Please respond to the following prompts in collaboration with your fellow classmates. I'm looking for you to discuss the readings by referring to previous posts rather than just listing your interpretations. Also make sure to identify who you are and your class period. I need this so that I can give you credit for your posting. Thanks. Mr. Domingo
Monday, August 9, 2010
"When I Have Fears" and "Mezzo Camin"
In the two given poems, Keats and Longfellow reflect on similar concerns. Read the poems carefully. Then compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing the poetic techniques each writer uses to explore his particular situation
So obviously both of these poems have an underlying sense of fear in the face of age, due to a fear of dying before they are able to fulfill everything they have set out to do in their lifetime. However, what I think contrasted the two poems was that in "When I Have Fears," by the end of the poem, the author has realized that the loss, or perhaps complete absence of love and fame in his lifetime does not truly matter, looking back. However, in "Mezzo Cammin," the author evokes strong feelings of regret for all that was not accomplished in his past, as he feels himself moving closer and closer to death.
I completely agree with Rachel Sather. In "When I Have Fears," the poem expresses the fear of not just dying, but of never experiencing life again. The speaker feels love for this world that, he or she, is leaving behind because of death. "Mezzo Cammin" I felt was very different in the fact that they were almost excepting their fate of dying. As if death was something that was inevitable, just waiting for it to happen.
But of course, I could be completely wrong. I'm not the best analyzer. Anyone else?
I agree with you Briana. Throughout each of the poems they both express an underlying message of an inevitable death. But in "Mezzo Cammin" I also came to believe that the speaker feels he still has a chance to change. In line 13 the speaker hears "autumnal blasts" which I think has to do with change because autumn is a season of change. Also along with what Rachel said about "When I Have Fears," the speaker believes that in the end love and fame do not truly matter because in the end you will be alone. I also came to believe that he may have loved someone at one point but never got the chance to do something about it. In line 6 it says "Huge cloudy symbols of high romance," may mean he was unsure if he should do something about his affection for that person. And finally, I believe what contrasted these 2 poems was that the poem "When I have fears" is what he is thinking before he is going to die and "Mezzo Camminn" is the speaker sensing death creeping on him because he is half way through his life.
This is just my interpretation What else did you guys come up with?
When Ryan mentions the "autumnal blasts" in Longfellow's poem I not only interpreted as he had, but also connected it to Keat's constant reference to "rich garners" and "full ripen'd grain" (line 4). I made this connection because grain is usually harvested in autumn. Another common attitude is brought up by Briana in that both poems are about death and what the speakers' life has been like. Keat's speaker is afraid of what he has not managed to do in his life and Longfellow's poem is almost like a reflection of the speaker's life.
For the most part, I can agree with Rachel, Brianna, Ryan, and Victor on their conclusions about 'When I have Fears' and 'Mezzo Cammin'. The speaker in 'When I have Fears' seems closer to the end of their life compared to the speaker in 'Mezzo Cammin' who is only just starting to realize that death is closer than they thought.
On a different note, did anyone notice that 'When I have Fears' closely resembles a Shakespearean sonnet (I don't know for sure) and that 'Mezzo Cammin' resembles and Italian sonnet? I know that a Shakespearean sonnet divides thoughts into three quatrains and is concluded by a couplet compared to an Italian sonnet in which the first eight lines pose an issue that is resolved or concluded in the last six lines. My question is how does the structure of each poem influence the way the message is relayed to and interpreted by the reader?
Monique's point about the structure of them both is interesting to look into. I was thinking that the English sonnet ("When I Have Fears") shows us that the speaker is unresolved on the topic of fulfilling his goals and desires. This also shows in how he finishes the poem by standing alone, thinking. On the contrary, the Italian sonnet ("Mezzo Cammin") gives us some sort of closure, which I interpreted as a decision to accomplish his aspirations albeit dim and hard to see how it would work out. To add to the discussion on the word "autumnal," it could also mean "characteristic of late maturity verging on decline." I would think this as a sort of late realization of how much time the speaker has left. My question to you all is if "romance" and "love"(mentioned in lines 6 and 12, respectively, of "When I Have Fears" are a literal love for someone, or a figurative one for the speaker's goals and aspirations. If the second, it would make a parallel to "Mezzo Cammin" and the speaker's "restless passions" (line 6).
Corresponding to Jeremy's question about when love and romance is mentioned in "When I Have Fears", I have a hypothesis that the romance could be a literal love for someone, and a figurative one. A reason i think the speaker could possibly be talking about both is that in line 6 the words "cloudy symbols" particularly the word "cloudy" refers to uncertainty or ambiguousness. Also a symbol is something meant to represent another subject, though I am unclear of what that could mean.
I do have an interpretation of lines 2-4 in "When I Have Fears" that Jacquelyne requested, i have paraphrased it and came up with this:
Before my pen has written down the thoughts from my mind over flowing with ideas/Before the high- piled written books/stocked granaries hold the ripened grain
I think these lines emphasize the abundance of ideas he has within him, i have come to this conclusion by looking at word within those lines like "high- piled" and "teeming". I find line 4 to be particularly interesting in that by using the granaries of full ripened grain, he is referring to his "ripened" ideas, that have been harvested or are ready to be harvested. This can be seen as a sort of paradox because he is the grain being picked as well as the harvester, picking the grain (ideas) and turning them into poetry.
Continuing on what Mr. Cochrane said about lines 2-4, did anybody else see that one of the aspirations that the speaker in Keats’ poem, “When I Have Fears,” has, to create many books filled with “ripened” ideas, is very similar to the aspiration in Longfellow’s poem, “Mezzo Cammin?” In Longfellow’s poem, the speaker mentions that he regrets not fulfilling his life aspiration, “to build/ Some tower of song with lofty parapet.” (3-4). Does this somehow put an image of songs being piled on top of each other, creating a huge tower? Also, we can go even further by directly comparing “high-piled books” from Keats’ poem to the “tower of songs” in Longfellow’s poem. In this situation, it seems as if both speakers in both poems both had a goal to create many pieces of literature to form a large collection of their works. That is probably a similarity out of many between these two poems. If anyone else sees one, can you please tell us?
