As Imperceptibly as Grief Flashcards
What themes are explored in this poem?
Transition of seasons / passing of time
Nature
Change
Transition of seasons quotes
‘As imperceptibly as Grief / The Summer lapsed away’
‘A Quietness distilled’
‘The Dusk drew earlier in’
Nature quotes
‘Or Nature spending with herself/Sequestered Afternoon’
‘As Guest, that would be gone-’
‘Our Summer made her light escape’
Change quotes
‘The Morning foreign shone-‘
‘A courteous, yet harrowing Grace’
‘without a Wing / Or a service of a Keel’
‘As imperceptibly as Grief / The Summer lapsed away’
Repetition of title shows a sense of loss and disbelief that seasons are changing.
The capitalisation of the word ‘grief’ brings emphasis to emotions of poet
‘A Quietness distilled’
It is as though nobody has noticed that summer has faded away - it has quietly left
Context
Highly introverted poet - possibly due to death of sister Lavinia
Friendships conducted by correspondence - rarely left home & rarely greeted visitors
Botanist - clear interest in nature
Structure / Form
16 short lines. It is blank verse with no rhyme scheme, but it has an alternating lines with the 1st and 3rd line being of 8 syllables (beats) and lines 2 and 4 being 6 syllables.
The poem is a euphony because it expresses the attachment of sentiment to a particular time, place or feeling. It has a calm, gentle feel that is reflective, rather than exploding with emotions.
Speaker never identifies themselves as male or female, perhaps demonstrating the universal appeal of the poem.
lapsed
‘As imperceptibly as Grief / The Summer lapsed away’§
Quietness
A Quietness distilled
Dusk
The Dusk drew earlier in
Sequestered
Or Nature spending with herself / Sequestered Afternoon
Guest
As Guest, that would be gone -
Escape
Our Summer made her light escape
Morning
The Morning foreign shone
