Long Neglect Has Worn Away by Emily Jane Brontë [PDF]

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Assignment 2: Poem Analysis (week 5) Poem 1: Long Neglect Has Worn Away by Emily Jane Brontë



Introduction



Emily Jane Brontë, born on 30 July 1818 in Thornton, England, was an English novelist and poet. She was best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, and is considered as a classic in English literature in current times. She has also published a book specifically for poetry alongside her sisters, Anna and Charlotte. The title of the book was Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, where Currer is Charlotte, Ellis is Emily, and Acton is Anne. I this book, she has inserted her own poems as is regarded as a "poetic genius." She published her work during the Romantic Period and under the pen name Ellis Bell. Emily was the fifth child of six, and the third-eldest child of the four surviving Brontë siblings but died on 19 December 1848 at the age of 30 in Haworth, England. Her resting place is in St Michael and All Angels' Church, Haworth, Yorkshire.



Long Neglect Has Worn Away by Emily Jane Brontë Long neglect has worn away Half the sweet enchanting smile; Time has turned the bloom to gray; Mold and damp the face defile.



But that lock of silky hair, Still beneath the picture twined, Tells what once those features were, Paints their image on the mind.



Fair the hand that traced that line, "Dearest, ever deem me true"; Swiftly flew the fingers fine When the pen that motto drew.



Meaning of Each Stanza



Stanza 1 The poet starts the poem by describing the state of the persona and the cause of it. The persona has been neglected by possibly their loved ones, causing changes in them. They no longer have a genuine smile that is enchanting, and their days have turned sad and gloomy. The persona also does not care for their appearance in their current state, leaving it to appear hideous and uncared.



Stanza 2 The second stanza explains the persona is remembering nostalgic, happy memories with their loved one. The persona was possibly holding a picture of them and their loved one when they were happy. Silky hair may be referring to the persona's hair in the photograph of what their condition was before. It also gives the readers that the persona was beautiful and had beautiful silky hair in the past but is now a wreck, leaving their being unkept in the present. It also tells the readers that those memories were replaying in the persona's mind.



Stanza 3 The stanza tells the reader of the persona's action, which is tracing a line, possibly located on the photograph. The line that was written in the poem was quite personal, meaning it was written possibly by a lover. The sentence Dearest, ever deem me true might be comforting words to ease the persona's doubt towards their lover, making the persona to trust that the lover's love is real. The next two lines describe the persona writing a "motto," possibly overwriting the previous line to forget the betrayal of their lover. In a different context, it could also indicate the birth of the persona's love for literature as the poem was written in the romantic era.



Analysis of the poem



In Long Neglect Has Worn Away by Emily Jane Brontë, the poem has the theme of memories of an emotionally abusive relationship. Memory is a time that has happened in one’s past that they would not easily forget, be it something joyful or something traumatic. My analysis of the theme in Brontë’s poem is supported by literary elements that have been identified; imagery, settings, and figures of speeches such as tone and mood. First, in Brontë’s poem, it contains three stanzas and 12 lines (four lines per stanza). It also includes a rhyme scheme, which is ABAB throughout the poem. This specific structure in poetry is known as a ballad. Ballad poetry is a type of narrative poem that is either poetic or musical (containing emotions and feelings). It consists of a rhyme pattern – ABAB – and is usually in quatrains (four lines per stanza). Long Neglect Has Worn Away follows this type of structure, thus making it a ballad poem because it is narrating a story about a person remembering memories they once had with their significant other, causing them to dive into an emotional crisis. Next would be the imagery of the poem. A few imageries that we can get from this poem is in line 2 to 4 of stanza 1 (Half the sweet enchanting smile;… Mold and damp the face defile) and line 1 to 4 of stanza 2 (But that lock of silky hair,… Paints their image on the mind.). The lines of the first stanza describe the condition of the persona after time has passed. Their face has turned grimed, and their view towards the world had turned dark. In the past, the persona might have viewed the world differently; however, that changes in their current state. Meanwhile, lines 1 to 4 in stanza 2 describes an image the persona possesses, and a lock of hair possibly attached to the photograph. The stanza also describes the memory of beautiful features that the persona once possessed in the past. Other than that, the settings of the poem also contribute to the theme. While there is no exact setting mentioned, the poet had written a sentence that gives the readers a clue on what the setting could be. This would be line 3 in stanza 1 (Time has turned the bloom to gray;), where it gives the readers a slight imagination on what the situation was like for the persona; rainy and gloomy. This line and setting also contribute to be a type of symbolism; bloom represents happiness, while grey represents sadness or grief. This is in line with the theme of the poem, memories of an emotionally abusive relationship, where it highlights the emotional abuse issue. Finally, the figures of speech found in the poem. Figure of speech ranges from hyperbole to irony. In Brontë’s poem, the figures of speech that could be identified are hyperbole, synecdoche, irony, and understatement. The hyperboles are in line 4, stanza 2 (Paints their image on the mind.). It exaggerated the idea of an image being painted in the main, which is quite impossible, yet it meant that a memory from long ago that was still fresh in the persona’s mind. Line 2, stanza 3 (“Dearest, ever deem me true” ;) is considered as irony. It is because the persona’s lover had said these words to comfort that persona, reassuring them that they would be there for the persona, yet in the end had left. It is seen as a sort of irony and betrayal towards the persona; thus, it is in line with an emotionally abusive



relationship. The understatement found in the poem would be line 1, stanza 1 (Long neglect has worn away). Neglection is seen as a simple issue in this statement and is dismissed rather casually while it is a severe issue, moreover emotional neglection. And lastly, synecdoche. This would be seen in line 4, stanza 3 (When the pen that motto drew.). Synecdoche is a figure of speech where a part is used to represent the whole or the whole of a part. It is used in line 4, stanza 3, to represent the persona who began to write a motto. It might also indicate the persona writing something to ease their heartbreak and depression, countering the previous sentence that is present in the poem. In conclusion, as a reader, I find the poem that Brontë wrote is related to those who has suffered emotional abuse in their relationship. The poem was created by Brontë during the Romantic Era (1800 to 1890), and the relationship itself can be many things such as a loving relationship with a family member or a friend. However, many people are not aware that neglection is a form of emotional abuse, and I think that Brontë tried to make society realize that. Therefore, I believe poems such as this should be expose to society nowadays, so they would know that neglection contributes to emotional abuse and it is a severe issue.