Also, there have been some issues over which poem had been the more positive in tone and which one the more negative in tone. I really cannot see any difference between these two poems. In my opinion, we can add to the similarities list that both poems are pessimistic and negative about death. In Keats’ poem, the speaker mentions at the end, where the concluding couplet is supposed to be, that “on the shore / Of the wide world I stand alone, and think/ Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.” (12-14). The statement creates an image of a young man at the end of the world, isolated from all human contact, alone, accompanied only by his thoughts. This young man is about to die, and all he can do is think and fear the coming of his death. He could just think about all the lost love, aspirations and fame that he will leave behind when he dies, and he is just alone and afraid. That does create a pretty sad image, right? But then, on Longfellow’s poem, we also feel a negative mood and tone. The speaker mentions the “autumnal blast”, which Mr. Cuizon, Mr. Chavez, and Mr. Miclat were discussing as a negative appeal to the speaker. Also, the speaker hears “The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights.” (14). When we put these two images together, we see an old man at the base of a cliff. He is looking back down the path he went, the Past, but he hears behind him a loud waterfall falling down from the heavens. We could see the pain in this old man, the hardships and years are entrenched in the wrinkles of the man’s face, and we know that he must keep moving forward up the path of life and climb that cliff up to death. This image of Longfellow’s is not all that positive and optimistic; it actually implies a sense of fear, lost, and imminent death. With these two images locked up in our minds, it is hard to say which one has the more negative or more positive outlook of death. It is just my opinion that they are both pessimistic and negative towards death.
Everyone did a great job staying on the prompt and analyzing what the similarities and differences between the two poems are. We have quite a list, but it would be best if we can add to the list, or go further in depth about one of these topics. If anyone has any sort of epiphany on their hands, or just has something they want to add, please share it with us.
The test of AP Literature was failed by many, was succeeded by some, but was mastered by a few. Those few who did asked me to tell you to follow these three important things: study hard, listen to Mr. Domingo, and live Huminationed!!!
I agree with the preceding interpretations and ideas, especially with Monique's idea that the speaker in “When I Have Fears” is closer to death than in “Mezzo Cammin”. In “When I Have Fears” the speakers refers to, as Kevin mentioned, “Before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain”. This can bring up the thought that maybe the author has health problems, preventing him from finishing the work he set out to accomplish. While in “Mezzo Cammin” the speaker can see death in the distance, an inevitable force, but he is described as being only halfway there. Continuing on Rachel’s idea, another difference in the poems I noticed was that the speaker in “Fears” mentions how he regrets not taking the chances of love that he was given, but now sees how love and fame don’t matter now, as if he’s at the end of his life. While in “Mezzo Cammin” the speaker only speaks of his ambitions and how he couldn’t complete them while he was in his youth, still giving the possibility that he might have time to complete them. This demonstrates how the two people are in different stages of their life, one reflecting on their life as a whole and the other only on the loss of time.
I also agree with Eric’s interpretation on how the two poems both illustrate a negative tone, but however I do think that “Mezzo Cammin” displays a sort of hopeful vibe. Keat’s life is described in “When I Have Fears” as full of misfortunes and setbacks, reflecting a powerful sense of melancholy. Although Keat’s did express a love and appreciation for the beauty in his life, such as the “fair creature of an hour” and his “faery power of unreflecting love” that I’m guessing was his past relationship. However, in the end of the poem he is left reflecting on his death and not being able to express his potential thoughts, showing perhaps how short his life will have been. This leaves me with a negative feeling, that he didn’t have enough time and he resents it. In “Mezzo Cammin” the speaker expresses a common tone of regret that he couldn’t accomplish his goals when he was in a state of some kind of self-pity in the past. His regret is portrayed in the thought that he would die an unfulfilled life, death being emphasized as a concern. Though the poem is not entirely deprived of hope, it has a sort of listless or spiritless quality, expressing how full of passion he was in youth, but now growing old he sees inevitability in death and loses ambition. However the big idea of Longfellow’s poem is that though he realizes that he is dying, he realizes that he is in the middle, between his past and death, and he realizes the need to change and to fulfill his long-term goals.
I am curious on what everyone thinks the theme of these two poems are? I was thinking that the theme of "When I Have Fears" is that perhaps 'death conquers all' or as Mr Olsen would say 'In the end nothing matters'. Then in "Mezzo Cammin" I think the theme is that 'death brings realization' or something along that line. I've never been good finding the theme or central idea of a poem. Ideas?
Hannah Drees Period 2 In response to Eric's analysis of the tones, I was also thinking that as well. I have talked to a few people who have thought that one poem was more positive than another but I do not see that either. In "When I Have Fears" there is kind of an almost depressing tone throughout the poem. When the speaker refers to the "huge cloudy symbols of a high romance"(line6) it gives off an almost gloomy-like tone. This line I can also briefly respond to Jacquelyne when talking about love. My interpretation was that when the speaker talks about "a high romance" I took it as an unreachable romance, either literal or symbolic. Also adding to the fact that the speaker hasn't reached the things he has wanted to accomplished before he dies which is also a worry of the speaker in "Mezzo Cammin". There is definitely a tone of regret as shown in line 1-3 of "Mezzo Cammin" where it says, "Half of my life is gone, and I have let/The years slip from me and have not fulfilled/The aspiration of my youth..." The speaker's attitude toward death is regretful because, similar to "When I Have Fears", he hasn't accomplished all that he wants to. I interpreted it as though he still wants to live through his childhood and he's not ready for the change into death quite yet. In "When I Have Fears", at the end I understood that there was an acceptance that he was going to die and that he didn't care (what Rachel said). However, in "Mezzo Cammin" I did not get the same understanding. Toward the end of that poem there was still more of a feeling that he was not ready and he was almost trying to avoid death if he could. But again that is from my interpretation.
