The Voice (Rupert Brooke, 1909)

A Commentary Essay on The Voice by Rupert Brooke

     The Voice by Rupert Brooke describes an unsuccessful romance between the speaker and a female character. There are two main parts to the poem: the peaceful, solitary imagination of the speaker in regards to the romance and the ‘profaning’ reality. The latter part of the poem is designed intrinsically to contrast with the former part.

      From the title, the poet induces the reader to believe that there is some form of mystical theme to the poem, which is ironic since the actual ‘Voice’ is a ‘profaning’ of the solitudes. The use of the term ‘voice’ in these two manners reflects the speaker’s view of the woman in question: seemingly mystical and beautiful, but in reality a profanity to his beloved solitudes.

     The first two stanzas describing the setting have a much more euphonic mood due to constancy in the rhyme pattern and number of syllables, reflecting the speaker’s view of the setting: the peaceful solitudes. The speaker is calm in regards to the ‘woods’ and the ‘night’ and the constant traditional four line stanzas with a constant rhyme pattern reflect this. The speaker’s keenness to describe his imaginative views of the woman is displayed through the lengthened stanzas four and five. In contrast, the inconstancy in the rhyme pattern of the last five stanzas epitomizes the speaker’s frustration of the distraction that the woman seemingly poses.

  

     The poet describes the setting eloquently and the peaceful nature of the woods and night. The ‘high solitudes’ clearly portrays the scene as a peaceful and silent one that the speaker enjoys. Furthermore, the hushing of the birds and lacking wind exemplifies this quietness, peace and stillness. It contrasts with the harsh sound of ‘uproar’ ‘crashing’ and ‘platitudes’ described in the last five stanzas.

     Furthermore, continuous repetition of ‘woods’ and ‘night’ allows the reader to understand that the speaker is alone. It gives the impression of solitude, which is a vital theme in the poem.

The use of the personal possessive, ‘my’ adds to this effect of solitude, as does the phrase, ‘veiled by night’.

     Another aspect to note is the religious imagery and symbolism that the poet utilizes to further emphasise the contrast between his imagination of the woman and the reality. ‘…in the silence the hidden key of all that had hurt and puzzled me’ seems to be describing a religious understanding of the meaning of life. Furthermore, the ‘holy three’ seems to be an allusion to the Holy Trinity in Christian doctrine. While this could be an indication of the high expectation he had of the woman, it could also be the love he held for the three entities most important in his life. The woman’s inability to appreciate what the speaker believed to be equally important to him as her seems incompatible with what the speaker had imagined. The speaker had imagined that she would compliment the solitudes and wilds with him, while in contrast, she distracts from the solitude.

     Not only does the speaker seem to have a strong belief in this, he states that he ‘knew’ this, entailing certainty in his thoughts. This certainty and directness with his imagination implies that he has already in some way analyzed the woman in question and has deemed her able to co-exist with his love of the solitude.

     This imagery of solitude, beauty and religious symbolism is shattered by the words, ‘And suddenly’. This concise verse shows action in the poem and the adverb to describe it (i.e. suddenly) is typical in poetry to entail action. The continuation with the diction of the word, ‘uproar’ is an effective manner that the poet uses to convey the contrast with the quietness. This sudden breaking of the beautiful scene is a reflection of the distaste that the poet wishes to convey.

A further example of this distaste in the last five stanzas is the poet’s diction of the words, ‘platitude’ and ‘solitude’. The poet wishes to provide a contrast between these two words. This is made clear by the use of rhyme in using these two words. While the two words rhyme and have the same number of syllables, the word, ‘platitude’ has a plosive sound in its beginning consonants. The adjectives for the word ‘platitudes’ also have plosive sounds, denoting further distaste on the part of the poet.

     The lines in stanza eight allude to the first stanzas and directly contrast the symbols used in these verses. For example, ‘the spell was broken’ draws the reader’s attention to the ‘magic of my woods’. In doing so, he ensures that the reader’s perception of the stillness and calmness is directly crushed.

    The first mention of the title within the poem is capitalized. This is notable, since it adds more to the directness of the conveyance of the poet. He wishes to specify that the voice is not a voice from a broad source. Without specifying at that point whence it came, the poet conveys that there is a singular source to this ‘Voice’. It appears as though in a way, the capitalization of ‘Voice’ was done instead of using a definite article, adding to the directness of his tone.

      Successive verses contrast themselves from the first verses of the poem, quoting the woman in question. These quotes provide directness to the poet’s conveyance. This directness is further emphasized by the threefold repetition of, ‘you said’, in the second person.

While the speaker’s bias distorts the idea of truth in any form of literature, it is possible to infer that the speaker is exaggerating from his diction of words to describe the woman in question. He describes her as having, ‘ignorant feet’ and ‘a swishing dress’. Further, he states that she ‘quacked’. The impact of this word is clear: he is likening the woman to an animal. From this, it is clear to see that the speaker is overly critical to the point of exaggeration.

     The final stanza, however, is the most impactful. It states, ‘By God! I wish - - I wish that you were dead!’. Its directness and exaggeration is paramount to concluding the poem. The previous three or four stanzas intend to build to this moment in which he not only censures the woman but also does so to the point of insult. His attack on the character of the woman reaches its extremes by the concluding verse.

