Thomas Ernest Hulme (T. E. Hulme) was born at Gratton Hall, Endon, Staffordshire on the 16th September 1883. :
The Embankment BY T. E. HULME (The fantasia of a fallen gentleman on a cold, bitter night.) Once, in finesse of fiddles found I ecstasy, In the flash of gold heels on the hard pavement. Now see I That warmth’s the very stuff of poesy. Oh, God, make small The old star-eaten blanket of the sky, That I may fold it round me and in comfort lie.
“The Embankment” A Star Poem : By T E Hulme ( 1887 – 1917 ) , Thomas Ernest Hulme (/hjuːm/; 16 September 1883 – 28 September 1917) was an English critic and poet who, through his writings on art, literature and politics, had a notable influence upon modernism. He was an aesthetic philosopher and the ‘father of imagism’ ( Imagist poetry ) : :He left behind only a handful of short poems. He revolutionised the way English poetry approached issues of rhyme, metre, and imagery. Few before Hulme had thought seriously to liken the moon to a child’s balloon or the ruddy face of a farmer, but Hulme was resolute that poetry, in the hands of the Victorians, had become stale and old, and needed to be reinvented. : : : : Hulme’s masterpiece is the poem, ‘The Embankment’, written around 1908-9 while Hulme was an active member of the Poets’ Club (later the Secession Club) in London. : અર્થ નિર્દેશ આસ્વાદ કાવ્યાર્થ વિચાર વિ જયરાજ : : લંડનના એમ્બૅન્કમેન્ટ પર ( બેઘર લોકો માટે ઉબડખાબડ રાતવાસો કરવા માટે જાણીતો વિસ્તાર ), ‘પડેલા સજ્જન’ તેના ભૂતકાળને પ્રતિબિંબિત કરે છે અને તેને દુન્યવી સામાજિક પ્રવૃત્તિઓમાં કેવી રીતે આનંદ મળ્યો “fineness of fiddles” : ( સારંગી કે વાયોલિન જેવું વાદ્ય : musical dance party સૂચવે છે ) અને સુંદર સ્ત્રીઓ – કદાચ : “In the flash of gold heels on the hard pavement.” રસ્તાની બાજુએ બાંધેલી ફરસબંધી : પથથરજડી પગથી ) courtesans or prostitutes તરફ સૂચવાયેલ દૃશ્ય નજર સામે જોતા જ્યાં હવે, તેના નસીબના કારણે T E Hulme અને મોટા ભાગે બેઘર લોકો , ઉબડખાબડ શેરીઓ માં પડ્યા ઊંઘે છે અને તે સમજે છે કે વાસ્તવમાં હૂંફ ભર્યો ગરમાટો વધારે અગત્યની જરૂરિયાત છે જેને કવિતામાં યથાર્થ સ્વરૂપ સાથે અગ્રતા આપવી જોઈએ.” Now see I That warmth’s the very stuff of poesy. ” ( પોઈસી : કાવ્ય સાહિત્ય : કવિતા ની સામગ્રી માં આ હૂંફ , આ ઉષ્ણતા સંમિલિત થવી જોઈએ , તેનું મહત્વ સમજાયું છે. ) હૂંફ ભર્યો ગરમાટો / ઉષ્ણતા માટેની આ ઈચ્છા પૂરી કરવા માટે , ઇશ્વરને ખરા દિલથી , તારાઓને લાંબા વખતથી ખવડાવ્યુ વિસ્તૃત આકાશમાંથી : અંતરિક્ષમાં થી , ( ઓઢવાનો ) નાનો એવો ધાબળો બનાવી આપવાની આજીજી કરે છે : ” Oh, God, make small The old star-eaten blanket of the sky, That I may fold it round me and in comfort lie.” જેને હું મારી આસપાસ વીંટાળીને , બાથમાં લઈ ભેટીને ઓઢું અને ( પછી ) સુખેથી પડ્યો રહું . : : The Embankment : A Star Poem By T. E. Hulme : : information Appreciation and poem Analysis Presented by V Jayaraj Pune India : : June 6 , 2022 : : અર્થ નિર્દેશ આસ્વાદ કાવ્યાર્થ વિચાર વિ જયરાજ : pending visit this post again later on to enjoy the appreciation of the poem : :
W H Auden ( 1907 – 1973 ) : W. H. Auden was admired for his unsurpassed technical virtuosity and ability to write poems in nearly every imaginable verse form; his incorporation of popular culture, current events, and vernacular speech in his work; and also for the vast range of his intellect, which drew easily from an extraordinary variety of literatures, art forms, social and political theories, and scientific and technical information.Wystan Hugh Auden was born in York, England on February 21, 1907. He moved to Birmingham during childhood and was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. As a young man he was influenced by the poetry of Thomas Hardy and Robert Frost, as well as William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Old English verse. At Oxford, his precocity as a poet was immediately apparent, and he formed lifelong friendships with two fellow writers, Stephen Spender and Christopher Isherwood.In 1928, Auden’s collection, Poems, was privately printed, but it wasn’t until 1930, when another collection titled Poems (though its contents were different) was published, that Auden was established as the leading voice of a new generation.: He had a remarkable wit, and often mimicked the writing styles of other poets such as Dickinson, W. B. Yeats, and Henry James. His poetry frequently recounts, literally or metaphorically, a journey or quest, and his travels provided rich material for his verse.: : served in the Spanish Civil War, and, in 1939, moved to the United States, where he met his lover, Chester Kallman, and became an American citizen. His own beliefs changed radically between his youthful career in England, when he was an ardent advocate of socialism and Freudian psychoanalysis, and his later phase in America, when his central preoccupation became Christianity and the theology of modern Protestant theologians. : : Auden was also a noted playwright, librettist, editor, and essayist. Generally considered the greatest English poet of the twentieth century, his work has exerted a major influence on succeeding generations of poets on both sides of the Atlantic. : : W. H. Auden served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 1954 to 1973, and divided most of the second half of his life between residences in New York City and Austria. He died in Vienna on September 29, 1973. : : Auden will remain a man associated with Modernism Movement in Art, Poetry ,& litrature.A tour van decorated for The Fault In Our Stars book tour in 2012Theatrical release poster of the 2012 Movie : ” The Fault In Our Stars :Director: Josh Boone: did 307.2 million dollar box office collection business.: The film stars Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, with Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Nat Wolff, and Willem Dafoe in supporting roles. Woodley plays a sixteen-year-old cancer patient forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she meets and subsequently falls in love with another cancer patient, played by Elgort.A Loving Couple admiring the view of Milky way galaxy during the night time, gazing the Stars & Starlight.
