Absent From Thee Flashcards
Who wrote Absent from Thee?
John Wilmot
John Wilmot
Courtier of King Charles II’s Restoration court
Known for his poetry and bad reputation of drunkenness, fights and exploits with women - concern for his morals
Nihilistic Atheist - alarmed and disturbed religious audiences, believes that there is no purpose to life and morals have no meaning
Frequently banned from court and prone to violent temper and drink.
Had several affairs and a mistress (with whom he had a child with)
(Absent from Thee) Title meaning
Same as the first line which creates a echo and reinforces its significance
Implies it will be a traditional love poem - intimate and private (he did not publish it in his life time, kept for small audience of friends)
(Absent from Thee) Form
A song
Regular shape - 4 stanzas arranged into quatrains
Clean and classic love poem structure to subvert expectations of the reader
(Absent from Thee) Rhyme scheme
Steady ABAB rhyme - ties in with musical essence
Some of the rhymes are slant rhyme which may hint at the incompatibility of the poem’s romantic style and the unromantic message.
(Absent from Thee) Synopsis
1st stanza - The speaker is describing how much he misses his lover and how it is affecting him.
2nd stanza - believes the only way he can prove that he is in love with her is to test the limits of their relationship through infidelity.
3rd stanza - speaker asks for forgiveness which he expects to be easily given
4th stanza - suggests that if he doesn’t end up with her, he will succumb to his desires and end up with other women
(Absent from Thee) Repetition of ‘I’
Allows the reader to understand that this is a selfish speaker
(Absent from Thee) “Dear, from thine arms then let me fly.”
“Dear” - typically a romantic term/passionate exclamation but it seems superficial and false
“Let me fly” - suggests that the speaker feels held back by his lover
“Torments”
Poem - Absent from Thee
Love as pain
“Expire”
Poem - Absent From Thee
Feels like he has no control of the situation - like other restoration poets (Makes him seem powerless)
Ambiguous - breathe easily? Die fulfilled?
“Faithless to thee, false unforgiven”
Poem - Absent from thee
Alliteration of the harsh ‘F” sound - it is almost curse-like (there is no escape and he knows the consequences of his actions, even if he is not in control.
“To wish all Day, all Night to Mourn”
Poem - Absent from thee
If the person who he is speaking to intends to wait for him, they will be waiting a while.
In spelling mourn in this way, it is a play on words in that it is like losing someone, it will be their suffering not his - emphasised by the repeated use of ‘I’ (selfish speaker)
“When, wearied with a world of Woe”
Poem - Absent from thee
Alliteration
He knows he will stray from her but we feel sorry for him as he seems to believe he will inevitably lack satisfaction with others and so will return to her.
Similar to other Restoration poets - he has no control and it is out of his hands.
