Class XII - English Core - Flamingo -Poem 5 - Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

Poem Text

Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,

Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.

They do not fear the men beneath the tree;

They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Aunt Jennifer's finger fluttering through her wool

Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.

The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band

Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.

The tigers in the panel that she made

Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

Introduction

The poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" was written by American poet Adrienne Rich in 1951. It appeared in her first published book of poems, A Change of World. Told from the perspective of an anonymous speaker, the poem describes a woman, Aunt Jennifer, who crafts vibrant tapestry panels (depicting tigers) to escape-mentally, at least, her unhappy marriage. Written at a time when divorce was unacceptable, the poem criticises the traditional institution of marriage, suggesting that it oppresses women.

Aunt Jennifer creates a needlepoint that shows tigers leaping across the canvas. Bright and vibrant, like topaz gems, the tigers live within the green world of the canvas. They are not afraid of the men standing underneath the tree, also depicted in the image. The tigers walk with certainty, grace and courage.

Aunt Jennifer's fingers swiftly and delicately work the yarn, yet she finds it physically difficult to pull even a small needle made of ivory through the canvas. Her husband's wedding band feels huge and weighs down heavily on her hand.

When Aunt Jennifer dies one day, her frightened hands will finally be still. Yet they will still be marked by the difficulties that ruled over her while she was alive. Meanwhile, the tigers she created will continue to leap across her needlepoint without shame or fear.

Theme

'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers' by Adrienne Rich is a multi-layered poem that uses the images of sewn tigers to talk about the institution of marriage. The poet also explored the themes like Female Role in the Home, the Female Role in Marriage, Animals as Women and Nature, Patriarchal Power, Individual Freedoms, Political Issues, Art as escapism etc.

Message

This poem is a vigorous protest against male chauvinism and patriarchy which want to marginalize woman in every front. This poem offers a clear statement against the traditional marriage living relationship where women take the secondary role. Like Aunt Jennifer, millions of women still are a life of deprivation and subjugation. So this poem belongs to the feminist literary genre.

Title

The title, 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers' is appropriate as it suggests that the poem is about Aunt Jennifer's knitted tigers. With their chivalrous, ferocious, bright and carefree attitude, she creates an alternate world for herself. These tigers are the only means of free expression in her life, which is otherwise burdened by fear and struggles of married life.

Form, Style and Literary Devices

It's a formal rhyming poem, an early example of Adrienne Rich's work. Through the short lines of the poem, the speaker embodies the struggle this woman is going through and juxtaposes it against the tigers that she's creating. Their power is contrasted against her own lack of power.

In three verses, the reader is left in no doubt that Aunt Jennifer has suffered over the years and is looking for a positive way to express her artistic talents before it's too late.

The tigers she creates will outlast her and become a symbol of freedom and independence.

Structure: The poem's structure hints at the parallel existence of freedom and fear. In the first stanza, we get a description of the tigers. In the next stanza, we find a picture of Jennifer's life. In the final stanza, Jennifer's life and the tigers' fearless movements interact. The final victory of the tigers outlives the death of the woman. The first 'stanza describes artistic freedom but the second stanza narrates patriarchal power The structural similarity between the two stanzas rather highlights the binary opposition between rebellion and repression. In the final stanza, repression and rebellion are seen together. It indicates that women can revolt if only they throw away the conventions represented by the wedding ring.

Tone: The poem's voice is distant, which is created by the third-person point of view. The third-person narrator, a third-person viewpoint and the older generation have made Aunt Jennifer more authentic. The choice of diction suggests the vigour of the animals and the lifelessness of Jennifer. The words 'prance', 'pace', 'denizen', 'bright', 'proud', unafraid', 'sleek, chivalric' are associated with tigers. However, negative words like 'massive weight, sits heavily. terrified hand', ringed', and 'ordeals' highlight the weak points of Jennifer's life. Moreover, in the case of tigers, we get references to strong verbs and active voices. On the contrary, in Jennifer's case, we get passive voices suggesting the passivity of her life. 

Poetic Devices

Rhyme Scheme

'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers' is a three-stanza poem separated into stanzas of four lines, known as quatrains. These quatrains follow a simple rhyme scheme of AABB, with the couplets changing end. sounds from stanza to stanza. While there is evidence of metrical patterns in 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers,' it is not entirely consistent. There are sections of the poem in which Rich uses nearly perfect iambic pentameter and moments where she moves away from it and uses trochees instead.