The More Loving One : : : : W H Auden : : : 😦 1907 – 1973 )
Looking up at the stars, I know quite well1 That, for all they care, I can go to hell, 2 But on earth indifference is the least 3 We have to dread from man or beast. 4
How should we like it were stars to burn5 With a passion for us we could not return?6 If equal affection cannot be, 7 Let the more loving one be me. 8
Admirer as I think I am 9 Of stars that do not give a damn, 10 I cannot, now I see them, say 11 I missed one terribly all day. 12
Were all stars to disappear or die, 13 I should learn to look at an empty sky14 And feel its total dark sublime,15 Though this might take me a little time.16
From Homage to Clio by W. H. Auden, published by Random House. 1960 W. H. Auden, renewed by the Estate of W. H. Auden : : : : Taken from poets.org : : For Educational purposes only : : : :
” The More Loving One” , A metaphysical Star Poem By W H Auden ( 1907 – 1973 ) is about unreciprocated or un answered Love and the poet’s contemplation about unequal love. : : There is a difficulty in finding love. The Poet knows that the stars are indifferent to him, but then if equal affection between two things – or between two people – is impossible, he would rather be “the more loving one” : : : : The universe has a purpose for us; or it doesn’t, but that is not a point. We must meet the star’s trait of un -concern head-on and pride ourselves on becoming the products of ‘Nature’, on having the ability to care and awe our dignity in admiring the Nature’s sublime beauty and on making us in to love. : : : :
“Looking up at the stars, I know quite well 1 That, for all they care, I can go to hell, 2 But on earth indifference is the least 3 We have to dread from man or beast.” 4 : : : : Stanza 1 : : : : lines 1 To 4 : : : :
When the poet looks up at the stars he knows that they don’t care about what happens to him. “for all they care , I can go to hell.” ( line 2 ) : Man is set to be suspicious of in becoming “man or beast” : “We have to dread from man or beast.”: ( line 4 ) , “indifference is the least” ( line 3 ) to be feared of . A pre – historic caver had to fight other cavers over food or had to prevent himself from big threatening “beasts” : : : :
“How should we like it were stars to burn 5 With a passion for us we could not return? 6 If equal affection cannot be, 7 Let the more loving one be me.” 8 : : : : Stanza 2 : : lines 5 To 8 : : : : :
What if things were different,the poet thinks. If the stars were to “burn , With a passion for us” ( line 6 ) In that case, couldn’t we reciprocate a love? The things are better off. Dammit … if the stars won’t bother about us. The poet pronounces that he is glad to be “the more loving one” ( line 8 ) , ” If equal affection can not be,” ( line 7 ) : : : :
“Admirer as I think I am 9 Of stars that do not give a damn, 10 I cannot, now I see them, say 11 I missed one terribly all day.”12 : : : : : : Stanza 3 : : lines 9 To 12 : : : :
The poet emphatically says in lines 9 & 10 , that although he is an “Admirer” of the stars, he doesn’t mind for them during the day when he can not see them. He is exactly “the more loving one” because he admires the beauty of the stars in the night sky. : : : :
“Were all stars to disappear or die, 13 I should learn to look at an empty sky 14 And feel its total dark sublime, 15 Though this might take me a little time.” 16 : Stanza 4 : : lines 13 To 16 : : : :
Auden declares his desire for Adaptation in any eventuality like the one stated in line 13: so much so that if all the stars in the sky disappeared or died, he would learn to look at an empty sky” ( line 14 ) in the night ( well , day is not a problem! ) and would take up the cause of it for meeting with the night time total darkness, without stars to brighten it up. And that “total dark”would be the “sublime” ( line 15 ) ‘beauty of the night’ to be worthy of the adoration or reverence which might take him “a little time” ( line 16 ) , but he’d adapt. : : : :
Thus the indifference of Nature towards us is cool , OK & alright. He admires for the beauty of the Stars in the night , he would see , as well as face , in the eventuality of their total absence causing darkness, and is even ready to get adapt to total dark finding it as sublime beauty too. : : So , Be an admirer of the beauty of the night time Stars, and don’t bother whether you live or die , Or they live or die; This is the message to receive from this poem. : : : : There was a decline of faith in the western world, and the growing secularism ( the doctrine that rejects religion and religious considerations ) of the 20 th Century’s Modernism which we still continue with in our time of the 21 St Century. The admirable Stars far away Off , from few light years to thousands , and millions of light years distance, from our dwellings on the Earth , should not be the part of our belief , One man’s concerns and value system. They alongwith their gravitational force which is weak in affecting us from such an unreachable distances; and can not affect the mankind and the living systems on the earth , astrologically or astronomically. : : Earth is the only planet known for life in the Universe as we know so far ; and especially , when the stars are not reachable by any means and ways so far we have technologically developed for space traveling. ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ : ( John Green’s Novel , the name after this famous quote said to Brutus, by ‘Julius Caesar’ ) : : Even , A E Housman wrote his Poem , about “Nature not caring about” him : : As W H Auden believed : : “there is no ‘heaven’ as man has conceived of it. The stars are just balls of gas, burning steadily, and there is no godly guiding hand” : : , Just for love : Being “The More Loving One” , We should admire the stars all the same, even though they don’t care about us : : : :
“The More Loving One” By W H Auden: : A Star Poem : : Information Appreciation and poem Analysis Presented by V Jayaraj Pune India November 16 , 2022 : : : : : : : :
Children playing with parents, brother and sister , with shadows in backyard of their home before the sleeping time. There is tent, lights ,good mood and recitation of child Songs/ Kid’s Rhymes & Age-old storytelling heard from Grannies/ Grandpa.Sleeping time recitation on roof , of Balgeet under the sky A sleepy child gazing Starlight Night Sky hanging around / down looking by the Shinning Stars. Cheerful Crowd of all ages celebrating Christmas Time Chilling November/ December Nights November 14 , 2022 : Children’s Day 2022: India celebrates Children’s Day on November 14 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. This day marks the 133rd birth anniversary of Pandit Nehru who was born in 1889 in Allahabad, India. Prior to Nehru’s death, Children’s Day was celebrated on November 20 which was observed as World Children’s Day by the United Nations. However, November 14 was chosen to celebrate Children’s Day to mark the birth anniversary of Pandit Nehru after his death in 1964. The day is also known as Bal Diwas in the country. BALDEEN MUBARAK: Baby feet in mother hands. Tiny Newborn Baby’s feet on female Heart Shaped hands closeup. Mom and her Child. Happy Family concept. Beautiful conceptual image of Maternityઘીરે મહેમાન જરા ધીરેથી આવજો, પગલાં તે પાડજો જાળવી જી ને, જોજો વિલાય ના એ પગલાંની પાંદડી, બાળુડે ઓટલી બનાવી જી રે.
