remembrance by Emily Brontë

Remembrance by Emily broneë ,full explained

1. Remembrance By Emily Brontë

2. Background information about Emily Brontë Emily Brontë (born July 30, 1818, Thornton, Yorkshire, England—died December 19, 1848, Haworth, Yorkshire) English novelist and poet. She had other siblings which were also amazing writers on Their own terms! Which was natural due the fact Their father was Patrick Brontë , a great author himself! She wrote “Remembrance” in 1845 ,two years before her death in 1848, She wrote many things but her most famous and well-known one is “Wuthering Heights” (1847) it’s considered a classic these Days

3. Remembrance, The Summary

4. The Mood and Tones

5. The Themes

6. Literary Devices and structure Remembrance’ by Emily Brontë is an eight-stanza elegy that is separated into sets of four lines, known as quatrains. These quatrains follow a simple rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD, changing end sounds from stanza to stanza, Brontë mostly uses iambic pentameter Brontë makes use of several literary devices in ‘Remembrance’. These include but are not limited to alliteration, caesura, and anaphora. The latter, anaphora, is one of the easiest literary techniques to recognize. It is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines, usually in succession, This technique is often used to create emphasis. A list of phrases, items, or actions may be created through its implementation. For example, “No” at the beginning of lines one and two and “All” at the beginning of lines three and four of the fifth stanza.

7. Literary devices Alliteration : occurs when words are used in succession, or at least appear close together, and begin with the same sound. For example, “fern” and “forever” in lines three and four of the second stanza as well as “From” and “Faithful” at the beginning of lines two and three of the third stanza. Caesura : occurs when a line is split in half, sometimes with punctuation, sometimes not. The use of punctuation in these moments creates a very intentional pause in the text. A reader should consider how the pause influences the rhythm of one’s reading and how it might precede an important turn or transition in the text.

8. The Poem

9. Analysis of the poem First stanza Cold in the earth—and the deep snow piled above thee, Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave! Have I forgot, my only Love, to love thee, Severed at last by Time's all-severing wave? In the first stanza of ‘Remembrance,’ the speaker begins by referencing the cold grave that her lover, now long dead, is buried in. It is covered up by piles of snow and “far removed” from her.

10. Analysis of the poem Stanza Two Now, when alone, do my thoughts no longer hover
Over the mountains, on that northern shore,
Resting their wings where heath and fern-leaves cover
Thy noble heart forever, ever more? The speaker is moving away from the memories of this man who has died. Her heart no longer hovers “over the mountains, on the northern shore.” That place, a symbol for her lover, is much farther in the distance than she might in reality like it to be. This speaker’s emotional struggle is quite clear.This stanza is enriched with imagery from the mythical world of Gondal, where the lyrical voice’s thoughts take flight, lingering over the grave now covered in vegetation, hinting at the passage of significant time.The mention of the loved one’s ‘noble heart’ introduces a layer of intrigue and heroism, prompting readers to consider if the deceased was a heroic figure, possibly lost in battle. This reference not only deepens the sense of loss but also raises questions about the life and character of the person being mourned, adding a complex emotional depth to the lyrical voice’s grief.

11. Anal ysis of the poem Stanza Three Cold in the earth—and fifteen wild Decembers,
From those brown hills, have melted into spring:
Faithful, indeed, is the spirit that remembers
After such years of change and suffering! Remembrance’ begins with another iteration of the phrase “cold in the earth.” This is followed by an important piece of information that fifteen years have, in fact, passed since this man died. She uses natural imagery to chart the progress of time over those fifteen years. Take, for example, the brown hills that have “melted into spring,” a symbol of change. That same “change” is reiterated at the end of the stanza as well.In lines three and four, she refers to a “Faithful Spirit.” The spirit is faithful in that it “remember[s] / after such years of change and suffering.” Through this excited statement, she is alluding to the fact that she feels as though she has been unfaithful to this person. Because her memory is fading, she feels as though she’s doing something wrong. But, the reader should note that she is, in fact, writing this poem. So that means that she’s not quite as faithless as she fears.

12. Analy sis of the poem Stanza Four Sweet Love of youth, forgive, if I forget thee,
While the world’s tide is bearing me along;
Other desires and other hopes beset me,
Hopes which obscure, but cannot do thee wrong! this stanza’ is again directed to the dead lover. She asks him to forgive her forgetfulness while the “world’s tide is bearing her along.” She’s unable to escape from the tide that is life, It is representative of the progress of time and the inevitable changes that come over one’s mind, heart, and physical life as time progresses without a loved one there. She is “beset” by “other desires and other hopes.” These hopes obscure the past and her memories of this person. But, she adds in the end, they “cannot do thee wrong.” Despite these changes, she is saying, they cannot totally destroy what the two had in the past.