Oh, my big question is from "when I Have Fears" when it says, "Never have relish in the faery power/Of unreflecting love;"(lines 11&12). I looked up what "faery" meant but all I got was like a "fairy". So if that is what it means,then I took it as the speaker never got to experience or take pleasure in the enchanting power of love. I do not know if that is the right interpretation for that so if anyone has any thoughts on that it would be a lot of help.
I agree with Hannah Drees and Eric Hum in that both poems convey a negative and regretful tone. Both talk about how the speaker’s lives have passed before them quickly and that they aren’t ready to die. One thing that I did interpret differently is the ending of "When I Have Fears" (lines 12-14). It seemed to me that the speaker was trying to say that if he continued to think about death and worry about the idea of never accomplishing his goals, then the rest of his life wouldn’t matter. If he continued to worry that he would never find love, and never finish writing books, then the life that he had left would be nothing and a waste of time. “On the shore of the wide world,” he would stand alone. If anyone else has an idea on what the ending of “When I have Fears” could mean, please post.
To answer Hannah Drees’ question about lines 11 and 12, I think that the speaker used the words, “faery power” to show that the love he felt could be magical or unrealistic and out-of-this world. I also believe that the speaker is trying to say that he’s worried that he will die before he experiences love.
Both poems seem to have similar themes. For “When I have Fears,” I think the theme could be that when people think too much about their past and continuously worry that they are going to die, they don’t realize that they are wasting the time that they do have left. I came up with this from my interpretation of the last three stanzas that I wrote in the first paragraph above. For “Mezzo Cammin,” I believe that the theme is that people need to make use of their lives and make sure that when they look back on it, they won’t regret any of it. I came up with this because throughout the poem, the speaker is recalling his past and saying that that he hasn’t accomplished all of his aspirations. The author writes, “Half of my life is gone, and I have let/the years slip from me and I have not fulfilled/the aspirations of my youth.” This seems to give a very regretful and sad tone because the speaker has not done everything he has wanted to.
I agree with Florencia's theme for "Mezzo Cammin," and came up with the similar theme that people need to take advantage of every moment or else a future of regret and doubt is inevitable. The speaker is looking back on his life as "half gone," as opposed to half-lived (using the same idea as seeing a glass of water as half empty versus half full). I felt this showed the speaker's regret ever since he "let the years slip."
However, I disagree on one of her Florencia's earlier opinions regarding "When I Have Fears," that if the speaker continued to dwell on the thought of not finding love, the rest of his life would be nothing and a waste of time. Lines 9-14 make me think that if he were to cease to thinking about a love interest, and "never look upon thee more," then that is when he would "stand alone" and "think till love and fame to nothingness to sink." This would be supported by Florencia's first interpretation of "faery power" as unrealistic and out of this world. If the speaker were to view thinking about his love as a negative thing, I do not think he would describe her in such admiration.
I am unsure about the interpretation of lines 11-12 of "Mezzo Cammin." A fellow classmate saw the "smoking roofs" as a sign of not being able to live the fire inside of him. On the other hand, I saw it as an image of unclarity, along with the "gleaming lights" that may be blinding as you look back at them. The author looked down on the hill of the Past as faint and unclear, something that hurt to look back on. Any other suggestions as to what these lines mean?
I agree with Andrea, I also came up with the theme that every moment in life needs to be taken advantage of before you may regret it. But I do believe that the speaker in "Mezzo Cammin," has come to more of a realization with his past and now understands what is coming next in his life. The speaker may know that they have not completed the aspirations of his youth, but he also knows that there was something that held him back from accomplishment, which is seen in lines 3-7. While the speaker in “When I Have Fears," doesn't seem to have come to terms with the idea of death and is still just thinking of it and that is why the speaker has "fears that I may cease to be".
I also agree with Andrea’s interpretations of lines 9-14 in “When I have Fears,” that once the speaker lets go of his love that he will be able to look back and reflect on what has happened until his love is gone. But I do believe that lines 11-12 may be interpreted as something else, because after looking it up when you “relish” something it’s of a pleasing or enjoyable quality. So the speaker is saying never enjoy the imaginable power of false love, so possibly the speaker realizes that something in his past has gone wrong and now he is left “on the shore of the wide world,” to “stand alone, and think.”
In the poem “Mezzo Cammin” I am not sure that I completely understand what the speaker means when he says “Some tower of song with lofty parapet,” what is the tower of song supposed to symbolize in this poem. I interpreted it as building up his life and accomplishing his goals but I would like to know what other people might have interpreted this as.
I agree with the comments above. My interpretation of "When I Have Fears" is more dark and takes a more of a death coming closer than life going away. In lines 3-4 I interpreted that His literary works have succeeded with fame.I got that the theme of "When I Have Fears" is that fame is less important than love at the time of death. To my interpretation lines 6-7 mean that a good romance was always overshadowed by other elements of life and that he will never trace a good romance. I connected this poem with the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 18th century. Due to the invention of the printing press by Johanes Guttenberg, John Keats was able to produce some of his best works and achieve fame. He was also known as the last born English Romantic poet.
In Mezzo Cammin I interpreted that the theme of the poem was that look at forward in life. Henry Wadsoworth looks at life from a glass half full perspective. The poem is more straight forward than When I Have Fears. Although it is straight forward there is still literary devices used. Personally I did not understand line 5. Was Henry a musician?
I agree with most of the posts on here, that both of the poems express the regrets that the speakers have in their life and that they both fear their approaching death.
To answer Jennisha's question, Longfellow suffered several tragedies in his life that might have affected his point of view in the poem. Longfellow's first wife suffered from a miscarriage and died a few weeks later. I believe this experience gives you background on what he meant in lines 7-8 in Mezzo Cammin when he said, "But sorrow and a care that almost killed/Kept me from what I may accomplish yet;"
Did anyone get a possible connection to the allusion of a 'city on a hill' in lines 9-12? I interpreted these lines as saying that in the past, he wanted to be a role model or have a lasting influence on others, but that it's no longer possible.