આ જુઓ, બોલાવે માટી, સાથે એની રમવા દો ને, છીપલાં, મોતી, શંખ જણસ છે, ગજવે થોડાં ભરવા દો ને, કાલે મોટાં થઈ જાશું તો આજે થોડું જીવવા દો ને, . સમજો થોડી વાત તમે સૌ . હજુ તો નાના બાળ અમે સૌ.
શૈશવની શેરીમાં મારે મનમોજી થઈ ફરવું છે, આવડતું ના હોય ભલે ને, છબ્બાક દઈને તરવું છે, જે કરવાની ના પાડો એ સૌથી પહેલાં કરવું છે, . છો ને કાઢો આંખ તમે સૌ . હજુ તો નાનાં બાળ અમે સૌ
ખુલ્લા આકાશે ઊડવાનું લાગે વહાલું વહાલું અમને, મોજ પડે જો કોઈ કહે કે, જા બહારે જઈને રમ ને, અમ સૌનું મન કળવા ઈશ્વર,થોડી સમજણ આપે તમને, . સંભાળો આ બાગ તમે સૌ . હજુ તો નાનાં બાળ અમે સૌ.
સ્વર: ડો. તન્વી શાહ : : દરરોજ ના એક બાળગીત ની સ્વર રચના રજૂ કરનાર , ટેલિગ્રામ ચેનલ પર , અને You Tube અને WhatsApp ના માધ્યમથી : ડો. તન્વી શાહ ને follow કરી શકો છો. અહીં નીચે ક્લિક કરો અને સાંભળો યશવંત મહેતા રચિત બાળગીત : બહેની ને નિંદર ના’વે : : વધુ એકવાર ડો. તન્વી શાહ ના સ્વરમાં https://youtu.be/KHVzHJeUuX0
બેન અને ચાંદો – સુન્દરમ્ બાળકાવ્ય, સુન્દરમ
બેન બેઠી ગોખમાં, ચાંદો આવ્યો ચૉકમાં.
બેની લાવી પાથરણું, ચાંદો લાવ્યો ચાંદરણું.
પાથરણા પર ચાંદરણું, ને ચાંદરણાં પર પારણું.
ચાંદો બેઠો પારણે, બેની બેઠી બારણે.
બેને ગાયા હાલા, ચાંદાને લાગ્યા વ્હાલા.
બેનનો હાલો પૂરો થયો, ચાંદો રમતાં ઊંઘી ગયો.
– સુન્દરમ્
પગલાં -સુંદરમ બાળકાવ્ય, સુન્દરમ
દરિયાને તીર એક રેતીની ઓટલી ઊચીં અટૂલી અમે બાંધી જી રે. પગલું તે એક એક પાડે મહેમાન એમ રામજીની આણ અમે દીધી જી રે.
પહેલા મહેમાન તમે આવો, સૂરજદેવ, પગલું સોનેરી એક પાડજો જી રે. પગલામાં નવલખ તારાની ભાત ને સંધ્યાના રંગ બે’ક માંડજો જી રે.
આજ તો છેને એવું બન્યું- એવું બન્યું, બા ! ચાટલામાં હું જોવા જાઉં, શું હું જોતો આ ?- સફેદ માથું, સફેદ દાઢી, સફેદ મોટી મૂછો ! ગભરાઈ જતાં જતાં મેં તો સવાલ તરત પૂછયો: હસે છે મારી સામે લુચ્ચું કોણ રે કોણ છે તું ? ચાટલામાંથી પડયો પડઘો તરત ઘડી : “તું !” આ તો નવી નવાઈ, આવું બનતું હશે, બા ? બા હસી બેવડ વળી કહે: “સો વરસનો થા.” : ઉમાશંકર જોશી : ચાટલા માં : અરીસામાં
નવેમ્બર ૧૪ , ૨૦૨૨ ના રોજ ના બાળદિન નિમિત્તે , બાળગીતો ગુજરાતી ભાષામાં : : નામી અનામી કવિઓ / રચયિતા દ્વારા લિખિત : : રજુઆત કરી : : વિ જયરાજ પૂણે ઈન્ડિયા : : To Updated every year with Notes : Visit again. later on / every year : This Page / Post on MADHU MALTI Blog. : : તમારા ઘરના અને નજીકના, અને આસપાસના સર્વ બાળમિત્રો ને બાળદિન નિમિત્તે ‘મુબારક હો’ : શુભકામના પાઠવતા : : આભાર : : : : : : : :
Louis MacNeice ( 1907 – 1963 ) : was widely regarded in the 1930s as a junior member of the Auden-Spender-Day Lewis group: ar. He is remembered as an Irish pet and playwright. : now regarded as one of the most important contemporary Irish poets separate from Auden and his broader fame. : : MacNeice and Stephen Spender were contemporaries and friends at Oxford, serving as joint editors of Oxford Poetry, 1929. MacNeice became a friend of W.H. Auden’s and collaborated with him on Letters from Iceland (1937). And in Modern Poetry (1938). : : . Despite these personal and professional ties, MacNeice did not share the ideological commitments of the “Auden group.”. : : Educated at Marlborough College, raised among books,writing poetry at the age of seven, went up to Merton College at Oxford in 1926, read modern poets as Edith Sitwell and T. S. Eliot., undergraduate collection, Blind Fireworks (1929). His foreword to Blind Fireworks compares its poems to Chinese fireworks, “artificial and yet random; because they go quickly through their antics against an important background, and fall and go out quickly.”, His poems invite us to admire the poet’s versatility in versification and cleverness in imagery, who can speak in his own voice. ;In 1930, he married his Mary and took a position as an assistant lecturer in classics at Birmingham University.MacNeice’s translation of The Agamemnon of Aeschylus (1936), produced by the experimental Group Theatre in 1937 with music by Benjamin Britten. 1930s, Poems (1935) shows a real advance in his work. In poems such as “Belfast,” “Birmingham,” “Sunday Morning,” and “An Eclogue for Christmas,” the poet speaks as a city dweller in an unforced way, observing the scene with detached but sympathetic irony. MacNeice’s love is for “ephemeral things” rather than “pitiless abstractions.” As the bright new poets of the 1930s. T.S. Eliot accepted the volume for Faber & Faber who remained his publisher later too. A Hope for Poetry (1934), C. Day Lewis described MacNeice’s book as “in some ways the most interesting of the poetical work produced in the last two years,”The MacNeices were formally divorced in 1936. He accepted a lectureship in Greek at Bedford College of the University of London. He also wrote Dramas like one , ” Out of the Picture” ( 1937) published in 1938,” I Crossed the Minch” and Zoo.” & His Autobiography volume of poetry in the same 1938, The Earth Compels (1938), is a slim one.,Autumn Journal (1939) is the closest thing to a “major” poem. young woman there. He came to America the next spring 1939 to teach at Cornell.renewed interest in Ireland may also be seen in his The Poetry of W.B. Yeats (1941). Plant and Phantom (1941) marks the end of MacNeice’s career as a bright young poet of the 1930s.From 1941 until his death, Louis MacNeice was a man of the BBC. He remained a scriptwriter and producer with the Features Department until 1961 and worked on a contract basis from then until his death. A dozen of his radio plays have been published: The best of MacNeice’s verse in the 1940s is in his radio dramas. posthumous publications was The Collected Poems of Louis MacNeice (1966), edited by his longtime friend E. R. Dodds. : One such poem of 60’s , is ” Star Gazer”, discussed Herein below: :
Louis MacNeice Star-Gazer Forty-two years ago (to me if to no one else The number is of some interest) it was a brilliant starry night And the westward train was empty and had no corridors So darting from side to side I could catch the unwonted sight Of those almost intolerably bright Holes, punched in the sky, which excited me partly because Of their Latin names and partly because I had read in the textbooks How very far off they were, it seemed their light Had left them (some at least) long years before I was.