     To conclude, the speaker is willing to go to great lengths to go describe the haven of his solitudes. His imaginations are keen and unrealistic: almost religious. It appears as though he had a general and symbolic tone in the first five stanzas but he swiftly breaks this tone in the last stanzas through directness in his tone and breaking from the symbolism. Then, by the point he makes his final remarks, it is evident that the direct nature of his tone reaches a peak. His unrealistic ideas are broken and he is keen to show that they are broken in such a direct manner, in contrast to the indirect and symbolic nature of the first five stanzas. There is also clear exaggeration throughout and this reaches a new peak in the last verse. The main idea of the poem seems to be a contrast not only between imagination and reality, in regards to the woman, it appears that the speaker wishes to convey his love of the solitude compared to this woman who breaks it. This resonant idea has its conclusions when the speaker states, ‘by God, I wish… I wish that you were dead’. The speaker has made his decision: it is of no concern to him whose fault it is that the union did not last. He prefers the magic of his woods and night in his solitude and he will tolerate no ‘profaning the solitudes’ – even if it is by a woman he dearly loved.

Safe in the magic of my woods

   I lay, and watched the dying light.

Faint in the pale high solitudes,

   And washed with rain and veiled by night,

Silver and blue and green were showing.

   And the dark woods grew darker still;

And birds were hushed; and peace was growing;

   And quietness crept up the hill;

   And no wind was blowing

And I knew

That this was the hour of knowing,

And the night and the woods and you

Were one together, and I should find

Soon in the silence the hidden key

Of all that had hurt and puzzled me---

Why you were you, and the night was kind,

And the woods were part of the heart of me.

And there I waited breathlessly,

Alone; and slowly the holy three,

The three that I loved, together grew

One, in the hour of knowing,

Night, and the woods, and you------

And suddenly

There was an uproar in my woods,

The noise of a fool in mock distress,

Crashing and laughing and blindly going,

Of ignorant feet and a swishing dress,

And a Voice profaning the solitudes.

The spell was broken, the key denied me

And at length your flat clear voice beside me

Mouthed cheerful clear flat platitudes.

You came and quacked beside me in the wood.

You said, "The view from here is very good!"

You said, "It's nice to be alone a bit!"

And, "How the days are drawing out!" you said.

You said, "The sunset's pretty, isn't it?"

              *            *            *            *            *

By God! I wish---I wish that you were dead!

When I Have Fears that I May Cease to Be (John Keats, 1818)

Analysis of When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be

     The poem, When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be by John Keats is a lyrical sonnet, which describes the speaker’s sentiments and fears of death. The misfortune of ceasing to exist, according to the speaker, is something tragic, having power, even over the most powerful of human ambitions: ‘love and fame’. Yet, according to the speaker, ‘high pilèd books’, ‘romance’ and all his experience in life that he ‘may never live to trace’ are meaningless in the tragic reality of death. The unpredictable ‘shadows’ of death are merely dealt by the ‘magic hand of chance’, and not only end the abstract nature of humanity, such as ‘love and fame’, but end time itself.

The speaker looks at his fame through his ‘high piled books’ and how, according to most, he had lived a fulfilling life, with ‘full, ripened grain’. Yet, despite this, he understands his mortality, and that he is exactly the same before the reality of death as every other person. He uses a number of devices to contrast his strength of ‘fame and love’ with his mortality; that he will ‘cease to be’. He uses imagery throughout, to emphasize both his successes and intellectuality and his mortal nature. The common imagery for success, the ripened grain is used to show off his intellectual successes.

Use of ‘night’ as symbolism for the nearing of his end must also not be overlooked, as it provides a transition to emphasis on his mortality. The speaker then uses the imagery of a clock to emphasize the ever-moving nature of time. Finally, he concludes, suggesting that his ‘faery powers’ are nothing at the brink of ‘the magic hand of chance. Hence, the poem’s main themes draw down to the speaker’s fame and love and emphasis that no matter how intellectual one is, he is still prone to ‘their shadows’.

The title of the poem seems to indicate some form of ‘fear’. However, less emphasis is placed on the fear, as on the sense of emptiness. ‘Till love and fame, to nothingness do sink’, he says. The speaker is keen to contrast the meaningless power that he possesses with the immeasurable power of the Universe and death. The ‘night’s starred face’ introduces his emptiness in comparison to the vast universe. He has fears that in his inferiority to the immense capacity of the universe, he will simply be forgotten.

It is important to note that a sense of time is emphasized throughout. For instance, the threefold repetition of ‘when’ indicates that time is flowing throughout the poem. Furthermore, there is imagery of the clock, symbolizing both time and death. ‘With the magic hand of chance’, he will be unable to exist. The clock is ticking, for in the next line, he says, ‘I shall never look upon thee more’.

And with his inability to exist, he knows that time itself will stop for him.