Another possible interpretation to lines 9-12, particularly in line 12, is that Longfellow could possibly be referring to his family. Smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights remind me of a family or community. Since Longfellow lost his wife in a miscarriage, I thought that he was saying that a family is not possible for him anymore, that it's in the past.
In response to Sabrina's interpretation, I think her analysis is sound and connects the historical past of the poet to the poem's content.
To add to Sabrina's interpretation, not only could the city represent his family or community, but also anyone he could have met in his life. At birth, my interpretation would be that the city would have started off as a small town that developed and grew as the speaker's life progressed. In line 12 when then reader describes the city ("smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights"), it gives a sense of familiarity since it appears that this city (past) was all that the speaker has ever known.
When twilight falls apon the city, this represents a transition in the speaker's life which they already have pointed out in line 1. They have reached a point in their life when they realize that they will have to leave behind all that they have known sooner than expected.
Does anyone agree or care to elaborate their interpretation on this subject?
I also agree to Sabrina's interpretation. "Smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights" can be referred to a community he previously lived in in the past. Monique's interpretation makes sense as well, pointing out the shift in time.
I would also like to mention that in lines 10-11, it mentions, "Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights/A city in the twilight dim and vast". Dim means weak light, and the lines mention the city being dim, yet vast. A possible interpretation is that he hasn't experienced many things in his young life, in his childhood. Another interpretation of the city being dim could mean that the speaker is just about to die, with the speaker's last sight being a small fragment of his past.
Any agreements or different interpretations on this?
Rennel, I like the first interpretation you added. "A city in the twilight dim and vast" is most likely used to demonstrate a lack of experiences in his life; that the "City" represents his life and since it is not illuminated, he must not feel he has fulfilled his aspirations.
Perhaps another perspective on the excerpt would be to think of the city as simply used for the imagery. In this way the speaker creates his depressed tone.
Since people had expressed such an interest during class as to how John Keats died, with the intent to link the fact to his depressing poetry, I decided to research it. The result is that yes, the poet WAS terminally ill, but not with cancer.
John Keats died of Tuberculosis and severe lung haemorrhage's. This was not, however, what must have caused the depression in his poetry because he did not begin to experience symptoms identifiable as tuberculosis until about 1820. He most likely caught the disease from his sick brother ,who John had attempted to nurse back to health. John's brother, Tom, died December 1st 1818. This fact, compounded with the death of many others in the Keats family from such a horrible and contagious disease as Tuberculosis is a more likely cause of the mood evidenced by his poetry.
I tried to write it in as clear a way as possible, so I hope this helps anyone out there that was wondering the motivation for John Keats's poetry.
Thank you for the information on Keats' death. In response to your other post, I agree with your interpretation on the city, Davin.
The city could create a depressed tone, and then there's the line that says "With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights". It describes the city as something good, but it adds to the sad tone due to the fact that he won't be able to see it ever again.
I agree with Ms. McClain’s thoughts about the different sonnets. The poem “Mezzo Cammin” is an Italian sonnet because the set of end rhymes changes as well as a change in the subject matter or idea. The first eight lines of the poem are pessimistic and reflective meanwhile the last six lines are optimistic and hopeful. The poem “When I Have Fears” is an English sonnet because the first twelve lines are expressing the internal conflict that Keats will not be able to accomplish his dreams, finish his artistic career, have a love, and notoriety. The last two lines resolve his internal conflicts by depreciating the importance of his biggest goals; he is grasping the failure of his life's greatest ambitions. I interpreted the last two lines as “I will leave the world alone and without possesions either way, why does having it all really matter?”
“Mezzo Cammin" and “When I Have Fears” contrast yet balance each other by giving us insight and alternative ideas of death and the period of time before it. One is optimistic and hopeful, the other remorseful, reflective, and full of doubt. Its seems as if John Keats feels his work is inadequate and is saying that we put so much into our lives only to leave with nothing. Henry Longfellow seems to be saying that life provides us time for achievement and fulfillment and that we should take advantage of the time we have. Longfellow is reflecting on his own life, his short-comings before death and how he still has time in his life to change and accomplish things.
The two poems focus on the coming of death and productivity as artists. Both Keats and Longfellow are worried about producing as much as they can to feel satisfaction and closure when they die. However, I feel that an artist’s work is never done. Even after death the artist is inspiring others to create something. The artist is still producing but through another creative soul.
Drawing from the idea that Monique pointed out regarding the two different forms of sonnet, and as Julia was saying, I feel that the format of "Mezzo Cammin’" abides by the standards of the Italian sonnet. As they had both aforementioned, the first eight lines present the issue which is then resolved/concluded in the last six lines. While we can agree that the first eight lines of "Mezzo Cammin’" emphasize a very dismal and hopeless mindset, I feel that as a whole, this poem takes on the more positive overtone—even if it is only a subtle one. If you examine the shift that occurs in Line 9 of the poem ("Though, half way up the hill, I see the Past"), I viewed the word "though" as a keyword, synonymous to words such as "in spite of" or "nevertheless", etc. The relevance of the "though" being there, then, suggests that even as the speaker remorsefully expresses his inability to accomplish his many aspirations, when he reflects upon the past it seems that his trials weren’t completely futile. As Rennel suggested, perhaps the city is something good. This was the impression the poet’s diction suggested to me—when he uses words like "soft" and "gleaming" one notices the stark contrast with the preceding somber diction. To address the smoking roofs" portion, I viewed this as some kind of productivity—which is supported by the idea in Line 5 stating that it "was not indolence" that kept him from his goals. Perhaps he did not fulfill these lofty and high ambitions he aspired to accomplish, but I feel that he is trying to convey the idea that somewhere along the way, he attempted to do what he possibly could. Just as many of us might not have a chance in our lifetime to accomplish our abundant ideals—by some hindrance or another—I think that the poet is suggesting that his efforts weren’t completely in vain. As much as he is distraught by what he hasn’t accomplished, he realizes by the end of this poem that there is still room for change.