And this remembering now I mark that what Light was leaving some of them at least then, Forty-two years ago, will never arrive In time for me to catch it, which light when It does get here may find that there is not Anyone left alive To run from side to side in a late night train Admiring it and adding noughts in vain
“Star Gazer” By Louis MacNeice , is about star gazing with a view to LOOKING in to The PAST And about the nature of time, the universality of life, the power of memory: : . The Poet / Speaker / star Gazer knows that the light from some of the stars won’t reach earth until after everyone has died. He begins by recalling a time forty-two years ago ( His 18 th Birthday in the year 1924 ) when he was running from one side of a train car / bogie / rail carriage, to another in order to see the light of the stars, the beauty & the power of light, and the pleasure in gazing the Stats. He ponders over the events wherein, some of the stars , now bursting into life , will never be seen , by him / any star Gazer , because, they are so far away, their light will only reach earth a long, long time in the future. We are looking at stars, not as they are now, but as they were thousands, perhaps even millions of years ago.: : : : He goes on to describe their lifespans and does not touch to his own. The life spans of the stars are prolonged, reaching out years in either direction from the time period the speaker is living in. He notes with amusement that some of the light from stars might not arrive at earth until after the death of humankind. : : : : :
Notes for each of the Two Stanzas Pending visit this post again later on to enjoy the appreciation of the poem. : : V Jayaraj Pune India November 13 , 2022 : : : : : : : :
A E Housman Starry night : Night Sky With Falling Star : ” No star is lost at all”Businessman in search of decreased salinity of the sea water after a few rain days
Stars : : A E Housman : : : : Stars, I have seen them fall, 1 But when they drop and die 2 No star is lost at all 3 From all the star-sown sky. 4 The toil of all that be 5 Helps not the primal fault; 6 It rains into the sea, 7 And still the sea is salt. 8
“Stars” By A E Housman is about the Stars in the Night Sky and about futility. : : Although the stars seen fall, they remain in the sky; although rain falls into the sea, the sea remains the same saltwater it has always been. : :
J. D. Reed , A reviewer in ‘Time’ magazine introduces the poem with a mention of the ‘precise passion’ , rigorously perfect meter and understated rhyme of Housman’s work. There is little, after all, in English lyric poetry that surpasses one of his finest poems.” : :
About ‘ Precise Passion’ : : Not even on the part of “all that be” ( line 5 ) —can change human nature for the better or provide physical relief as from pain , suffering or misery. “Primal fault” mentioned by the Poet / Speaker refers to ‘original sin’, ‘the fallen’ state of human nature as believed by some Christians. Our system see it in some cases it calls as perverted or corrupt criminals who have deviated from what is morally right, proper or good. Some misdirected individuals vitiate by intemperance or sensuality . The toil ( productive work ) does not help or make all these easier. It is all futile : The stars representing sizably the large extent of miseries against which falling stars can make no difference; the salty ocean of human suffering can not be diluted by rainfall. : : “The fallen star drop and die” ( line 2 ) , “No star is lost at all.” ( line 3 ) : ” It rains in to the sea , ( line 7 ) ” And still the sea is salt.” ( line 8 ) : : These are the metaphors in the poem which explains the ‘futility’ : : Gareth Rees writes about these metaphors : ” this is a kind of futility, which we could file under the heading ‘misapplication of effort’ rather than ‘task impossibly large’ : : Why so ? Because as we understand , the falling stars are a different kind of object from real stars. , the meteor, burnt to ashes while entering our earth’s atmosphere. And the clouds formed from a process of evaporation arisen from the Vast Seas Water which alongwith other factors bring rains on changing seasons ( like differential depression in air pressures on Sea-Sides & on the landscapes due to the greatly heated vastness of the land masses ) hence what is stated in the opening & end in the 8 lines poem can never have the effect such as Number of stars are not decreased & remains the same and salinity of sea water is not decreased and remains as salty as all the time. It will be a stupidity if anyone tries counting the numbers of stars in the night sky, or tries measuring the salinity of sea water every now and then. The mankind can analyse the causes of the human sufferings and miseries, and by all the wisdom of the Humanities can learn , by the mistakes , done by the leaders , in every fields of activities.
“The star-sown sky” ( line 4 ) is beautiful and the salt sea was the ‘ Origin of Life’ and further evolution in animal & Plant Kingdom. Salinity and alkaline nature of fluids are responsible for The Physiology and Systems in any living forms. The Sea life of the ocean depends on its salinity, and a fresh-water provided by the raining on Earth. So the ” primal fault” is not that bad. The productive efforts of Mankind should be looking out more innovative , scientifically well directed pursuits of development and balanced state of affairs at all levels.
