To Marguerite, By: Matthew Arnold

To Marguerite
By: Matthew Arnold

Original

YES: in the sea of life enisled,
With echoing straits between us thrown.
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?--
A God, a God their severance ruled;
And bade betwixt their shores to be
The unplumb'd, salt, estranging sea.


Initial Reaction
After reading the poem for the first time, I did not understand what Arnold was talking about. The only thing I could comprehend from reading the poem was that Arnold was expresses a feel of a “break-up.” He is explaining how close him and his lover were and how far apart they’ve become. I can understand how Arnold feels and I understand that he may be going through depression. People have different views and different remedies on break-ups. Another thing I don’t quite understand is who Arnold was beginning to “curse”. He does this by saying, “Oh why did you do this to us?!” I don’t know if Arnold is referring to a higher power or to an event that made them break up.

Paraphrased

Yes! In this isolated life,
Our roads crossing each other.
Scattered in this shoreless ocean.
We live alone.
The islands in a tight grip
And they known their endless bound

But when the moon shines,
And they are cleansed by the comfort of spring,
And on starry night,
The nightingales sing;
And beautiful notes can be heard
From island to island;

Oh! Then a cry of despair,
From even the farthest islands are made!
For they once felt that we were,
Intertwined and connected.
And I long for the day,
That our paths cross again!

Who ordered that their fire,
Should be stimulated, cool’d?
Who said our desire is worthess?
A God has disconnected us;
And uttered between our shores to becomeA salty, contaminated sea.

Syntax and word choice- From reading the poem, Arnold uses some depressing words like shore less, despair, and betwixt. From the original text, it is difficult to see any form of stylistic elements, which requires in depth analysis.
Imagery- Arnold does use the island and shores to show the reader how distant apart the two lovers are. The separate islands symbolize the two lovers, and Arnold states that the islands use to be connected and now the islands have become separate. Also at the end of the fourth stanza, Arnold hopes that “their watery plains merge someday.”
Figurative Language- Arnold uses many forms of imagery to symbolize his loneliness. For example, the “separation of islands” and “shoreless watery wilds” conveys a sense of despair and solitude. He also refers to his love as a “single continent,” which basically means that their love is in separate continents.
Tone- The poem has a depressing tone. One example of the depressing tone is shown in lines 13-14: “O then a longing like despair/ Is to their farthest caverns sent!” This example shows that even if they were happily separate from miles away, they can still feel the sadness from their relationship.
Theme- The overall theme in “To Marguerite” would be the effect of a break-up. Also, one can conclude that from the text, loneliness and grief is the overall theme. From the story, the reader can clearly see that Arnold was grieving over his break-up.

Conclusion- My view on this poem still hasn’t changed a bit. I can slightly understand the poem and what Arnold is going through, however there are still a few unanswered questions. Hopefully, Arnold recovered from his break-up and continued with on