It is a conventional rhyme scheme. However, Rich has brought the protest through this pattern. It seems that she has made the poem's structure conventional to highlight the conventionality of the protagonist's life and discuss about Critical appreciation of "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers".

Imagery

It is quite important in this poem. It can be seen through the description of the tigers, their landscape, and Aunt Jennifer's hands.

Rich has used animal imagery to inject power and vigour into the vision of Jennifer, which she terribly misses in her personal life. Tigers are the popular symbols of power and rebellion. Rich's tigers signify the vital life force that conventional society hardly allows for women. The creator of the tigers, Jennifer, lives a life of fear, depression and submission. But her tigers are fiercely uncompromising. Here the animal imagery suggests violence and energy, which women aspire to acquire but painfully lack.

Anaphora

It is a simple and helpful technique There is a good example in the first stanza with the repetition of "They” at the start of lines three and four. 

Alliteration

It helps to create a feeling of rhythm and rhyme even if one does not exist. For example, "fluttering fingers" in stanza two and "prancing, proud" in stanza three.

Symbolism

Heavy wedding band: Symbolises oppression in an unhappy marriage; Tigers: Untamed free spirit. The central symbols of the poem are the tapestry tigers and the Uncle's wedding band. The tapestry tigers are not just individual artistic expressions, and they are politically inflected, engaged in patriarchal chivalry myths. The personal and the political again meet in the intimacy of Uncle's wedding band. By the physical intimacy of a wedding band and by the familial presence conferred by 'Uncle's wedding band’, Aunt Jennifer's Tigers specify the presence of patriarchal politics. The interplay between rebellion and repression has made the poem enjoyable. This poem underscores the theme of power and social status. Aunt Jennifer is assigned the role of an aunt. She has no independent identity. In the poem, her name is mentioned four times, and on every occasion, she is an aunt. This imposition has fragmented her role.

Hyperbole

The weight of husband's wedding ring

Paradox

Here a trembling and ‘mastered’ woman creates free and confident creatures in her artistic endeavours. Fluttering fingers produce something that has ‘certainty’.

Contrast

This poem identifies the problems of women in society. The male-dominated society subordinates women. So they have nothing to do but continue the roles imposed on them by their male counterparts. Aunt Jennifer is the representative of these ill-fated women. Marriage as an institution does not support them. It instead ensures their eternal bondage. That's why the wedding ring is inseparable from Jennifer's life. The final stanza points to the contrast between the fearless tigers and the lifeless aunt. In fact, through this contrast, Rich is stressing the basic idea of feminism. According to feminism, women are deprived of equal status because of social strictures and repressions. The tigers are beyond these norms, but Jennifer is confined within them.

Summary

Aunt Jennifer is creating animals that are so different from her own character. She is perhaps working on a panel or a strip of woollen cloth. With an ivory needle, she is making the figure of tigers moving freely in the forest. They have bright yellow coats with stripes. They are fearless of the men standing under a tree. They are proud of their freedom and physical strength.

Aunt Jennifer is weak; therefore, her feeble fingers fail to pull even a light needle. She is creating mighty tigers on a panel, but her own married life has been an utter failure. Uncle has, perhaps, been much too severe and insensitive to her feelings. The tiger symbolises what she has missed in her married life. Someday, Aunt Jennifer will quit this world. She would be lowered into the grave. Her weak and terrified hand will still have the mark of her suffering. She will remain a slave in her grave. The tigers, however, created by her will go on playing merrily forever, proud and fearless.

Stanza Wise Explanation

Stanza One

Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,

Bright topaz denizens of a world of green

They do not fear the men beneath the tree;

They pace in sleek chivalric certainty. 

In the first stanza of Aunt Jennifer's Tigers, the speaker begins by describing the movement of the tigers across the fabric canvas. They are prancing "across a screen" in a "world of green". The perfect rhymes give this poem a sing-song-like sound juxtaposed against the darker subject matter. It creates a haunting atmosphere that allows for easy contemplation of the problems of marriage. The speaker describes very clearly how the tigers do not "fear the men beneath the tree". They move without fear or trepidation. It should be noted that this is a state that the artist, Aunt Jennifer, does not know. She is not without fear as they are.

The animals are personified. Rich uses words like "chivalric" (an older term that connects to a certain respectful yet patronising treatment of women) to describe them. They are masculine, without worry, and "certain" in their actions. This makes it seem even less likely that Jennifer will find this same strength.