“Stars , I have Seen Them Fall ” , A Star Poem : By A E Housman : Information Appreciation and poem Analysis Presented by V Jayaraj Pune India November 12 , 2022 : : : : : : : :
3D rendering of a swarm of Meteorites or asteroides entering the Earth atmosphere.Futility in search of decreasing salinity of sea water few rain days
Nebula in galaxy over silhouette building on and city night sky Copy of Van Gogh’ s Painting. Of ‘Poplar’ tree Painting : Butter yellow leaves get this change in colour in Aurumn/ winter from white silvery colour ( in under surface of the leaf. White/ silver Poplar Tree ( Populus alba ) white tree bark & white leaf under surface identity : The White Poplar or Abele is a large suckering tree of very fast growth for tough conditions with attractive white down on the underside of the leaves. Lovely in autumn when the leaves turn butter yellow.
Our White Poplar trees are English grown from genuine English origin (provenance) stock grown naturally in fertile English soil. Because our White Poplar trees are 100% English provenance and English grown, they make an excellent choice for any woodland or landscape planting scheme. If you are including native species, we think it is easy to be misled. Some suppliers use the word “native” to describe their trees but this does not necessarily mean that they are English grown or of English origin. Many are imported from continental Europe. Don’t compromise on quality. When you want the best choose quality English grown, English origin White Poplar from Botanicashown in the picture here.
Bare Root White Poplar trees are only available during the season November to March. Precise dates are notified each year. Close up of female willow catkins on an early spring tree with budding leaves. Budding willow tree and shrubs on the banks of a riverWhite blossom/ Cluster of Flowers on a fruit trees in Orchard during March / April period of Spring.white spring flowers blooming on a tree close up of branch illuminated by the morning sun springtime April : Soon , the fruits Will come up & get ready to ripen later by May. : : An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production of fruits such as , Mangoes, 🍑 Peach, Apple , Lemons , sour cherries, Streuobstwiese, Etc. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens : e. g. Mango Orchards in India, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive purpose. A fruit garden is generally synonymous with an orchard, although it is set on a smaller non-commercial scale and may emphasize berry shrubs in preference to fruit trees.Star light night : The shinning Stars hanging around up in the cold sky down looking at the Farmyard building/ home Gerard Manley Hopkins is considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Victorian era. However, because his style was so radically different from that of his contemporaries, his best poems were not accepted for publication during his lifetime, and his achievement was not fully recognized until after World War I.Hopkins’s family encouraged his artistic talents when he was a youth in Essex, England. : : Estranged from his Protestant family when he converted to Roman Catholicism. Upon deciding to become a priest, he burned all of his poems and did not write again for many years. His work was not published until 30 years after his death when his friend Robert Bridges edited the volume Poems. : : Kate Smith Hopkins (1821-1900), was the daughter of a London physician. Better educated than most Victorian women, she was particularly fond of music and of reading, especially German philosophy and literature and the novels of Dickens. : : He was married to Katherine Beechey.
The Starlight Night BY GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS Look at the stars! look, look up at the skies! O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air!2 The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there! 3 Down in dim woods the diamond delves! the elves’-eyes! 4 The grey lawns cold where gold, where quickgold lies! 5 Wind-beat whitebeam! airy abeles set on a flare! 6 Flake-doves sent floating forth at a farmyard scare! 7 Ah well! it is all a purchase, all is a prize. 8
Buy then! bid then! — What? — Prayer, patience, alms, vows. 9 Look, look: a May-mess, like on orchard boughs! 10 Look! March-bloom, like on mealed-with-yellow sallows!11 These are indeed the barn; withindoors house 12 The shocks. This piece-bright paling shuts the spouse 13 Christ home, Christ and his mother and all his hallows. 14
“Starlight Night” By Gerard Manley Hopkins , written in 1877 , is lately the most popular Sonnet : the Octave’s first eight lines follow a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA. within Petrarchan or Italian sonnets ; the Sestet ‘s Six lines of various patterns contain 3 different end rhymes : the unusual, CCDEED. The images of stars are beautiful and transcendental ( non natural ) : : For instance , “elves — eyes” is compared to shining cities in the sky. The Stars are skyward , unreachable but can not be disregarded. The Stars are appreciated in the poem as ‘Godly connected’ and with ‘His creations.’ : : In terms of his own poetic theory, Hopkins is creating the inscape, the uniqueness of this particular sky scene presumably of Milky Way, and its diffused starlight from the billions of stars as we know from 21 st Century’s accumulated science knowledge ) : : : :
The readers/ listeners are called up on to look up the sky to notice the beautiful Stars : “ all the fire-folk sitting in the air! ”( line 2 ) : The stars are compared to “circle-citadels” ( line 3 ) and “diamond delves.” ( line 4 ) : However, People do not seem to have a time and the energy to observe the beautiful world around them. God’s creation is taken for granted. : As the Stars are Souls of the dead , their fantastic and magical sight in the night has greatly and meaningfully appreciated. : : : :
“Look at the stars! look, look up at the skies! O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air!2 The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there! 3 Down in dim woods the diamond delves! the elves’-eyes! 4 The grey lawns cold where gold, where quickgold lies! 5 Wind-beat whitebeam! airy abeles set on a flare! 6 Flake-doves sent floating forth at a farmyard scare! 7 Ah well! it is all a purchase, all is a prize. 8 : : The Octave of the lines 1 To 8 : : Stanza 1 : : : :