The cataract of Death is something the speaker acknowledges as he makes his way over the hill; it is thundering and making itself known, as if it were a reminder. It’s a reminder of his mortality. As he grows older, this reminder is greater amplified—however, this speaker is not necessarily on the brink of his last days, being just halfway through his life. I feel that the poem takes on the more positive (for lack of a better word) connotation in the sense that the speaker’s "reality check" (acknowledging the proximity of death) might expedite his striving for his ambitions, in hopes of achieving them before that time is gone. As Julia suggested, I feel that it contrasts deeply with Keats' poem, as the speaker of "When I Have Fears" allowed his former ideals and hopes to become subject to apathy in the end.
I agree with Briana when she says that although both poems are dealing with death, the speaker in "Mezzo Cammin" seems to have accepted that he is slowly getting closer and closer to death. Longfellow writes "[I] hear above me on the autumnal blast / The cataract of Death far thunderung from the heights." These lines convey a sense of awareness and acceptance; although the speaker has not yet reached his death, he hears it thundering from afar and knows that he cannot avoid it. This does not mean that he wants to die or is necessarily ready to die, he just knows that it is coming no matter what.
Another point that I found interesting was the way Longfellow compared the journey of life to climbing up a hill. Not only does climbing a hill symbolize and difficult upward journey, it also indicates that there is something waiting at the top. In the case of this poem, the thing waiting at the top of the hill for the speaker is death. Although the speaker realizes that sooner or later he must make it to the top, he dwells at the half-way point and looks backs toward the events of his past. In the poem, the speaker is stuck at a point between life and death. Although the speaker feels that he has not fully lived yet, he also has not died yet either. He often refers back to the idea of being at a half-way point between two extremes. . The title of the poem roughly translates into "middle of the walk." The author also uses the words "twilight" and "autumnal." Twilight can be defined as an "intermediate state that is not clearly defined." Autumnal, interestingly, has two definitions that both add to the meaning of the poem. One definition is "the season between summer and winter." Once again, a reference to a half-way point. Or, as Jeremy mentioned, another definition is "a period of maturity or decline." This indicates that the speaker senses that he is maturing and he life is beginning to decline.
I also agree with Julia when she wrote that the two poems provide us with contrasting views on life and death. Although both speakers feels death looming towards them, the speaker of "Mezzo Cammin" seems to feel that he can still achieve something meaningful before his death, while the speaker of "When I Have Fears" seems to feel that with death looming closer, he cannot do anything but dwell on it until "love and fame to nothingness do sink," meaning that things that were once considered important are now rendered meaningless.
Does anyone else have other thoughts on the use of imagery and diction in the two poems?
Angeleen, I agree on your point that the poet's realization that there is room for change. Lines 7-8 of Mezzo Camin also supports that. " "But sorrow, and a care that almost killed,/Kept me from what I may accomplish yet". Take note that in line 7 that it says it says the word almost. It shows that his efforts almost died, but a bit of it is still there, meaning there is a small chance of him to fulfill his efforts.
The cataract of Death could be a reminder of his mortality. Although the speaker is halfway through his life, the line before the cataract says "And hear above me on the autumnal blast". The autumn can refer to death, meaning the poet is at his last moments of life.
Going back to Eric's, Hannah's, and Florencia's comments about the tone of the poems, I am kind of leaning more towards Hannah's analysis. Even though both of the poems' tone sound negative and regretful on the surface, I sense more of a reflective, even positive tone, on Mezzo Cammin. "Half of my life is gone, and I have let/The years slip from me and have not fulfilled/The aspiration of my youth..." The speaker realizes that his life is NOT ALMOST over, but that he just reached the midpoint of it, and he still has not reached all of his goals. Now he stops and sees his past. By using words like "soft bells" and "gleaming lights" we can infer that his past was mellow and enjoyable. Although he shifted into saying "cataract of Death far thundering" and it gives the feeling of uneasiness, he is really saying that death is still far from him. If his past was a long time ago, his death is also a long way to go, since he's just in the middle of the journey. He looks and stops at the present and realizes that he is willing to do his best until death comes. In contrast to "When I Have Fears" by John Keats, I feel like he is portraying a hopeless and negative attitude about death. But I'm just throwing this out here since I feel like everyone is indecisive about the tone of the poems. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
"Of the wide world I stand alone, and think/ Till love and fame to nothingness do sink." I was very puzzled by these two lines. Is Keats trying to say that love and fame doesn't matter to him in the end? Does anyone have any insights on this?
I agree with Kristina and Andrea about Mezzo Cammin’s theme. The poem is emphasizing the great importance of one’s period of youth. The author wants us to realize that every moment in life should be lived to its best potential. In the poem, the narrator regrets his actions in the past because he/she was not able to fulfill his aspirations.
In the previous posts there seemed to be confusion in lines 11-12. I also found this part of the passage confusing. Through this part of the poem, “Though, half way up the hill, I see the Past/ Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights,/ A city in the twilight dim and vast,” I interpreted that the narrator’s regretted past was located at a city. In the following lines about, “smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights,” I interpreted them as symbols of distractions that prevented the narrator from accomplishing his/her aspirations.
In the poem “When I have Fears” the narrator mentions his thoughts on love. I disagree where Jennisha says his attitude towards love shift from hopeful to regretful. The narrator says, “When I behold, upon the night’s starr’d face,/ Huge cloudy symbols of high romance, And think that I may never live to trace.“ Through this part of the poem, I interpreted, that the narrator had a depressing tone towards love. The author describes romance as huge cloudy symbols, where cloudy could refer to feelings of hesitation or confusion. I interpreted the last part of the line as the narrator’s fear that he may never be able to experience true love.