Stanza Two

Aunt Jennifer's finger fluttering through her wool 

Find even the ivory needle hard to pull

The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band

Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.

The speaker describes in the next stanza how quickly Jennifer's fingers move. They "flutter” through the movements but are without real strength. The word "flutter" evokes the image of birds' wings and gentle movements. Her hands find the "needle hard to pull". There is something weighing them down, a "wedding band". The ring that ties her to her husband keeps her from moving beyond who she is at that moment. It sits heavily on her hand, her mind, and her soul.

Stanza Three

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie 

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.

The tigers in the panel that she made

Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid. 

The third stanza begins with a striking move into the future. The speaker looks towards the time in which Jennifer is going to die. These lines are enjambed, encouraging the reader to move smoothly and quickly through the stanza. She will stop eventually, as will the movement of her hands. But the ring will still be there. Even in death, she will in some ways be tied to her "ordeals".

As she struggles, suffers, and dies, the tigers will continue to prance proudly on her page. They, unlike her, are "unafraid".

Analysis

The speaker describes the tigers the aunt produced by using coloured threads on heavy cloth. They are set in motion. They are moving quickly by raising their front legs and jumping forwards on their hind legs in the green jungle. They look bright yellow and as valuable as topazes which reveals her dream of a happier life in her needlework.

There are men sitting under the tree, but the tigers do not care for them. They move on to their goal boldly and smoothly. Jennifer finds it difficult to make pictures by using the ivory needle. She is tired of doing the household work after she got married. She can't get herself involved in her artistic work. She has to do it in her leisure time. Even then she has to be sure whether her husband is watching her or not. So her hands are terrified. She will not be free from fear until she dies. She will be dominated by her husband. She will die, but her art will express her desire to move proudly and fearlessly like the tigers she has made.

Aunt Jennifer's hands are 'terrified' because of the massive weight of household duties. They are heavily pressed. They have undergone severe trials. She is dominated by her husband continuously. 'Fingers fluttering, 'ordeals', 'mastered', 'hard to pull' indicate her fear. By mentioning that it is 'Uncle's wedding band', the poet suggests that Uncle owns Jennifer too and that as a female, she is the property of her husband. The word 'massive' and 'heavily Aunt Jennifer lives a demanding sort of life in which she has to attend to her husband's needs and fulfil his commands. As a result she is somewhat worn out in her old age. Aunt Jennifer is 'ringed', trapped in her marriage and controlled like an animal. Her husband is her master. Her wish to be like the tiger, proud and unafraid' also shows her fear in real life. Tigers are fierce, courageous and independent animals. They lead the life the way they want to. But Aunt Jennifer is just opposite to tigers. She is quiet, coward, and totally dependent on her husband. She leads her life the way her husband likes for her. So tigers are an appropriate contrast to her.

Aunt Jennifer has an artistic talent. If she used it properly, she will surely become a great artist. But she has misused her ability because of cowardice. She can't go against the established pattern in life. She is pressed by 'the massive weight of household work. Instead of pleasing herself, she tries to please her dominating husband. She lives a quiet and subdued life. But the tigers she imagined are just opposite to her. They are proud, active, fearless, determined and chivalric. They move toward their goals with single-mindedness.

The tigers in the poem represent Jennifer's innermost desire. She wants to be strong like the tigers that do not fear the men. Like the beautiful animals in the jungle, she wants to create precious pieces of art. Her life has been uncertain, helpless. Her husband is strong and fearless, but he is not chivalrous. So she finds courage, justice and honour in the smooth movement of the tigers. Thus the tiger stand for her unfulfilled wishes. She can't revolt against him on her own. In order to gain freedom she must be like her tigers that prance being proud and unafraid. The word 'chivalric suggests her inner wish that is, her husband should show bravery, honour, generosity, and good manners to her like the knights in the Middle Ages did. She would like to go forward towards her aim, like the determined tigers.

Those Were My Days - Creative Writing by Students - Students' Section

Those Were My Days

Where the smile were singing
and the bells of ice cream carts were ringing, those were my days.
The small hands into hands
The little cries by seeing flies
Those were my days.
The shiny sunshine, the little smile, the blooming flowers and the garden in miles. Those were my days.
The blue beaches and the waves on it, the sand castles and flags on it, those were my days.
The excitement of collecting shells, by collecting them and counting n tells, Those were my days.