The Speaker in the starting lines 1 & 2 , is demanding the readers/ listeners of the poem to look up the sky to closely notice and associate with their personification : “fire — folk sitting in the air ” : Here , the fire in the cold sky in the night, light up the feelings of great warmth and intensity. The twinkling presence of the Stars can flush the eyes with fervor enough to arouse the emotions and work up to a state of appreciation, that will be prayed up with us. : : The stars are “bright boroughs” and “circle-citadels.” ( line 3 ) : They can open up the future prospects of life. The “bright boroughs, the circle citadel” ( line 3 ) : : : : ( bu – ru ) & ( si – tu , del ) are small town of a constituency / division of the city , and a bastion / Stronghold of shelter, respectively which can have an ‘Origin’ & ‘Flourishing’ of the ‘Developing Cities’ Owing to the Stars up above in the hanging Sky. : : The empty space above one’s head is like a “dim wood.” ( line 4 ) : The Stars up above in the Grey Cold Sky which may be comparable to the “dim woods” Or the shadowy , dull or dimmed shafts of the older time ‘wooden lifts’ used in sending down the miners at the deep mining sites that gathered subdued lighting ; and later, bringing them back, up to the ground : alongwith the diamonds & silver , etc. Precious metals excavated by them ; ( which can be listed such as : golden yellow , red , deep earth blue, green ,grey coloured gems / jewels / diamonds : in reference herein with Fairy : To name few like : : Elrond’s eyes grey as a clear evening ; his daughter Arwen’s “the light of stars was in her bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night”: as described in the fellowship of the Ring : luthien’s eyes : grey as starlit evening ) : : The word : “delves” is an archaic plural of ‘delf’, meaning a ‘mine’ : Now , to understand the meaning in this poem : : The skyward stars , up above seem like diamonds , as seen by cavers from the bottom of a mine-shaft. The diamonds like skyward stars are breaking up the ‘sameness & constancy’ and ‘cold old neutrality’ of the “grey lawns.” : Also, they have great visuals of the magical Stars, like “elves’-eyes !” ( line 4 ) : ( bright flashes of mischievous Fairies / Elveswho live deep below the ground guarding treasure of Gold in the Earth. ) : : : :
“where quickgold lies!” ( line 5 ) refers to the mines containing deposits of precious metals including ‘quicksilver’ Or Elements of silvery ‘Mercury’ ( which is by name a Planet Mercury, the first planet nearest to the Sun. ) : As aforesaid “Diamond delves” ( line 4 ) equates the stars in the night sky to diamonds in dark mines or caves. ( “where quickgold lies” line 5 ) : The sky, with its shining stars are “all a purchase” and “all…a prize.” ( line 8 ) : Have a time , look up and get a reward and bestowed honour of seeing them. : : : : The Speaker describes the Stars as ” Wind – beat white beams ! airy ables set on a flare ! “( line 6 ) : “abeles” are poplar trees ( Poplas alba ) : which has white bark & leaves with whitish under surfaces : Originally English , widely cultivated also in Europe & US. : : Because of the whiteness of ables, they are described in the poem as “Wind — beat white beam! ” : The description in : “grey lawns cold where gold, where quickgold lies” ( line 5 ) : has a reference to the cold darker patches of the night sky ( where fewer stars are visible ) : That is why these old patches in the sky are described as “cold grey lawns” : : ( However, that space can be explored with powerful telescope showing More Stars / in far off galaxy. : In reality some patches are surprisingly there in the Universe, but that is differently located. ) : : : : And then , A very interesting line floats around while gazing at the sky! : : Snow – White ” Flake — doves sent floating forth at a farmyard scare ! ” ( line 7 ) : The ‘cold greyness’ of the “grey lawns” ( are like ( grey) Rock Pigeons : not said in the poem , just to remind in Indian reference ) “doves” : And in to this cold greyness : representing visual of cold night sky , the renewed , dovey white , conspicuously flaky White Stars , are floating which resemble to crystallized cover of sparkling white snow flakes , and are now , night time Shinning Stars in the grey cold sky : : The visuals look like the Starlight ( presumably in Our Milky way galaxy not mentioned in the poem ) : And these white “Flake — doves” ( are God sent ) “sent floating forth” : Meaning These Stars are unfixed , unsettled in the sense that the stars are set afloat, in the greyness of the sky ( and hence visible to us , as moving from East through West in the sky ), which we see as being adrift, with motion in the changing sky with night progresses. : : Also at an area adjacent to the farm buildings Or farmyard , we , as an Observant , see these floatation of the Stars up in the sky , suddenly found as down looking at the earth with its Shinning or Sparkling , Conspicuously hanging around the building, where we / our family live .. . and become “scary !” : that is the suddenly occuring experience : beautiful , fantastical and magical ” a farmyard scare!” : ( line 7 ) : Hereafter , The Poet/Speaker exclaims , ” Ah well! it is all a purchase, all is a prize” ( line 8 ) : Dr Oliver Tearle explains the line 8 , as HERE In BELOW : :
‘ Why so? Because one only gets out of it what one puts in: if we don’t take the time to look up at the sky and admire the stars and heavens, we’ll never be able to appreciate their beauty. Here it is relevant that Hopkins may have been inspired to write “The Starlight Night” , after he missed the total eclipse of the moon on 28 February 1877 – partly because nobody else had been interested in the phenomenon and Hopkins had not been made aware that it was happening.’ : : : :
“Buy then! bid then! — What? — Prayer, patience, alms, vows. 9 Look, look: a May-mess, like on orchard boughs! 10 Look! March-bloom, like on mealed-with-yellow sallows! 11 These are indeed the barn; withindoors house 12 The shocks. This piece-bright paling shuts the spouse 13 Christ home, Christ and his mother and all his hallows.” 14 : : : : Sestet of 6 lines 9 To 14: Stanza 2 : : : :
The Central idea of Sestet of 6 lines 9 To 14 is , about Man’s failure to appreciate the Nature and admire God’s Creations. The way we ‘Buy’ Or “bid” for the privilege of looking at the stars is through “Prayer, patience, alms, vows.” ( line 9 ) : : : : The “May — mess” or cluster of stars recalls white blossom on fruit trees, ” like on orchard boughs ! ” ( line 10 ) in May, and “March-bloom like on ( blossom on willow trees ) “mealed – with – yellow sallows” ( line 11 ) : ( like on blossom on willow trees ) : : The heart and soul , then, the “shocks” or bundles ” : ( line 13 ) withindoors house”( line 12 ) , are the souls of those in heaven , and so , the stars, in representing those heavenly souls , are also like bundles of wheat. : Here , there is One Biblical reference : ( Matthew 13:30 : ‘in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn’ ) : : The ‘chaff ‘ / ‘tares’ are in the hell which have to be burnt. : : “bright-piece paling shuts the spouse” : ( line 13 ) ” Christ home , Christ and his mother and all his hallows.”: ( line 14 ) : these are the holy souls/ spirits in Heaven are all up there home : The Stars are the Souls shinning down at Earth & Its habitants / their soulmates. As Gerard Manley Hopkins was a Priest of Catholic Church , he linked the Nature ( creating & controlling the things in the Universe , described beautifully in Octave ) with Christianity ( Prescribed in the final lines of the poem in Sestet ) with his extraordinary linguistic abilities. : : : :
” The Starlight Night ” By Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Star Poem : Religious Poem: Information Appreciation and poem Analysis Presented by V Jayaraj Pune India November 11 , 2022 : : : : : : : :
Ah, Moon – and Star! You are very far – But – were no one farther than you – Do you think I’d stop for a firmament – Or a cubit – or so?
I could borrow a Bonnet – of the Lark – And a Chamois’ Silver Boot – And a stirrup of an Antelope – And leap to you – tonight!
