Isabella/the pot of Basil Flashcards
What was the context behind this poem?
- Published after his brother’s death. Was nursing his brother.
- Against industrial revolution and capitalism.(materialism)
- Unable to marry Brawne due to his lack of wealth.
What quotes describe Lorenzo?
‘His heart beat awfully against his side’
‘Hunted hare’
‘Murdered man’
‘Cold doom//upon his lips’
‘Pale shadow’
‘Go shed one tear upon my heather-bloom//and it shall comfort me within the tomb’
‘I forget the taste of earthy bliss’
What quotes describe the pot of basil?
‘Sweet basil, which her tears kept ever wet’
‘Thick, and green, and beautiful it grew’
‘Asking for her lost basil amorously’
‘Still the burthen sung “O cruelty//to steal my basil-pot away from me!”
What is the significance of the limited number of rhymes in each stanza?
creates a sense of entrapment, perhaps linking to time, death and natures control
What quotes highlight the setting?
‘Dreary night of love and misery’
‘Death among the bushes and the leaves’
‘Dismal forest-hearse’
‘Winter chill its dying hour!’
What quotes emphasise the suffering caused by their love?
‘Poor simple Isabel’
‘Sick longing’
‘They could not’ (anaphoric)
‘His heart beat awfully against his chest’
‘Dreary night of love and misery’
‘Too many tears//Too many sighs’
‘There is richest juices in poisoned flowers’
‘what feverous hectic flame burns in thee child’
What quote highlights the inevitable pain in passionate love?
‘There is richest juices in poisoned flowers.’
What quotes imply death?
‘Eyes all pale’
‘She had died in drowsy ignorance.’
‘Cold doom//upon his lips’
‘That paleness warms my grave’
‘What feverous hectic flame//Burns in thee child’
‘Hungry death hath marred.’
‘Seemed to grow like a native lily.’
‘Kissed it with a lip more chill than stone’
‘And put it to her boson, where it dries//And freezes utterly unto the bone.’
‘Veiling hair.’
‘Winter chill its dying hour!’
What quotes relate to Isabella’s ignorance to life/living itself?
‘She had died in drowsy ignorance’
‘Isabella on its music hung’
‘Veiling hair’
‘She forgot (anaphoric): ‘stars’ ‘moon’ ‘sun’ ‘trees’ ‘chilly autumn breeze.’
What quotes characterise Isabella?
‘Poor, simple Isabel’
‘Fair Isabella in her downy nest’
‘Eyes all pale’
‘She had died in drowsy ignorance’
‘Isabella on its music hung’
‘Asking for her lost basil amorously’
‘Still the burthen sung “O cruelty//to steal my basil-pot away from me!’
What quotes relate to the brothers?
‘Ancestral merchandise’
‘Hungry pride’
‘Plan to coax her by degrees//To some high noble and his olive trees’
‘Bloodhounds’
‘Every night in dreams they groaned aloud//to see their sister in her snowy shroud’
‘A brother’s bloody knife’
‘With blood upon their heads to banishment’
What is the message of this poem?
- Critique of capitalism (industrialisation v romanticism)
- How we must appreciate life and nature itself, and not fixate on loss and death.
- Death is inevitable.
- Suffering and pleasure go hand in hand.
What quotes indicate coldness?
‘Every night in dreams they groaned aloud//to see their sister in her snowy shroud’
‘Cold doom//upon his lips’
’Kissed it with a lip more chill than stone’
‘Put it to her bosom, where it dries//And freezes utterly unto the bone’