I also had a question on the poem, “When I have Fears.” I was confused on whether the narrator was talking about his past or whether he was simply trapped in his own thoughts. Many of the posts say that the narrator experienced the a conflict of love in the past but in the following lines, “And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,/ That I shall never look upon thee more,” The author uses the “when I feel” and “I shall,” which suggest that the author hasn’t gone through these phases of love. I think the author is saying he wants to go through these phases of life and experience love and fame and then sink to nothingness. To tie it back to the title, I think the author’s fear is not being able to experience these phases in his life. I’m still rather confused on the author’s true meaning of his poem. Does anybody have any other suggestions?
After reading your view on the cataract of death, Pauline, I agree. Death is far. This also supports Angeleen's viewpoint of the poet having a chance for change.
"Of the wide world I stand alone, and think/ Till love and fame to nothingness do sink."
My insight on this is that love and fame do not last forever. They do not matter, since they sink to nothing in the end. He reflects upon himself and realizes that those things are temporary and will not be with him at the end of life. Love and fame do not last forever. Nothing does. You can take nothing with you when you die.
Although I am possibly the last to post, I agree with the majority of my peers on their interpretations on both prompts.
Fisrt off, i agree on the fact that both "When I Have Fears" and "Mezzo Cammin" speak about fears of death ,and the regrets that they will have. Like Eric Hum said, it does seem that in both of the poems, both authors wanted to accomplish a goal of writing a lot of work that they were proud of to create a great collection of their literature.Another similarity that I saw while reading both poems was the tone. I see that both of the poems have a depressing tone tothem. Although, I DO see the shift from a negative to a positive tone in "Mezzo Cammin". The way I think all of us can interpret the change in the tone is that Longfellow's speaker is saying that he has regrets in his first half in life, but he can make up for that change in the second half of his life. Is that what you guys got from that?
I noticed that most of the posts agreed with with what I was thinking for an interpretation for "When I Have Fears". In the poem, I read "Unreflectiing Love" which I analyzed as he gave love to someone but he did not receive love back or visa versa. So, agreeing with Ryan Cuizon, the speaker of this poem did not know if he can do something about loving that person or thing (line 6- line 8). Furthermore, I do agree with Rachel Sather on when she said that in the end the speaker says in line 13- 14,"... i stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness I sink", that this means althought he might have not had love or fame, it still will not affect him because when he dies, he will be alone.
Now, for my interpretations on "Mezzo Cammin" is that he expresses that he has regrets of what he has not accomplished in the past, and is worried that he might not be able to accomplish those goals and dreams before his death.
The distinctions between Keats' poem and Longfellow's poem is that in "When I have Fears" the speaker is scared of death and thinking about before he is going to die, what he regrets or has not accomplished, but in "Mezzo Cammin" the speaker is starting to sense the feeling of death is beginning to loom up on him.
well those are my interpretations, any one have anything else?
In respond to Unzi's thoughts, I believe that "When I Have Fears" is about Keats' view of his life. The poem is divided into 3 different thoughts due to the end-stopped lines. In the first quatrain I think that Keats is referring to him being a poet, "Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,/ Before high-piled books, in charactery," I think that he "fears" that he will not grow as a poet. In the second quatrain, "Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, And think that I may never live to trace," Keats is stating that because time is running out, he wont be able to use what the world offers in his poetry. As for the third quatrain, it's about love. "fair creature of an hour," refers to a love affair that only lasted for awhile when he put all his effort into it but got nothing in return, "Of unreflecting love". At the end, Keats has come to a realization that in the end he will be alone and that "Till love and fame to nothingness do sink." love and fame (Keats as a poet) did not matter.
This is what i came up with after today's lecture about ryhmes and pauses.
In Keats' poem, the speaker is thinking about his lost fame and love that he had experienced. He believes that he has more to offer to the world. With lines 4-8, the speaker is more talking about his literature work. Romance can actually mean some fascinating appeal. The speaker is more reflecting about how he'll miss the beauty of nature, because the speaker uses nature to draw inspiration for his work. The "magic hand" can refer to his writing, since we use our hands to write literature. The "never live to trace/ Their shadows" refers to never having the chance to reach for his aspirations. The speaker is more concerned about his work of literature than he is about love. On lines 9-12, the quatrain was shortened up so that it was only 3 1/2 lines. Love is short lived, as he mentioned in "fair creature of an hour." He will never have the chance to experience love. Lines 13-14, it is very negative. The speaker feels as if he is alone despite the wide world that he has yet to see. The speaker seems to just think about love and fame, until he couldn't think anymore, "to nothingness". This poem has a very negative tone to death and the lost hopes that he had for life. The theme, is that death can occur very quickly, Keats was 26 when he died, and people should try to accomplish their aspirations before they die. He lived shortly, so he did not have the chance to live long and accomplish all his goals. The reader will have that chance to live a long time, so the audience should try to appreciate love and life goals. We have the chance to accomplish these goals that we set as a young child. He didn't.
Keats' poem influenced the making of Longfellow's poem. The speaker regrets the lost time and chances for achieving his goals that he had set as a youth. This is negative towards life in this first octave. However, as almost everyone mentioned, there is a shift to a more positive tone in the sestet. Although he hears the cataract of death, he realises that since he's only halfway through his life, he still has chances to accomplish his childhood dreams. Longfellow wrote his poem after Keats did. There is a large chance that Longfellow read Keats' poem. Longfellow intended to create a poem in response to Keats' poem. Longfellow might have responded to Keats' poem by creating a more optimistic second half of poem and of his life. He mentions that the city is "vast". Keats died very young, so in metaphorical comparison, Keats' city was smaller with a lot fewer experiences. Longfellow actually did have a chance to love. He did have a wife, and Longfellow had a chance to experience true, non-unreflecting love. Longfellow points out many of his better chances of life and goals in his poem. Though he regrets not having done much in the first half of his life, Longfellow reflected back on Keats' life and realised that Keats died when he was 26, while Longfellow is 35. Longfellow finaly reached an epiphany about his life and admits that he must appreciate the coming long life and go set out to do all the goals. The tone is negative in the beginning, but he shifts to a positive attitude. The theme would probably be similar to that of Keats' poem. Life lasts a temporary amount of time, and it would be best if people appreciate what they have in life and appreciate just being alive. In the short amount of time that we're going to live, we should go out there and live our aspirations and goals.
