce what is expected.  If that effort falls short of my expectations, or worse-others expectations, I often see obstacles that others might not see. 

Hopkins concluded his work with the request for help, “O thou lord of life, send my roots rain.” (line 14) Hopkins believed that the attention of God and the affections of God shown to his friend (Hopkins) would result in Hopkins being able to produce without strain.  I’d like to think I also have the sort of friendly relationship with God that I could ask for rain and be better able to achieve my goals.  In Hopkins’ mind I guess that sort of help would demonstrate God’s justice.  The same pleas for help were voiced by Job, David and Jeremiah.  All three prospered in the end and I’m certain Hopkins hoped and prayed for the same result.

God's Grandeur (p.774)

In the poem, God’s Grandeur, the title refers to part of the message that Hopkins is trying to convey in that he is obviously affected by his faith because he sees God’s presence in nature. Like in scripture it says, you do not see the wind but you can feel it. In the same way, you cannot see God but you see His effects. In the face of God’s creation man has inflicted damage through his very nature and yet, in spite of man’s impact, God’s grandeur remains evident.

            Hopkins then says, “Why do men then now reck his rod?/ Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;/ And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;/ Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.” (lines 4-8) He expresses concern that men now, through trade and daily living, have worn down the natural earth that God has provided.  Furthermore, with industrial advances and scientific knowledge man has set himself apart, ignoring his reliance on nature and God.

            Strip mining has blighted the landscape, oil spills have destroyed habitats, and massive developments have encroached upon ecosystems. Animals have been hunted to extinction and the food chain broken through man’s intervention. Global warming and other irreversible trends are due to man’s abuse of nature and his disrespect for his creator. Because of mans failure to head God’s power, a day of reckoning will come. And while waiting this day of reckoning, “Nature is never spent;” (line 9). More encouraging than that, Hopkins recognizes that “ There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;” (line 10) I understood those words to mean that regardless of how man ignores God and foolishly believes in his independence God continues to invite a reconciliation through a renewed natural state.  I worry about our future in the face of our exploitation of the earth and Hopkins appeared to share those same concerns.  Concern alone will not correct the problem and one day God’s invitation and the grandeur of nature will expire.

My Last Duchess (p.663)

In the poem, My Last Duchess, the Duke of Ferrara is giving a tour of his castle to the servant of a Count. While giving the tour, he stops in front of a painting of the late Duchess and begins to tell the servant about her.  As I read this poem I immediately realized certain characteristics of the Duke. He is wealthy, he is proud of his status and he is a product of his time. We see that he is wealthy because in the last line of the poem he shows the servant a bronze statue “cast in bronze for [him]!” (line 56) and he lives lavishly in a palace. When the Duke is telling his story of his last duchess you catch this sense of pride and arrogance. In a part of the poem he says, “as if she ranked/ My gift of nine-hundred-years old name/ With anybody’s gift. Who’d stoop to blame/ This sort of trifling. Even had you skill/ In speech-(which I have not)- to make your will/ Quite clear to such an one, and say, “Just this/ Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss,/ Or there you exceed the mark” (lines 33-39) He not only shows he is proud of his ranking and his “name”, but he feels he is too good the have to tell the Duchess what she is doing wrong that bothers him.  He doesn’t believe he should have to actually say the command out loud but the Duchess should just know.

            I believe the Duke tries to act proud and like he is so great, but realistically he has self esteem issues. He tells the servant that the Duchess was too friendly with other guys and even a little sexual towards them,  that she smiled too much.  He says “ Sir. t’was not/ Her husband’s presence only, called that spot/ Of joy into the Duchess cheek (lines 13-15) …. She had/ A heart- how should I say?- too soon made glad,/ Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er/ She looked on, and he looks went everywhere.” (lines 21-24)But as I read on I gathered that some of this may be just in the Dukes mind. The Duchess may have smiled at other people, but I feel that smiles can simply be a sign of kindness. The Duke did not take her smiling this way. He did not even tell her what she did wrong he just “gave the commands:/ Then all smiles stopped together.” (lines 45&46) When I first read this, I did not believe that the Duke could have possibly killed the Duchess, but in the next line when he says “There she stands/ As if alive.” (line 46) I came to the chilling realization that he did in fact kill her.

