Away Melancholy Flashcards
What is the main theme of the poem? (Away Melancholy)
In this poem, Stevie Smith addresses a feeling of melancholy, attempting to banish it with various different positive outlooks on life and existence.
Paragraph 1? (Away Melancholy)
Stevie Smith starts by addressing nature as a way to cure melancholy, because of its typical association with peacefulness, reminding us that we are all part of something much bigger.
Quotes for paragraph 1? (Away Melancholy)
‘Away, melancholy, away with it, let it go’
‘Does not the wind blow, fire leap and the rivers flow?’
‘Man, too, hurries, eats, couples, buries, he is an animal also’
‘Away, melancholy, away with it, let it go’
imperative, call to action, urges reader and self to release melancholy and embrace beauty of life
‘Does not the wind blow, fire leap and the rivers flow?’
beautiful images of personified nature that shows the beauty in the world that we should appreciate in order to shake feelings of melancholy
rhetorical question encourages the reader to question their appreciation for the world around them
‘man, too, hurries, eats, couples, buries, he is an animal also’
asyndeton emphasises all the similarities between humans and animals, reminding us that we are not that different and that we are part of a greater world.
when we are just animals, why feel melancholy which seems unique to humans
Paragraph 2? (Away Melancholy)
The poet then shifts the focus to ideas of religion providing comfort and banishing melancholy, whether or not god is real or good.
Quotes for paragraph 2? (Away Melancholy)
‘pours what he knows of good calling, good, god’
‘say rather it is enough that the stuffed stone of man’s good’
‘speak not to me of tears, tyranny, pox, wars’
‘pours what he knows of good calling, good, god’
Tells us that even having an idea of religion, whether the religion is ‘true’ or not, is enough to provide ideas of morality and good in the world, showing it as a positive to human existence, despite the potential burden of ‘melancholy’
‘say rather it is enough that the stuffed stone of man’s good’
‘say rather it is enough’ gets its own line through the enjambment which emphasises the idea that religion, whether ‘real’ or not, can provide comfort to anyone and is a reason to believe in good and morality, casting away the melancholy
‘speak not to me of tears, tyranny, pox, wars’
asyndetic listing of bad things causes them to seem more plentiful. however, the poet calls for us to push away negativity and focus on the positives
however the acknowledgement of these bad things creates a tension where the melancholy does exist as an undertone throughout the poem.
Paragraph 3? (Away Melancholy)
By the end, the poem’s outlook becomes more ambiguous, looking at aspects of both hope and despair, showing the complicated nature of life and suggesting that we cannot just cast melancholy aside.
Quotes for paragraph 3? (Away Melancholy)
‘Man aspires to good, to love sighs;’
‘Beaten, corrupted, dying in his own blood lying’
‘it is his virtue needs explaining, not his failing’
‘man aspires to good, to love sighs;’
the short lines (made possible through enjambment) slow the reader down throwing strong emphasis to this line
initial image of hope, addressing ideas of aspiration, but then a disappointment at the word ‘sighs’ which is emphasised by getting its own line
contributes to this tension between all the good things and the underlying melancholy that the poet still seems to feel
‘beaten, corrupted, dying in his own bloody lying’
poem becomes very regular with rhyme (e.g. dying and lying)
negative image of a broken human which contrasts previous images of good
corrupts previous ideas of a beautiful world, suggesting that despite the poet’s attempts to turn to different positive things, she is still plagued by negative thoughts such as death
‘it his virtue needs explaining, not his failing’
tells us that we shouldn’t question the bad but rather marvel at the amount of goodness in the world
this is a seemingly positive end to the poem
Conclusion? (Away Melancholy)
Despite the seemingly positive resolution of the poem, the poet ends with the same mantra from the beginning, potentially showing that despite all this the melancholy is still there and in need of banishing. Furthermore, it comes up regularly in the poem, showing how its is an underlying upset despite all the images of good that the poet provides.
