To Marguerite by Matthew Arnold

Text:

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 severence ruled!

And bade betwixt their shores to be

The unplumb'd, salt, estranging sea.

Initial Reaction:

My initial reaction to the poem “To Marguerite” is that it is a poem about the lonesome nature of life. I believe that the narrator is a man that is extremely lonely because he is stranded on an island by himself. Further, while the narrator appreciates the beauty of nature, even that brings him a sense of loneliness. In addition, the man believes that the waters of the ocean will forever separate him from human companionship.

Paraphrase:

Yes: in the life where we each live in isolation,

With reoccurring obstacles thrown between us.

All along the never ceasing problems in life,

We humans live alone.

We all feel the pressures of isolation around us,

And we all feel the endlessness of the lonesomeness.

But when they see the moon’s light,

And when they feel the calmness of spring,

And when they are in the valleys when the stars are in the skies,

The birds sing;

And the beautiful songs are heard by all people

From one end of the world to the other it is heard;

Then a deep sense of loneliness

Is felt by all humans!

For at one point they all were

Parts of a whole.

Now all around us is the boundaries that separates people—

O might our paths meet again!

Who ordered that burning passions

Are to be cooled as soon as they are felt?

Who labels deepest desires as pointless?

A God, who rules separation;

And ordered for life to be

Uncontrolled and lonely.

SWIFTT:

SW: The syntax of the poem includes several interjections, such as “Yes!” “Parts of a single continent!” and “A God, a God their severance ruled!” The interjections represent the author’s frustrations and show him trying to bring extra attention to specific ideas. In addition, he used words like “island” to represent the idea of being alone. Further, he used the word “severance” towards the end of the poem to symbolize the idea that all people are separated.

I: The author uses ocean imagery to convey the message of his poem. Throughout the poem, the reader can see the imagery as the author writes, “the sea of life,” “shoreless watery wild,” “watery plain,” and “estranging seas.”

F: The poem is an extended metaphor for the separation between people. For example, the “echoing straits between us thrown” is a metaphor for the difficulties of life. In addition, the lines “The islands feel the enclasping flow, and then their endless bound they know” is a metaphor for the pressures of life and endless feelings of loneliness. Further, the island is a metaphor for isolation.

T: The tone of the poem is despairing and longing as the author contemplates the lonesomeness of his life and his separation from others.

T: The theme of the poem is that all people are separated by the invisible barrier of loneliness that cannot be overcome. The theme can be found throughout the poem through the ocean imagery and the idea expressed that life is difficult and lonely.

Conclusion:

After analyzing “To Marguerite,” my conclusion of the poem differs from my initial reaction. While I still believe the poem is about the lonesome nature of life, I now realize that the man alone on the island is a metaphor for his separation from a lover. The poem depicts a man and a woman who were once like two parts of a whole, but for some reason, are now separated. In addition, the allusions to nature represent the idea that even the most beautiful things in the world bring the narrator loneliness because he is not with his lover.