memory Flashcards
‘i nursed it in my bosom while it lived,
I hid it in my heart when it was dead:
In joy i sat alone, even so i grieved
Alone and nothing said’
‘it’- impersonal and secretive, assumption of ‘it’ as a child due to maternal imagrey
The impersonal pronoun it suggests she is removing herself from the love.
The impersonal pronoun it could suggests she feels ashamed of love and cannot openly speak about it. This could link to the heartbreak caused by the breakdown of her relationship with James Collinson
I- use of a personal pronoun= empowerment of speake
nursed- maternal images evoked, suggests emotional value of ‘it’
hid- notion of shame (link to not accepted into society/ religion?)
dead- introduces semantic feild of death and shows the intense struggle of emotion
alone-repetition of alone could be a lamentation that she does’nt have an earthly love
‘shut the door to face the naked truth,
I stood alone,– I faced the truth alone,
Stripped bare of self-regard or forms of ruth,
Till first and last were shown’
i shut door- empowering and suggests the personal agency of the speaker, personal ponoun ‘i’ suggests personal agency
-forceful verb of shut suggets this was a hard decision for the speaker
‘naked truth’ and ‘stripped bare’- could symbolise relationship with god (god sees all)
-could also represent the speaker contemplating whats most important, god or an earthly love
i stood alone- emphasises the isolation the speaker feels in chosing god over an earthly love
repetition of alone- melancholia
Stripped bare of self-regard or forms of ruth- speaker strips themself of self indulgence
contrast between first and last- shows the eternity of gods love through omega
I took the perfect balances and weighed:
No shaking of the habd disturbed the poise,
Weighed, found it wanting: not a word i said
BUT SILENT MADE MY CHOICE’
‘I took the perfect balances and weighed:’ wmphasises difficult choice
No shaking of the habd disturbed the poise- connotes that the decision was almost predestined
Weighed, found it wanting: not a word i said- cesura implies the consequence that nver came
but silent made my choice- acceptance of fate
None know the choice I made; I make it still.
None know the choice I made and broke my heart.
Breaking mine idol: I have braced my will
Once chosen for once my part
None know the choice I made; I make it still.- chiasmus emphasises righteousness
-piety over temporal delights sacraficed earthly love
-none know, anaphora emphasises difficulty of this choice
Breaking mine idol: I have braced my will (link to the 10 commandments no god should be worshipped as he is, aka no earthly love over god, one should not worship their partner)
-assonance between breaking and braced, breaks heart to brace for new beginning
broke it at a blow, i laid it cold,
crushed in my deep heart where it used to live.
My heart dies inch by inch; the time grows old,
grows old in which i grieve’
broke it at a blow- plosive b’s emphasises violence of effort to destory earthly love
i laid it cold- imagrey of death shows finslity of decision
-personal pronoun shows the ownership of the decision
grows old in which i grieve’- semanric feild of death shows finality of decision
I have a room whereinto no one enters
Save I myself alone:
There sits a blessed memory on a throne,
There my life centres.
room- metaphorical space away from societal expectation
blessed memory- the memory is personified and idolised
While winter comes and goes–O tedious comer!–
And while its nip-wind blows;
while bloom and bloodless lily and warm rose
Of lavish summer’
comes and goes- anxious for time to pass and die to live eternally in paradise with god and heavenly soulmate (can be with earthly love in heaven)
nip-wind - evokes pain
juxtaposition of bloom and bloodless shows wanting to die to be reborn
lilys can symbolise death, states she needs to de to be reborn
lavish summer- summer symbolises heaven
if any should force entrance he might see there
One buried there yet not dead
‘buried’ ‘dead’, semantic feild of death, feelings are repressed but not dead
‘i no more bow my head’- implied closure and supression of memory
Memory context
Part 1 was written in 1857, part 2 was written in 1865 and was published in 1966.
About Rejecting earthly love, for the love of God. It may be about her ending the relationship.
religious context
Religious Devotion & Anglo-Catholicism: devout
Anglo-Catholic, often explores themes of
renunciation, self-discipline, and spiritual suffering
- Moral judgment, isolation, and eventual
hope for Paradise, struggle between earthly attachment
and religious salvation
Themes
- self-denial
- suppression of emotion
- rejection of desire
- emphasis on isolation
- the act of weighing and judging
- destruction of the idol
- loss & emotional transformation
- private suffering
Structure & Form (STANZA 3)
- Structured & Controlled Meter: The iambic rhythm reinforces the sense of deliberation and precision, mirroring the act of judgment
Rejection of Sentimentality: Unlike traditional elegies, the poem does not dwell on affection or nostalgia, instead presenting detached rationality
What is the effect of the end-stopping in Memory?
Punctuation adds emphasis to the resigned acceptance of the rejection the speaker faces
What is the structure of Memory?
Nine stanzas, organised as quatrains
-strict structure emphasises her stoicism