---

Arisha Kazmi
XI th B SFS 2020-21
AMU Girls' School, AMU Aligarh, U.P.

POEM - THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US - WOVEN WORDS - CLASS XI - ELECTIVE ENGLISH

THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US

SUMMARY

Angrily, the speaker accuses the modern age of having lost its connection to nature and to everything meaningful: “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: / Little we see in Nature that is ours; / We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” He says that even when the sea “bares her bosom to the moon” and the winds howl, humanity is still out of tune, and looks on uncaringly at the spectacle of the storm. The speaker wishes that he were a pagan raised according to a different vision of the world, so that, “standing on this pleasant lea,” he might see images of ancient gods rising from the waves, a sight that would cheer him greatly. He imagines “Proteus rising from the sea,” and Triton “blowing his wreathed horn.”

FORM

This poem is one of the many excellent sonnets Wordsworth wrote in the early 1800s. Sonnets are fourteen-line poetic inventions written in iambic pentameter. There are several varieties of sonnets; “The world is too much with us” takes the form of a Petrarchan sonnet, modeled after the work of Petrarch, an Italian poet of the early Renaissance. A Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two parts, an octave (the first eight lines of the poem) and a sestet (the final six lines). The rhyme scheme of a Petrarchan sonnet is somewhat variable; in this case, the octave follows a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA, and the sestet follows a rhyme scheme of CDCDCD. In most Petrarchan sonnets, the octave proposes a question or an idea that the sestet answers, comments upon, or criticizes.

COMMENTARY

“The world is too much with us” falls in line with a number of sonnets written by Wordsworth in the early 1800s that criticize or admonish what Wordsworth saw as the decadent material cynicism of the time. This relatively simple poem angrily states that human beings are too preoccupied with the material (“The world...getting and spending”) and have lost touch with the spiritual and with nature. In the sestet, the speaker dramatically proposes an impossible personal solution to his problem—he wishes he could have been raised as a pagan, so he could still see ancient gods in the actions of nature and thereby gain spiritual solace. His thunderous “Great God!” indicates the extremity of his wish—in Christian England, one did not often wish to be a pagan.

On the whole, this sonnet offers an angry summation of the familiar Wordsworthian theme of communion with nature, and states precisely how far the early nineteenth century was from living out the Wordsworthian ideal. The sonnet is important for its rhetorical force (it shows Wordsworth’s increasing confidence with language as an implement of dramatic power, sweeping the wind and the sea up like flowers in a bouquet), and for being representative of other poems in the Wordsworth canon—notably “London, 1802,” in which the speaker dreams of bringing back the dead poet John Milton to save his decadent era.

Essay-03 - Patterns of Creativity

Class Notes - English - XI - Electictive - Woven Words - Essay:03

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

1. How does Shelley’s attitude to science differ from that of Wordsworth and Keats?
   
   
   
   Wordsworth in his poem 'A Poet's Epitaph' looks at science with a critical mind. Even in the poem 'Tables Turned' he praises nature and appreciates the beauty it gives to the humanity: 
   
   "Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;"
   "Enough of Science and of Art;
   Close up those barren leaves;
   Come forth, and bring with you a heart
   That watches and receives."
   
   

   Wordsworth requests us to be more inclined towards Nature because there is more wisdom in it. Keats in his poem 'Lamia' talks of two facets of human nature: one is sensual and other emotional. Keats calls philosophy destructive and pleasure unreal and calls them inseparable. However, it is not that one must take Wordsworth's and Keat's take as absolute. Shelley, for instance, is of a different opinion. For scientists it is best if they consider Shelley. A. N. Whitehead's testimony called Shelley's attitude to Science, an opposite pole to that of Wordsworth. He loved science, and was never tired of expressing in poetry the thoughts, which it suggests. Science symbolised to him joy, and peace, and illumination.
2. ‘It is not an accident that the most discriminating literary criticism of Shelley’s thought and work is by a distinguished scientist, Desmond King-Hele.’ How does this statement bring out the meeting point of poetry and science? 
   