I just found out that there was a maximum, so I had to shorten my response a whole lot, and I mean a lot. However, a followup is I was refering to all of your responses and trying to create one mesh of an idea. This idea is very radical, so I doubt it's right. However, I doubt if anyone will stay up this late, so here goes...
The test of Ap literature was failed by many, was succeeded by some, but was mastered by a few. Those few who did asked me to tell you to follow these three important things: study hard, listen to Mr. Domingo, and lived Huminationed!!!
Well, many of you have had really good analysis on these two poems, and i agree with many of you.
First of all,the author of " When i Have Fears", John Keats wrote this poem because he was forshadowing a death. His past family had past away from Tuberculosis, and he knew he would soon die. My hypothesis is that he composed this poem as a way to let out what he felt at the time, knowing he was going to die soon and being a bit sad not finding love or being as accomplished as he wished. The general setting is on the sad side the reflection on death and his preoccupation of not being able to fully show his poetical gifts, seem to be a sort of prediction of how short his life will be. However, at the end of the poem, it says "Till love and fame to nothingness do sink", so does this mean that it doesnt mean much to him? or that at the end of the day, those things won't matter?
I feel like this poem has a bit of a regretful and sad tone, while "Mezzo Cammin" begins with a negative tone and then goes to a hopefull tone. In the beginning, it says "The years slip from me and have not fulfilled" (2). This shows a reretful tone, similar to "When I have Fears", showing that he has not truly accomplished what he wishes he has. Furthermore, in the ending, "Though, half way up the hill, I see the Past" (9). This gives me a hopeful tone because although he's going up a hill which symbolically, is going up to heaven, he's looking at his past, and my interpretation was that when he looks upon his past he wants to move forward and think positive.
Did anyone else notice that both Past and Death were capitalized, making it personifications?
I agree with the previous posts made by Eric about the towers from the two poems also. However, I believe that both poems did have negative connotations toward death, but I feel like " Mezzo Cammin" has a more hopefull tone towards his life, but has a negative tone towards death itself.
Did anyone notice that in " When I Have Fears" in the shift towards love, the stanzas were short, making it short-timed. Is Keats implying that love does not last long?
Well, good job guys!! Everyone did a great job proving their interpretationd of these poems :)
Like everybody else, I agree with almost everything that people have posted. I totally agree with Eric when he describes the comparisons of the two poems. I do not agree, however, with Jennisha. I have reread the poems several times and each time I feel a melancholic mood. However, in "Mezzo Cammin" there is an acceptance tone at the end.
In Keats' poem, "When I Have Fears", the speaker is explaining how fears allows him/her to stop writing and think of life in general. "Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,/And think that I may never live to trace" describes that the speaker can see and feel love, but has not actually experienced it before and never will. "Of the wide world I stand alone, and think/Till love and fame to nothingness do sink." is another quote that explains that the speaker is alone in the world and because of this his/her fame and love turn to dust. (sorry about the pessimistic tone)
In "Mezzo Cammin", the speaker starts off with a reminiscent tone, but at the end the tone changes to an acceptance. "Though, half-way up the hill, I see the Past/Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights,-/A city in the twilight dim and vast/With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights,-" describes a place that sounds comforting. Although the speaker describes the past as a comfortable one, he/she realizes that he/she cannot go back to that area. They know that all they can do is move on and keep going up the hill. "The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights." describes that the speaker still has time to accomplish some dreams, but at the same time, the time that the speaker has left is still short enough that the speaker can hear death approaching.
What do you guys think Keats and Longfellow are trying to tell the reader and what type of literary devices do they use to help the reader understand this message?
Yeah, so this is what I got out of these poems. If anyone has other interpretations, please be courageous enough to post it up. It would really help everyone on the timed writes to know every point of view. Good Luck on the timed write guys.
In "When I Have Fears" the speaker is more concerned with what will not be accomplished before death, finding a love being one of those things. In reading "fair creature of an hour" I get the feeling that the speaker once had a love, though only lasting for a short period of time. As the poem continues it is as though since the speaker lost his/her love, the speaker now feels as though he/she will never find love again as supported by: "of unreflecting love...//I stand alone..."
"When I Have Fears" also creates a feeling of beign rushed as though the speaker must hurry to accomplish what he/she wants in live and must say what he/she feels needs to be said. "When I have fears that I may cease to be//Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,//Before high-piled books, in charactery..." suggests that the speaker has a lot going on in his/her brain and feels as though he/she will be unable to get everything out before the time of death.
"Mezzo Cammin" has more of a regretful tone as the speaker looks back on his/her life and is unsatisfied with the way it has been lived.
I am still unsure of the meaning of "Some tower of song with lofty parapet" though I think the speaker is refering to what he wishes has become of his younger years and instead he has nothing to show for it but regret and age.
The hill mentioned in "Mezzo Cammin" is a metaphor for the speakers life, with the top of the hill being the end of the speaker's life, and the speaker is looking down upon a city of "sounds and sights" and sees things he/she regrets not taking part in at his/her prime. Also, It seems as though the speaker had someone holding him/her back from living out his/her youth with out regret as though he/she were focused on a relationship of some kind rather than the enjoyment of being young.
In "When I Have Fears" the speaker is afraid to die, is dreading death as he/she is unfulfilled with life so far, however the speaker in "Mezzo Cammin" seems to wish he/she had done things differently yet is more accepting that death is coming.