            The impact of the Duke’s arrogance, jealousy and suspicious nature when it came to the way the Duchess interacted with others possibly resulted in the Duke forbidding any contact between the Duchess and others.  That isolation and the Duke’s paranoia about his Duchess’s outward joy in living would have been enough to possibly kill her.  The Duke possibly learned first-hand that the love of a woman is not a possession that can be locked away and viewed when one wishes.  That possessive nature and his attempt at locking her away would have killed their happiness and possibly the Duchess along with it.  It was never clear whether the Duchess was promiscuous but the Duke’s fear that a blush or a smile was indicative of her infidelity dominated the theme of the poem.  To capture a smile in a painting that the Duke cherished so much was ironic in view of his behavior and the way he actively tried to prevent the Duchess from displaying the very smile captured for eternity in the painting.

            This poem shows that the Duke is just a product of his time. He was in an arranged marriage, which was very common in his time and he did not take much value in his wife.  During this time period women were not held to very high standards. They were to be as appealing as possible to the men, while still being “proper”.  This meant that although the women went through school for many years to learn to be suitable for a man, the men still fantasized about different kind of women and only took their wives as someone to do household duties. The Duke had no emotional or romantic tie to his wife. He killed her! Then he just found another Duchess. 

The Charge of the Light Brigade (p.615)

I really enjoyed reading this poem because it gave me a sense of encouragement. The Charge of the Light Brigade tells the story of 600 soldiers who rode on horseback into the “valley of death” (line 3) for half a league (which is about one and a half miles) to charge their enemy. Even though all the soldiers realized that their commander made a mistake: “Someone had blundered.” (line 12)  None of the soldiers complained or were discouraged; they were brave. They obeyed and were  “not to make reply/ Their’s not to reason why,/ Their’s but to do and die:” (lines 13&14) they followed orders.

            Gallantry and glory are often bestowed on heroes.  The difference between a hero and a fool is often in the eye of the beholder.  In this poem, the six hundred heroic soldiers who charged on in the face of death knew full well that their mission was a fatal one.  Their dedication to duty in the face of that brought them glory that was the inspiration for this poem.  Their death brought them immortality through the re-telling of their exploits.

            The Persian defeat of the Spartans at Thermopylae has been re-told many times and the fatal mission of the Spartan soldiers brought them similar glory.  The bravery of a cadre of men outnumbered by their enemy and overmatched in their might would have been a sufficient reason to retreat and flee.  That did not happen at Thermopylae and it did not happen in Tennyson’s story of his soldiers.  The intelligence of a retreat would not have been the proper backdrop for a story of bravery and heroism.

 This poem is based on actual events during the Crimean War when the British cavalry misunderstood orders and made a charge upon the batteries of Russian artillery. There are many times when it is hard to blindly trust someone, especially when you do not think they are right. It takes true courage to follow someone into battle and even more courage and bravery to go into a battle when you know you are outnumbered. In the last few lines of the poem Tennyson tells the reader to “Honour the charge they made!/ Honour the Light Brigade,/ Noble six hundred!” (lines 53-55)  We honor our heroes in many ways and it made me think that Tennyson wasn’t speaking about each of his readers entering a battle of life or death.  I think Tennyson was reminding his readers that each person has a role in life and often that role is contingent upon a hierarchy.  If the mission is daunting and the prospects are dim, we must remember our role and how our dedication to that mission will be viewed.  Honor and glory are lasting traits that can be sacrificed in an instant.  Many of the six hundred sacrificed their lives but lived on as an example that carried many people through difficult times.  The re-telling of Tennyson’s poem during the dark days of England’s struggle during World War II no doubt carried many a scared soldier to complete his mission.  In that way, Tennyson was instructing us that completing our mission with focused determination often has a benefit that will last longer than our lives and will have greater impact after our death than we could have had while living.