But – Moon – and Star – Though you’re very far – There is one – farther than you – He – is more than a firmament – from Me – So I cannot go! — Emily Dickinson : : F262 (1861) 240 : : : : :
“Ah, Moon – And Star” By Emily Dickinson is about a star & unavailability of a loved one , realised on star gazing alongside Moon. When we are inclined to contemplate her beloved as Jesus Christ ( And : His awayness realised with His unavailability Or state of being elsewhere than in particular place ) , the Poem suddenly becomes a religious poem Or a Poem Of Religious Doubts : : She says that Moon and Star are not as far away as her beloved. The one she loves is farther off still. She looks at the moon and perhaps Venus, the Evening Star ( which looks like a bright star ) : If a man she loves were closer say, as close as a Moon , then she could leap and fly – “a firmament” like “the lark” Or ” a chamois’ silver boot –” Or “an Antelope –” ( as stated in Stanza 1 ) to reach him. In the end , she concludes and conveys to “Moon — and Star –” that ” Though you’re very far — There is one — farther than you — He — is more than a firmament — from me — So I can not go! ” ( Stanza 3 : last lines of the poem ) The poem is childlike telling of her dreaming like a ‘Super Woman ‘ : As well as with sad , pensive realisation admitting non – reciprocal or an unanswered love arisen from the unavailability of her beloved prince. : : : :
“Ah , Moon — And Star ” : By Emily Dickinson , A Star Poem : Love Poem : Information Appreciation and poem Analysis Presented by V Jayaraj Pune India November 10 , 2022 : : : : : : : :
Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art BY JOHN KEATS Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art— 1 Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night 2 And watching, with eternal lids apart, 3 Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite, The moving waters at their priestlike task 5 Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores, 6 Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask 7 Of snow upon the mountains and the moors— 8 No—yet still stedfast, still unchangeable, 9 Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast, 10 To feel for ever its soft fall and swell, 11 Awake for ever in a sweet unrest, 12 Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath, 13 And so live ever—or else swoon to death. 14
“Bright star! Would I were steadfast as thou art” By Romantic Poet, John Keats ( 1795 – 1821 ) is probably the most famous sonnet He wrote it. Originally written in 1819, and revised a year later, When Keats knew that he was dying from tuberculosis, The poem is in part about this awareness that he will die young.
Keats, addressing a bright star in the night sky, says, ” I wish I were as durable and fixed as you are. Not because you’re alone up there in the sky, and constantly watching the seas wash around the shores of the earth, or the annual cycle of the snow falling on the earth, with your eyes constantly open,
like a religious hermit with insomnia.
No, I don’t want to be unchanging and immortal like you and be up there on my own: I want to be as unchanging as you are, but down here, my head resting upon my young beloved’s breast.
Then I could feel the rise and fall of her breast and she breathes, forever; I could be always awake and it would be sweet. I could always hear her breathing, and live forever – or, if all this isn’t possible, then let me die, because it’s not worth living if I can’t do that.” : : : :
:
“Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art— 1 Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night 2 And watching, with eternal lids apart, 3 Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,4 The moving waters at their priestlike task 5 Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores, 6 Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask7 Of snow upon the mountains and the moors— ” 8 : : : : Octave : : lines 1 To 8 : : : :
The Poem ” Bright star” is addressed to a Star, probably the North Star ( Polaris ) , as it is the only one that does not move in the sky. A personification of the figure of the star representing eternity and patience : an image of steadfastness in order to depict how true a lover’s heart is. : He does not want to be in “lone splendour , hung aloft the sky ” ( line 2 ) as he needs company. He has no identifying desire with this star. Why to stuck in the sky with a starry eyes looking at the Nature. He would become a “patient, sleepless Eremite,” ( line 4 ) or hermit / a Christian recluse. He does not want religious eternity ; “the moving waters at their priest like task” ( line 5 ) ” Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,” ( line 6 ) : “ablution ” is the ritual washing with a sacred water of the vessel in the Church Or of a priest’s hand ( compared here with the daily ebb and flow of the tides ) absolving human’s Sins : Keats believed in a sort of spirituality, but didn’t practice church’s traditional practices and belief. : The priest like task is followed by “snow up on the mountains and the moors ” ( line 8 ) : moors are un – cultivable English plain soil lands covered with lowly Heather , green high weed ferns , and moss. : Both these snowy mountains and moors refer to the cold isolated places : the lonely places , he would avoid. : “The snow upon the mountains” is described as a “gazing on the new soft-fallen mask” ( line 7 ) : It is clean , unused, stainless and ‘Pure’ : like one around “earth’s human shores” ( line 6 ) : : The star might be “gazing” / gently looking on the “new soft – fallen masks of snow up on the mountains and moors” ( lines 7 & 8 ) : The pure beauty on the earth is thus described. : : : :
” No—yet still stedfast, still unchangeable, 9 Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast, 10 To feel for ever its soft fall and swell, 11 Awake for ever in a sweet unrest, 12 Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath, 13 And so live ever—or else swoon to death.” 14 Sestet of lines 9 To 14 : : : :
Notes for Sestet of lines 9 To 14 Pending visit this post again later on to enjoy the appreciation of the poem. V Jayaraj Pune India November 9 , 2022 : : : :
William Wordsworth Silhouette of person on top of the mountain over the watery body, pointing flashlight on the Sky filled with Stars at night time.A beautiful woman back flipping in the spring time greenery and flowering Flowers of the Spring , the first season of the year. Dome of the Sky : partly shown with flowers , Sun , our beloved Star, and beautiful blue colour of our sky.In Appreciation of our EARTHLY Hemisphere Presented in looking out in the Universe , far away from Humanity.