   
   A Desmond King-Hele, a British physicist, is the author of Shelley: His Thought and Work. He said that Shelley's attitude to science emphasises the surprising modern climate of thoughts in which he chose to live. Shelley describes the mechanisms of nature with a precision and wealth of detail. It is a perfect fusion of poetry and science. A scientist critically reviewing a poet's work on science. S. Chandrasekhar points out two examples from Shelley's poetry in support of what is said about him. He points out that in his poem Cloud, a creative myth, a scientific monograph, and a gay picaresque tale of cloud adventure are fused together. Then he cites an example from Prometheus Unbound, which has been described by Herbert Read as the greatest expression ever given to humanity's desire for intellectual light and spiritual liberty.
3. What do you infer from Darwin’s comment on his indifference to literature as he advanced in years? 
   
   
   Darwin, a great scientist, known for his work On the Origin of Species, enjoyed literature only until he was 30, as he said. He enjoyed poetic works of Byron, Coleridge, Shelley, etc. immensely. Shakespeare's historical plays gave him much pleasure. However, as he advanced in his age to reach the benchmark of 30, the charm faded and he began losing interest in pictures and music that once gave him great delight. He tried reading poetry and Shakespeare; however, he found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated him. It is surprising that the answer to this change is in Darwin's own statement. His mind had become some kind of a  grinding machine to process laws out of facts. It caused atrophy of that part of the brain on which higher tastes depended. It was hard for Darwin to infer it as well and, thus, his romance with literature died away.
4. How do the patterns of creativity displayed by scientists differ from those displayed by poets? 
   
   
   Poets are the bards celebrating the nature surrounding them. While, scientists are the ones to harvest nature and its mechanism and mark inventions. Poets such as Wordsworth and Keats criticise humans of exploiting nature. Whereas, scientists on the other hand utilize the given resources of nature to create and invent. However, it is not that there is an enmity between poets and scientists. Shelley said, undoubtedly the promoters of utility, in this limited sense, have their appointed office in society They make space and give time.Here we have Darwin, who enjoyed literature immensely, however, until he was thirty. He said later,' My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain alone on which the higher tastes depend.Thus, it can be understood, while the poets celebrate the present and arrest it making it all immortal, the scientists create and invent leading us to a tomorrow, thus, marking a difference.
5. What is the central argument of the speaker?
   
   
   In the essay patterns of creativity, S. Chandrasekhar tries to figure out the reason for the difference in the patterns of creativity among the practitioners in the arts and practitioners in the sciences. He did not answer it, rather, he made an assortment of remarks that bore the answer. He cites examples explaining how poets and scientists view each other defining the difference in their views. There are poets such as Wordsworth and Keats who are worshippers of nature, who believe that humans sabotage nature by the technological advancement. However, there are poets like Shelley, who do poetry on science. It is difficult to segregate the views and put them into water tight compartments. Darwin, for instance enjoyed literature immensely as it gave him utmost joy, but only till the age of 30. W. B. Yeats, in praise of Shelley's A Defence of Poetry, called it the profoundest essay on the foundation of poetry in the English language The author of the essay, Chandrasekhar wonders in the end that why is there no such A Defence of Science written by a scientist of equal endowment. Perhaps the answer to the question he knew already.

TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT

1. ‘Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world’.
   
   
   Shelley in his famous essay, A Defence of Poetry, made the given statement. In his work, Shelley expressed his view on poetry and poets. The power of poetry and the beauty of it. It is true that poetry makes every thing immortal by arresting its enchanting beauty. It not just reflects, it has the power to ignite minds and bring change. Poetry inspires humanity. Like Shelley said, ? oets are...the mirrors or the gigantic shadows which futurity casts upon the present; the words which express what they understand not; the trumpets which sing to battle and feel not what they inspire; the influence which is moved not, but moves.It is poetry that bears the future and inspire minds. It beholds the past and mirrors the present as well. Poets are the subtle revolutionaries of our society. In fact, not just poets but all the great authors as well. They are the force that drive the society to newness and are moral critics. They participate in the society not just as viewers, but they keep a watch and express their criticism or appreciation through their work.
2. Poetry and science are incompatible.
   
   
   There are two perspectives to every issue. While poets like Wordsworth and Keats condemn man of exploiting nature and moving towards science, Shelley is a scientific poet, who even in his poems like his Cloud. Shelley loved science and expressed it in his poetry.? It symbolised to him joy, and peace, and illumination. Charles Darwin, being such a great scientist was immensely fond of literature, especially in his youth. However, another scientist, Faraday, who was absolutely engrossed in his scientific experiments about electricity and made great invention. It is always difficult to conclude whether poets and scientists are compatible or not. There will be many such poets and scientists fond of science and poetry. While there will be many who are only concerned about their subject.
3. ‘On reading Shelley’s A Defence of Poetry, the question insistently occurs why there is no similar A Defence of  Science written by a scientist of equal endowment.’
   