A contrast to this weakness is placed against his most valued possessions: his books, symbolizing his intellect. The speaker observes his times writing his many books, his ‘pen has gleaned’ his ‘teeming brain’. That is, he has written his own history, through his intellect. Finally, the fruit of his works await harvest, with its ‘full ripened grain’. He has completed much a successful life.

When discussing a poem about death, it is difficult to avoid discussing death itself as a component. However, the speaker does not seem to make use of the word ‘death’ but rather makes use of the phrase ‘cease to exist’.

Furthermore, the word ‘never’ is repeated threefold, indicating the speaker’s regret that time itself will cease to exist as he sinks away into ‘nothingness’.

It is possible to see that the speaker is describing the reality that all people will pass away, and his sentiments on being unable to exist further, rather than the fear of death itself.

The speaker wishes to convey his sentiment of something all can relate to: death. Yet, doing so from the perspective of an intellectual.

He has lived a successful life, and he is ready to be reaped. Yet, he looks upon the ‘wide world’ and finds how empty his life has been: searching for ‘love and fame’, which are meaningless before the reality of ‘ceasing to be’.

He wishes to convey, therefore, that the nature of death is the same to every person – whether intellectual and famous, having written a bookshelf full of books, or ignorant: whether loved or unloved. Death strikes at an unknown time ‘with the magic hand of chance’.

When I have fears that I may cease to be

John Keats, 1818

When I have fears that I may cease to be

   Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,

Before high-pilèd books, in charactery,

   Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain;

When I behold, upon the night’s starred face,

   Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,

And think that I may never live to trace

   Their shadows with the magic hand of chance;

And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,

   That I shall never look upon thee more,

Never have relish in the faery power

   Of unreflecting love—then on the shore

Of the wide world I stand alone, and think

Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

Oh Me! Oh Life! (Walt Whitman, 1892)

Analysis of Oh Me! Oh Life! By Walt Whitman

     Oh Me! Oh Life! is a lyrical poem by Walter Whitman, expressing the ever-struggling, ever-criticizing and ever-faithless nature of humanity. The poem divides itself in two sections: a section with questions about the nature of life, and a section with the answer for these questions. Despite having numerous subsections to his question, the basic intention of the poem is to answer the one that presses the speaker the most: “What good amid these, oh me oh life?”. The speaker uses a variety of devices to communicate his questions. The use of repeated words such as “oh” and “of” gives a dramatic mood, whereby the speaker poses questions and answers them in an ever-lyrical, ever-emotional manner. Furthermore, the caesurae add to this dramatic effect, through speeding the poem, as it progresses.

 The single word line ‘Answer’ with a colon cuts this mood short and prepares the reader to the speaker’s answer. The answer for the point of life is then expressed in direct, yet metaphorical terms, giving an insight into the ultimate question in life: its purpose.

    The title of the poem has much significance, since it uses the word “oh”, as it is repeated throughout the poem. Its use gives a dramatic and lyrical effect on the poem from the beginning. The use of the direct object personal first-person pronoun shows that something effects the speaker, as oppose to the speaker effecting it. The title is effective in giving an insight to the speaker’s view of life: something that directly affects him, but cannot directly be impacted by his will or conscience. These two remarks both commence the poem and end the question, hence exemplifying the important nature of the remarks in the poem.

    A series of hyperboles and metaphors convey the speaker’s perception of his surroundings. Every day, he encounters the “sordid crowds” who come in “endless trains”. The “faithless”, who “vainly crave the light” to the speaker are nothing but “empty”. Thus, the speaker wishes to state that where the majority head to on these faithless trains is “empty”. The “light” that all “vainly crave” exists elsewhere than where everyone seems to be heading. This reality of humanity, only seeking self-interests, tending towards a sort of faithlessness was precisely the criticism of the speaker.

     However, the question seems to suggest that the speaker not only criticizes this type of society, but also wishes to be excluded from such a society. “What good amid these…?” he asks himself. The tragic reality of his life, that he is caught in such a “faithless” society heading in one direction of the “train” is what seems to truly bother him.

     However, the speaker, in the next stanza answers himself clearly. The word “answer” is succeeded directly by a full stop. After all the figurative language in the question, the speaker wishes to express that there is a true answer to this complex and overwhelming question of life. The answer is given clearly: that he may contribute a verse to his powerful play, known as life.

     Yet, arguably more substantially than this, the speaker is inclined to say that the reason one must live on is because “life exists…”. His “identity” is already defined by the fact that he is alive. He wishes, therefore, to suggest that every single life should be valued, as it can play a part in “the powerful play”.

     Hence, the conveyance of this lyrical poem is a positive one, despite its initial negative attributes it places on life itself. Despite the difficulties of life, with ‘faithless men’ on ‘trains’ going in one and faithless direction, causing much confusion, the answer to the speaker is very clear. “Answer.” He wishes to say that if life itself were “the powerful play”, it is our obligation as those who partake in life to “contribute a verse”. The speaker seems to thus ask the reader, ‘what will your verse be?[1]’ thus keeping the poem open to the reader’s own interpretations and potentials.

Oh Me! Oh Life!

Walt Whitman (1892)

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,

Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,

Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,

Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,

The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

                                       Answer.

That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

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[1] Refer to the film Dead Poets Society