The Stars Are Mansions Built By Nature’s Hand Poem by William Wordsworth : : : : The stars are mansions built by Nature’s hand, 1 And, haply, there the spirits of the blest 2 Dwell, clothed in radiance, their immortal vest;3 Huge Ocean shows, within his yellow strand, A habitation marvellously planned, 5 For life to occupy in love and rest; 6 All that we see–is dome, or vault, or nest,7 Or fortress, reared at Nature’s sage command. 8 Glad thought for every season! but the Spring 9 Gave it while cares were weighing on my heart, 10 ‘Mid song of birds, and insects murmuring; And while the youthful year’s prolific art– Of bud, leaf, blade, and flower–was fashioning 13 Abodes where self-disturbance hath no part. 14
William Wordsworth : : : :
“Stars are Mansions Built by Nature’s Hand : An Italian Style Sonnet By William Wordsworth , is about the beauty of the night time Stars and about the Idea that each star is a structure built by God and is the abode of “the spirits of the blest”. The poem sentimentalizes the mind in praise of the Nature and of God. The reflection of the stars are an incomplete indication of the night sky from a different angle, the better to pick up the meaning of how this ” habitation ” is all “marvellously planned” ( line 5 ) : : : :
The stars are mansions built by Nature’s hand, 1 And, haply, there the spirits of the blest 2 Dwell, clothed in radiance, their immortal vest; 3 Huge Ocean shows, within his yellow strand” Stanza 1 : First Quatrain : lines 1 To 4 : : : :
The Christians believe in Heaven made up of the mansions wherein Spirits or Souls oft the true believers reside. They “Dwell, clothed in radiance” ( line 3 ) : These Stars are reflected briefly in the surface of the waters of the ” Huge Ocean within his yellow strand” ( line 4 ) : : : :
“A habitation marvellously planned, 5 For life to occupy in love and rest; 6 All that we see–is dome, or vault, or nest, 7 Or fortress, reared at Nature’s sage command.” 8 : : Stanza 2 : Second Quatrain : lines 5 To 8 : : : :
“A habitation marvellously planned,” ( line 5 ) , “For life to occupy in love and rest;” ( line 6 ) , that is the flora and fauna of the “Huge Ocean” are marvellously / superbly / wonderfully planned by A ‘Creator’ : God , in a way creating a life that inspires love , rest , pleasure and awe. “All that we see — is dome ( a hemispherical concave shaped Sky – roof whose concavity faces downward towards Earth/ dwellings of all living beings. ) , ” Or vault ” : ( A strong room which is up-keeping all the living beings safely) , ” or nest” ( which are built instinctively by the creatures like birds , the sea – life of aquatic creatures to lay their eggs to safely and surely procreate / giving life / birth to the young ones. ) ” Or fortress,” ( A fortified defensive abode which is impenetrable against any harm or damage by any forces) : : All these wonderful Structures are reared / set up at Nature’s sage/ wise command.( lines 7 & 8 ) : This is a great skillful and knowledgeable act at an authoritative direction of The Creator Via Nature. : : : :
“Glad thought for every season! but the Spring 9 Gave it while cares were weighing on my heart, 10 ‘Mid song of birds, and insects murmuring; And while the youthful year’s prolific art– Of bud, leaf, blade, and flower–was fashioning 13 Abodes where self-disturbance hath no part”. 14 : : : : Stanza 3 : Sestet of 6 lines 9 To 14 : : : :
All wonderful Seasons are part of Nature. Hence meet every season with “Glad thought” ( line 9 ) : Meaning , ‘ Be cheerful / gladsome’ as well as , ‘Be grateful and thankful ‘ To Great Nature.: : The Spring gives comfort and peace ☮️ , ” Gave it while cares were weighing on my heart” : ( line 10 ) In Autumn , Winter Or Fall , the Seasons previous to the first Season of the year, the Spring , ” Mid song of birds , and insects murmuring; : ( line 11 ) are unheard of which are brought out by the Springs. : : Moreover , as line 13 mentions, ” Of bud, leaf,blade, and flower – was fashioning” are artfully detailed out by the”Nature ” which is behind its devising or making. These are Nature’s home / “Abodes” of beautiful creations ” where self disturbance hath no part.” : ( last line 14 ) : where one can overwhelmingly enjoy and become lost appreciating the Great Creator of a Wonderful and amazing World of beauty in our dwelling places / HOME : : : :
The Stars Are Mansions Built by Nature’s Hand ” A Star Poem By William Wordsworth Sonnet : : Information Appreciation and poem Analysis Presented by V Jayaraj Pune India November 8 , 2022 : : : : કાર્તક સુદ પૂર્ણિમા : દેવ દિવાળી : : : :
William Shakespeare The first twelve lines of Sonnet 14 in the 1609 Quarto
Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck; And yet methinks I have astronomy, 2 But not to tell of good or evil luck, Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons’ quality; 4 Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell, Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind, Or say with princes if it shall go well, By oft predict that I in heaven find: 8 But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive, And, constant stars, in them I read such art As “truth and beauty shall together thrive, If from thyself to store thou wouldst convert”; 12 Or else of thee this I prognosticate: 13 “Thy end is truth’s and beauty’s doom and date.” 14
—William Shakespeare
Sonnet 14 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is a procreation sonnet within the Fair Youth sequence. : : The addressee of the early Sonnets, to marry and sire an heir. The poem takes astrology as its (rejected) trope, and begins with the line : “Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck”. : : Shakespeare rejects the idea of ‘Astronomy’ /‘astrology’ ( same in his era ) , or divining the future by the stars , as a way of making predictions for plagues or famines or harvest. : : Most critics agree that Shakespeare wrote this sonnet in order to convince Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton to produce an heir. The speaker that may not know how to predict the future or what will happen, but they do know the value of procreating to retain one’s beauty throughout the ages. : : The Bard’s argument boils down to the idea of divining the doom of beauty if the Fair Youth doesn’t procreate. Which, to say the least, puts quite a lot of responsibility on the young man’s shoulders… : : : :
Quatrain 1 has multiple references to astronomy, and other literature. The Speaker can only predict the future through the object of their poem’s eyes. According to Frederick Fleays, lines 3-4 are possible references to plagues that occurred in 1592–1593, and the dearths that followed in 1594–1596. Alfread Rollins also states there was an irregularity in the seasons in 1595–1596, which all could have influenced these lines from Shakespeare.
Quatrain 2 : : Lines 8–9 have influences from Ovid’s Amores and Shakespeare’s own “Love Labor’s Lost”. George Steevens points out that Shakespeare’s early comedy included a line stating “From women’s eyes this doctrine I derive.” it is explaining the importance of procreation, and that it is necessary. it indicates Roman influence on Shakespeare’s poetry. : : line 8 , ‘By oft predict that I in heaven find’, could mean ‘by frequent prediction of what I find in heaven’, but sometimes ‘oft’ has been emended to ‘aught’, meaning ‘anything’, so the line’s meaning could be analysed as ‘nor can I predict anything from what I observe in heaven’.
Quatrain 3 : : Lines 10-11 are saying that one can see that truth and beauty would thrive together; if only you would focus on the business of making provisions for yourself.
Couplet : : lines 13 & 14 : : Shakespeare uses the portentous polysyllabic verb prognosticate with the alliteration ‘doom and date’ which is the stock in the trade of astrologers. This is Shakespeare’s prognostication, and it is delivered with a smile. West believed this due to the emphasis against the metre on ‘this’. : : Line 14 is saying that when one is dead, their truths and beauties come to an end as well.
Not from the stars : Sonnet 14 : William Shakespeare : : Stars Poems : : Information Appreciation and poem Analysis Presented by V Jayaraj Pune India November 6 , 2022 : :
MADHU MALTI 