   
   A person who is passionate about her/his subject is bound to praise it profoundly. The only difference might be in the medium of expression. While a poet chooses words to praise his subject, a scientist may choose an invention to express his passion. This is natural. Thus, it is so that Shelley came up with a writing piece and Faraday discovering the laws of electromagnetic induction and his discoveries led him to formulate concepts such as 'lines of force' and 'fields of force'. It is not that scientists do not defend their subject, Faraday did defend his discoveries by answering Gladstone that there was every probability of the government taxing the electricity soon. Just the medium one chooses to defend their subject matters.

APPRECIATION

1. How does the ‘assortment of remarks’ compiled by the author give us an understanding of the ways of science and poetry? 
   
   [answer same as that of Q.5. Modify the answer accordingly]
2. Considering that this is an excerpt from a lecture, how does the commentary provided by the speaker string the arguments together? 
3. The Cloud ‘fuses together a creative myth, a scientific monograph, and a gay picaresque tale of cloud adventure’— explain.

Poem 01 - The Peacock - English Elective Class XI Notes - Woven Words

Poem 01 - The Peacock

POEM COMPLETE TEXT

His loud sharp call

seems to come from nowhere.

Then, a flash of turquoise

in the pipal tree.

The slender neck arched away from you

  as he descends,

and as he darts away, a glimpse

  of the very end of his tail. 

I was told

that you have to sit in the veranda

  and read a book,

preferably one of your favourites

  with great concentration.

The moment you begin to live

inside the book

a blue shadow will fall over you.

The wind will change direction,

The steady hum of bees

In the bushes nearby

Will stop.

The cat will awaken and stretch.

Something has broken your attention;

And if you look up in time

You might see the peacock

turning away as he gathers in his tail

to shut those dark glowing eyes,

violet fringed with golden amber.

It is the tail that has to blink

for eyes that are always open.

THEME

The theme of this poem is the beauty of nature and the importance of being present in the moment to fully appreciate it. The peacock is used as a symbol of this beauty and is described in vivid detail, capturing the reader's attention and encouraging them to take notice of the world around them. The poem also suggests that we need to let go of distractions and be fully immersed in the present moment in order to truly appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.

SUMMARY OF THE POEM

At the outset of the poem, the poet portrays the peacock's grandeur and loveliness. Throughout the verses, the poet anthropomorphizes the peacock as a male entity, referring to him as 'he.' The bird's piercing cry is difficult to locate, as it appears to emanate from an indiscernible source. The sound actually comes from the peacock, which can effortlessly fly to the top of a pipal or peepal tree, where it is often hidden. Against the verdant background of the pipal tree, the peacock's distinct turquoise hue (a combination of blue and green) glimmers. When it senses a human watching it, it moves its slim neck and darts away, leaving behind only a fleeting glimpse of its tail.

The poet now describes a small ritual for seeing a peacock that she has been advised to follow. One should sit on the veranda and immerse themselves in a book, preferably a cherished favorite. Once the reader is fully absorbed in the book's world, a blue shadow will descend upon them, and the wind will shift, subtly drawing attention to the surroundings. The atmosphere grows tranquil ("The steady hum of bees /In the bushes nearby will stop").

The peacock's cry, similar to that of a cat, will be audible ("The cat will awaken and stretch"), drawing attention. If spotted in time, the observer may catch a glimpse of the peacock. The peacock gracefully turns away, its tail feathers closed like shut eyelids, revealing violet borders and golden amber fillers. "It is the tail that has to blink" (the motion of the tail swaying is likened to blinking), but "the eyes are always open," and the patterns never fade. The observer will feel a sense of inner radiance and stillness that is deep and profound.

The scene's depiction highlights the difficulty of seeing a peacock (underscoring the bird's significance), as peacocks are revered, sacred birds that are not frequently encountered in the world. In Indian culture, peacocks are considered celestial and symbolize beauty and power.

UNDERSTANDING THE POEM

1. Comment on the lines that make you visualise the colourful image of the peacock.
   
   
   The lines which help us visualise the colourful image of the peacock are as follows:
   “a flash of turquoise”, “A blue shadow will fall over you", “To shut those dark glowing eyes”, “Violet fringed with golden amber”.
   These lines give us a clear picture of the magnificent bird in all its glory.
2. What are the cues that signal the presence of the peacock in the vicinity?
   