13. Analysis of The Poem Stanza Five No later light has lightened up my heaven,
No second morn has ever shone for me;
All my life’s bliss from thy dear life was given,
All my life’s bliss is in the grave with thee. The fifth stanza is a good example of anaphora. The first two lines begin with the same words, and the third and fourth lines do as well. In the stanza, she informs her lover that “no later light has lightened up her heaven.” This is a roundabout, poetic way of saying that she has not had another lover since this person died. There has been no “second mourn” that has brightened her life. ,She has remained in the darkness and night that was left behind when her lover died. She tells this person, rather dramatically, that any joy she had in life was given to him and now belongs in the grave with him.Her “life‘s bliss” resides in the “grave with thee.” The repetition of the phrase “all my life‘s bliss” emphasizes how sincere the speaker is in her beliefs. She truly thinks that this is the case and even wants it to be true. If it was, she would certainly feel a bit of the guilt she is experiencing relievedThe religious undertones continue in this verse with the references to light, life, and the use of the word ‘bliss’; all words found in abundance in The Book of Common Prayer, a text with which the Brontë’s would no doubt have been familiar since their father was an Anglican clergyman and all the sisters taught Sunday School from the vicarage

14. Analysis of the poem Stanza Six But, when the days of golden dreams had perished, And even Despair was powerless to destroy, Then did I learn how existence could be cherished, Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy. Stanza six of ‘Remembrance’ tells the dead man that although her dreams, the man himself, have died, there is some hope. The mournful mood of the poem is slightly lightened in this stanza and the ones that follow. She tells this person that despair and darkness have not completely destroyed her. There’s something that comes after “ Bliss.” She is able to experience life “without the aid of joy.” There is some kind of pleasure to be taken from being alive, even if that pleasure is without joy. There is a sense of defiance in this verse as although her lover has died in the physical sense, her passion for him remains living and vital; thus, he lives on in her heart. The juxtaposition of ‘days of golden dreams’ and the word ‘perished’ in the same line highlights her grief that such a love story should have ended prematurely. However, we are also in awe at her strength of character that she has lived on despite the pain she has suffered.

15. Analysis Of The Poem Stanza Seven Then did I check the tears of useless passion—
Weaned my young soul from yearning after thine;
Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten
Down to that tomb already more than mine. She explains to the dead man in the seventh stanza how, after coming to this revelation, she “check the tears of useless passion.” She felt as though the emotional disturbance she was experiencing was, in the end, not benefiting her. She was able to cast it off and “ween” herself from yearning after the dead lover.She learned to exert a new control over her soul, stopping it from longing so strongly for the grave and for rejoining the dead man. She no longer hastens to meet her own end.

16. Analysis Of The Poem Stanza Eight And, even yet, I dare not let it languish,
Dare not indulge in memory’s rapturous pain;
Once drinking deep of that divinest anguish,
How could I seek the empty world again? In the eighth stanza, ‘Remembrance’ concludes. She adds that although her soul has changed somewhat, she still has to keep an eye on it. She “dare not let it languish” or indulge too deeply in “memories rapturous pain.” If she drinks too deeply of the pain of her loss, she will return to the depths of despair that she experienced in the past. She knows that if she engaged in this manner of thinking again, she would never want to “seek the empty world again.”In this verse, there are echoes of Shakespeare when we think of the line ‘Parting is such sorrow’ from Romeo and Juliet, or the oft-quoted ‘Tis better to have loved and lost: Than never to have loved at all’ from Alfred Lord Tennyson. The bold question that concludes the poem suggests that if she were to immerse herself in memories of her lost love, she would be unable to continue with life as she now knows it. Oxymoron is employed in ‘rapturous pain’ and ‘divinest anguish’ to make the reader try to understand the paradox. Even if recalling her treasured memories brings her pain and distress, she considers it is worth it to recollect them. By using the verb ‘dare’ twice, she adds a sense of urgency to her dilemma and conveys the intensity of her struggles to wrench herself away from drawing inwards to her former life. Again, alliteration and assonance stretch the penultimate line, drawing us into her tormented reverie. The verse concludes with a question to make the reader consider her plight once more.

17. The End :D Sources: https://poemanalysis.com/emily-bronte/remembrance/ Youtube video: https://youtu.be/v5-GVPxarZA?si=G56AofkyATaWJu12 Presentation by Marah and Batool