De Profundis

Question 1

DP: SF of growing spatial divisions & desperate grasping
- ‘I s m h, I s m h, a c a h’

Answer 1

1. ‘I strain my heart, I stretch my hands, and catch at hope.’: ‘strain…stretch…grasp…’ triplet of extreme physical exertion suggests an utter desperation to achieve certain state or goal. This triadic list of desperation elucidates teh notion that there is a struggle to achieve ones desires esp. as there is a clear growing spatial division between teh speaker & their ‘goal’ as they must endure physical hardships to attain it, reflecting the utter arduous nature of earthly living which tests teh will of god’s servants before they enter heaven to illuminate the extent of their devotion.

Question 2

DP: Extended motif of barriers
1. ‘O w i h b s f’
2. ‘e s r h t/B m r’
2. ‘I a b w f b’

Answer 2

1. ‘Oh why is heaven built so far’: exclamatory ‘oh’ conjures a desperate speaker fuelled by a dissatisfaction with the confines of Earthly life as they lament their own existence. ‘built’ conjures the notion that this earth has been carefully constructed or shaped by some divine force, so perhaps this speaker is questioning why this divine authority has deliberately constructed the world in such an unappealing fashion.Perhaps from an ecofeminist perspective the very notion of heaven as ‘built so far’, which evokes a deliberate construction of the paradise setting of heaven, may be a metaphor for patriarchal Victorian society’s deliberate and consistent exclusion of the female.
2. ‘even she repeats her tune/Beyond my range’: personification of the moon as a musical figure capable of vocalisation which is utterly out of reach for the speaker ‘Beyond my range’ suggests a complete contrast between the freedom of the cosmos and the suppression of the female voice which is wholly restricted by earthly existence.
3. ‘I am bound with fleshly bands’: ‘bound’ & ‘bands’ the polyptoton plosives reinforce the utter restrictions of the speaker, the speaker is confined to the dullness of life on earth by their physical form whereas they would rather assume a metaphysical form which would freely enable them to mingle with the cosmos.. Spatial disconnect from the cosmos, emphasised through bodily restrictions, may serve as a metaphor for the restrictive nature of the Victorian feminine status, with women being cast aside to the separate sphere of the domestic, unable to achieve unity with the ‘cosmos’ – perhaps symbolic of the grandiosity of a patriarchal society which women were naturally excluded from.

Question 3

DP: Speaker’s complete disillusionment with physical life & a desperation for a more metaphysical existence.

1. ’s f/O s..s f-t t’
2. ‘A a i v’.

Answer 3

1. ‘scattered fire/Of stars…sun’s far-trailing train’ Hugely inventive, beauteous depictions of the cosmos, through metaphor, as these wondrous ‘figures’ that command awe. appearing gargantuan Godly creations that tower over the rather diminutive human. This depiction of the cosmos in a ‘linguistically inventive’ fashion immortalises God’s creation as a divine spectacle, the sense of awe evoked furthering the notion that the Earth and the multitude of galaxies are all a gift from God to be treasured as a symbol of his divine love.

This is completely negated by 2. the despairing declarative statement ‘And all in vain.’ This indicates that even the mere sight of these phenomena is not enough to uplift the speaker from the complete sense of melancholy that their existence hinges upon. The all encompassing ‘all in vain’ indicates a sense of complete futility of existence, the speaker recognises that they will forever be unable to wholly appreciate the spectacular aspects of life whilst confined to existence as a mere unimportant human.