The Going Flashcards
What is the poem about? Context and themes
This poem was written three weeks after Emma’s death. He starts by talking about how her death has affected him, asking her why she ‘left him’. In the fourth stanza he then goes back in time to the distant past, when they met. Then to the recent past when they became estranged. And then back to the present.
What can you say about the title, “The Going”
Its a euphemism for death. More final than “the voice”. The poem relates back to nature, however it is about a spring landscape which is a juxtaposition to his feelings.
Quotes to use in the first stanza
“why did you give me no hint that night” “quickly” “dawn” “calmly” “as if indifferent quite” “close your term here” “wing of swallow” “gain one glimpse”
“why did you give me no hint that night”
“why” - he is questioning her and blaming her for her own death through direct address
“quickly”
the speed of her departure, links to the title, again it is like he is blaming her for how fast she left
“dawn”
contrasts to “night” in previous line, also juxtaposition of his feelings as reference to “dawn” usually means hope
“calmly”
contrast to “quickly”, saying her departure was calm as if it took no account of him and it was selfish
“as if indifferent quite”
“indifferent” - as if she didn’t care that she was leaving him he poses it as a question with the syntax, like an afterthought, by putting “indifferent” first it puts emphasis on it, gives it a different meaning making it sound more sad and elegiac
“close your term here”
formal euphemism for death, maybe to protect himself from accepting it and just saying she is dead, or could also be selfish
“wing of swallow”
rhyming couplet in verse, “swallow” has connotations of migration and escape to better, warmer places, link to heaven, romantic image, contrast to rest of verse, lifts mood of poem
“gain one glimpse”
“gain” - as if someone has to give it to me, “glimpse” - short sighting of someone, shows his desperation to see her even if just for a very short time, creates pathos
Quotes to use in second stanza
“lip me the softest call” “utter a wish for a word, while I” “saw morning harden on the wall” “unmoved, unknowing, that your great going”
Overall message of second stanza
he wants the chance to say goodbye
“lip me the softest call”
softer sound and message, contrast to previous verse, he is saying how he wants to hear her voice “softest call” but it also has a double meaning as “lip” has connotations of kissing, so he wanted the chance to kiss her and speak to her one last time, creates pathos as at this time they were estranged but he still wanted this
“utter a wish for a word, while I”
“utter” - emphasis placed on this wish, like a desperate release of words “wish” “word” “while” - alliteration of soft sounds, mellifluous, like he is rambling, shows confused and frustrated state of mind
“saw morning harden upon the wall”
she died in the morning, he is watching the light of the morning on the wall. “harden” is similar to freezing so this could show how at the moment she died the light sort of froze on the wall and it went cold
“unmoved, unknowing that your great going” “altered all”
her death becomes physical, like an obstacle he can’t get past. there is also irony as at the time he didn’t know what had happened - “unknowing”
Quotes to use in third stanza
“why” “think for a breath it is you I see at the end of the alley” “so often at dusk” “till in darkening dankness the yawning blankness” “sickens me”
“why”
again he is back to questioning and blaming her
“think for breath it is you I see at the end of the alley”
“breath” - link to glimpse, short action, shows desperation. this is a ghostly image and shows his desperation to see her even as a ghost, creates pathos
“so often at dusk”
metaphor for the last days of their bad relationship, on the road to the ‘darkness’
“till in darkening dankness the yawning blankness”
the harsh sounds of “dankness” and “blankness” and the image contrasts with the dream-like image and brings us back to reality