   
   A loud sharp call, flash of turquoise, a disappearing tail end, a blue shadow, the wind changing its direction and the awakening of the cat and its stretch are an indication that a peacock is in the vicinity.
3. How does the connection drawn between the tail and the eyes add to the descriptive detail of the poem?
   
   
   The pattern on the tail of a peacock looks like eyes, but these eyes cannot be blinked. Rather the tail when contracted appears to give an illusion of blinking a lot of eyes together. This adds to the descriptive details of the poem.
4. How does the poem capture the elusive nature of the peacock?
   
   
   The poem captures the elusive nature of the peacock by describing its activities that signal its presence indirectly. For example in the opening line of the poem we hear “His loud sharp call”, or we get a “glimpse of the very end of his tail” in the last line of the first stanza.
   If someone tries his best to get a glimpse of the elusive bird, he “might see the peacock turning away as he gathers his tail”.
   Such a description presents a very elusive nature of the peacock.
5. The peacock is a colourful bird. How does the poem capture the various colours that its plumage displays?
   
   
   The poem captures the various colours of the peacock’s plumage by use of expressions like “turquoise”, “blue shadow”, “dark glowing eyes” and “Violet fringed with golden amber”. These expressions as we can see present the colours associated with peacocks very beautifully.

Poem-02 - Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds - English Elective Class XI Notes - Woven Words

Poem-02 - Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds by William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

PARAPHRASE OF THE POEM

Let me not declare any reasons why two true-minded people should not be married. Love is not love which changes when it finds a change in circumstances, or bends from its firm stand even when a lover is unfaithful: Oh no! it is a lighthouse that sees storms but it is never shaken; Love is the guiding north star to every lost ship, whose value cannot be calculated, although its altitude can be measured. Love is not at the mercy of Time, though physical beauty comes within the compass of his sickle. Love does not alter with hours and weeks, but, rather, it endures until the last day of life. If I am proved wrong about these thoughts on love, then I recant all that I have written, and no man has ever [truly] loved.

Explanation

The poem is titled "Sonnet 116" and is a sonnet written by William Shakespeare. It is a love poem that celebrates the power and endurance of true love.

The poem begins with the speaker stating that true love is not hindered by external forces or impediments. The love described is not a love that changes with circumstances or that is affected by external influences. Instead, it is an "ever-fixed mark" that remains constant even in the face of adversity.

The speaker then goes on to compare true love to a star that guides wandering ships, emphasizing the importance and value of this type of love. The poem suggests that true love is a force that is not easily swayed by time or external factors.

The next stanza refers to the inevitable effects of time and aging, represented by "rosy lips and cheeks / Within his bending sickle's compass come." However, the speaker argues that true love is not subject to the same limitations and that it endures even in the face of aging and death.

Finally, the poem concludes with the speaker stating that if he is wrong in his beliefs about true love, then he has never written anything of value and no one has ever truly loved. This line reinforces the strength and conviction of the speaker's beliefs about love.

Overall, the poem celebrates the power and endurance of true love, emphasizing that it is a force that remains constant even in the face of adversity and the passing of time.

Imagery Used in the Sonnet 116

Sonnet 116 uses a variety of powerful and vivid imagery to convey the idea of enduring, true love.

In the first quatrain, the speaker uses the metaphor of a "marriage of true minds" to describe the nature of true love. This image evokes the idea of two people who are deeply connected and united in their love for one another.

The second quatrain uses a nautical metaphor to describe true love as an "ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken." The image of a fixed mark or beacon that guides ships through storms suggests that true love provides stability and direction in difficult times.

The third quatrain compares true love to a star that guides lost ships, suggesting that love is a guiding force that leads people through the challenges of life. The image of the star is also associated with beauty and wonder, emphasizing the idea that true love is a precious and valuable thing.

In the final quatrain, the speaker uses the metaphor of Time as a "bending sickle" that inevitably takes away youth and beauty. However, the speaker argues that true love "bears it out even to the edge of doom," suggesting that it is an enduring force that remains steadfast in the face of aging and death.

Overall, the imagery used in Sonnet 116 emphasizes the strength, endurance, and guiding qualities of true love. By comparing love to enduring symbols such as a fixed mark, a star, and a beacon, the speaker creates a powerful image of love as a guiding force that can lead people through the challenges of life.

NOTES 

marriage...impediments (1-2): T.G. Tucker explains that the first two lines are a "manifest allusion to the words of the Marriage Service: 'If any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons should not be joined together in holy matrimony'; cf. Much Ado 4.1.12. 'If either of you know any inward impediment why you should not be conjoined.' Where minds are true - in possessing love in the real sense dwelt upon in the following lines - there can be no 'impediments' through change of circumstances, outward appearance, or temporary lapses in conduct." (Tucker, p. 192). 

bends with the remover to remove (4): i.e., deviates ("bends") to alter its course ("remove") with the departure of the lover. 

ever-fixed mark (5): i.e., a lighthouse (mark = sea-mark).

Compare Othello (5.2.305-7): 

Be not afraid, though you do see me weapon'd;

Here is my journey's end, here is my butt,

And very sea-mark of my utmost sail. 

the star to every wandering bark (7): i.e., the star that guides every lost ship (guiding star = Polaris). Shakespeare again mentions Polaris (also known as "the north star") in Much Ado About Nothing (2.1.222) and Julius Caesar (3.1.65). 

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken (8): The subject here is still the north star. The star's true value can never truly be calculated, although its height can be measured. 

Love's not Time's fool (9): i.e., love is not at the mercy of Time. 

Within his bending sickle's compass come (10): i.e., physical beauty falls within the range ("compass") of Time's curved blade. Note the comparison of Time to the Grim Reaper, the scythe-wielding personification of death. 

edge of doom (12): i.e., Doomsday. Compare 1 Henry IV (4.1.141): 

Come, let us take a muster speedily:

Doomsday is near; die all, die merrily. 

_____ 

Sonnet 116 is about love in its most ideal form. The poet praises the glories of lovers who have come to each other freely, and enter into a relationship based on trust and understanding. The first four lines reveal the poet's pleasure in love that is constant and strong, and will not "alter when it alteration finds." The following lines proclaim that true love is indeed an "ever-fix'd mark" which will survive any crisis. In lines 7-8, the poet claims that we may be able to measure love to some degree, but this does not mean we fully understand it. Love's actual worth cannot be known – it remains a mystery. The remaining lines of the third quatrain (9-12), reaffirm the perfect nature of love that is unshakeable throughout time and remains so "ev'n to the edge of doom", or death. 

In the final couplet, the poet declares that, if he is mistaken about the constant, unmovable nature of perfect love, then he must take back all his writings on love, truth, and faith. Moreover, he adds that, if he has in fact judged love inappropriately, no man has ever really loved, in the ideal sense that the poet professes. The details of Sonnet 116 are best described by Tucker Brooke in his acclaimed edition of Shakespeare's poems: 

[In Sonnet 116] the chief pause in sense is after the twelfth line. Seventy-five per cent of the words are monosyllables; only three contain more syllables than two; none belong in any degree to the vocabulary of 'poetic' diction. There is nothing recondite, exotic, or metaphysical in the thought. There are three run-on lines, one pair of double-endings. There is nothing to remark about the rhyming except the happy blending of open and closed vowels, and of liquids, nasals, and stops; nothing to say about the harmony except to point out how the fluttering accents in the quatrains give place in the couplet to the emphatic march of the almost unrelieved iambic feet. In short, the poet has employed one hundred and ten of the simplest words in the language and the two simplest rhyme-schemes to produce a poem which has about it no strangeness whatever except the strangeness of perfection. (Brooke, p. 234)

UNDERSTANDING THE POEM

1. ‘Constancy’ is the theme of the poem. Indicate the words, phrases and images that suggest the theme.
   
   
   "an ever-fixed mark", "never shaken"; "Love’s not Time’s fool", "Love alters not", "bears it out even to the edge of doom" are some of the expressions that suggest the theme that love is permanent.
2. Why do you think the poet has used so many ‘negatives’ to make his statement?
   
   
   ‘negatives’ are an effective tool to prove one’s point. It highlights the other side of the coin to bring home the positive points of the statement very effectively. In this case the poet puts forward all the negative aspects that love is taken for, and then argues that love is something permanent and beyond physical beauty.
3. What does the line ‘I never writ, nor no man ever loved’ imply?It implies that if the poet is proved wrong about these thoughts on love, then he will recant all that he has written, and no man has ever [truly] loved.