There are two different fears that Keats is expressing in "When I Have Fears" and Longfellow in "Mezzo Cammin". Keats is describing how he fears how he may never wittness the prime of his life, in regards to finding love. Keats stated in the third quatrain, "Never have relish in the faery power/ of unreflecting love; (ln. 11-12)". He is expressing how one-sided love has affected him, and how he hopes to find love in his future, and as stated earlier, fears that he may not. The fear Longfellow expresses in "Mezzo Cammin" is fear of death nearing him, for he is approaching the second half of his life. When Longfellow stated "Though half-way up the hill, I see the Past/ Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights/... And hear above me on the autumnal blast/ The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights (ln. 9-14)", he articulates how he is at the crossroads of his life, between youth and age, between memories of the past and death awaiting ahead, which he greatly fears. Also, Longfellow captializes "Death", making it into a proper noun.
Though both poems portray negative tones, "Mezzo Cammin" gives off more of a negative tone. In "When I Have Fears", Keats expresses uncertainty of finding love. On the other hand, "Mezzo Cammin" portrays more fear and negativity. Longfellow describes his past as "dim", "vast", and "gleaming lights" while his future is foretold in clarity as "The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights (ln. 14)". The focalpoint of Longfellow is death approaching him, not the past memories he cherished or the memories yet to be wittnessed.
In “When I Have Fears”, the speaker describes his fear of premature death. In the first quatrain the speaker claims that his mind is still over filling with ideas that he has yet to express through his works of poetry. In the second quatrian the speaker describes how death will prevent him from writing about the beauties of nature. Keats uses images like “the night’s starr’d face” and “huge cloudy symbols” to describe his love for writing about nature and allow us to see nature the way he saw it. Keats also explains how death would prevent him from love, by focusing attention on one person that he seems to have loved in the last quatrain.
One small thing I disagree with everyone is the interpretation of line 6 which reads “Huge cloudy symbols of high romance.” In my opinion the “high romance” isn’t referring to the love between two people, but to Keat’s affection for writing about nature.
Like what Eric said, it seems like Keats poem heavily influenced Longfellow’s poem because both writers express their feelings as they approach their death. Although, like stated in many other previous posts, Longfellow seems to add a sense of regret. This effect is added because Longfellow describes how “sorrow” prevented him from accomplishing his childhood goal.
In response to Kristina: In my class, there were also many different interpretations of Longfellow’s goal in line 4 of “Mezzo Cammin”. In my opinion, “song” refers to poetry, so “tower of song” refers to a massive collection of poetic works written by Longfellow himself. Although, the phrase “lofty parapet” suggests that his goal is set high and hard to reach. The phrase also led me to believe that Longfellow wants to do something never been done before and will never again be achieved.
I think that Eric Hum made a very important point in his first post because in my class, there were also a few arguments claiming that Keat’s “When I Have Fears” conveyed a more positive tone. Although, after reading the poem thoroughly I have come to the conclusion that the speaker gives a negative tone throughout the whole poem by describing his fear of premature death. The author, Keats, claims that death would prevent him from expressing the endless ideas he has not yet unleash. In lines 8-12 Keats describes the loss of love, adding more to the negative atmosphere of the poem. The only slightly positive reference between both of the poems was the ending couplet to “When I Have Fears”. Like Ana, I believe that he has come to accept his faith by realizing that as he dies, the love and fame will disappear anyways.
Also, there was one more thing that caught my attention in the first poem. Did anybody else notice that unlike Longfellow, Keats never actually used the word “death”. He replaces the word “die” by phrases such as “cease to be”, highlighting even more his terror of death.
The last thing Dino pointed out about Keats' diction interested me, i think this further enunciates the idea that this poems mood is primarily negative revolving around his fear of dying young and not satisfying himself as a writer. Although in the last two lines he writes on how he thinks that love and fame are not important("Till love and Fame do nothingness do sink"). Also, I noticed that this poem is a shakespearean sonnet with a rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG.
Also, unlike Sebastian's post, I interpreted "Mezzo Cammin" as a more positive poem than Keats'. Line 9 and below Longfellow has realized he is half way through his journey and he looks back at the past, noticing it was not so bad, using words like, "soft bells" and "gleaming lights". He then looks into the future and sees death, he knows its coming but he also knows its far away and he still has things to accomplish. This shows he is beginning to find hope after his sorrow and "care that almost killed" in which he may be referring to his wife, Mary Storer Potter who had a miscarriage and died a few weeks after. This was also a reason for the negative mood in the first part of this poem.
Unlike Sebastian Navarro's post that the fears expressed in both poems are different, I believe that they are similar. In "When i Have Fears," the speaker states "I have fears that i may cease to be before my pen has gleamed my teeming brain"(lines 1-2) and "I may never live to trace their shadows with the magic hand of chance"(lines 7-8) clearly showing he is afraid of reaching the end of his life before he really gets to his aspirations. In "Mezzo Cammin," the speaker states "half of my life is gone, and i have let the years slip from me and not fufilled"(lines 1-2) also showing that he sees death as the wall that will halt any other goals he wishes to achieve.
What makes the each poem's impact different, however, is the stance the speaker takes on his conflict. In "When i Have Fears" the speaker's attitude is much more sullen and timid. I interpreted his statements such as "when i behold, upon the night's starred face"(line 5) and "I shall never look upon thee more"(line 10) as reflections of the speaker's inner character. It shows that instead of taking action, he would rather watch from a distance and once that would not suffice, he would simply turn his back and curse death for the abrupt endings it brings. I believe this results in a more blunt, and as Shane Cho said,"a melancholic," outlook on death. On the other hand, the speaker in Mezzo Cammin" shows an attitude of failure. The speaker describes his past and his youthful aspirations as never met because of himself. He stated he was the cause of the failing "but sorrow, and a care that almost killed kept me from what i may accomplish"(lines 7-8). What makes this speaker different from the other is that he not only is accepting, but is still confident in being able to complete something else in his life. This is because he does state he is "half way up the hill"(line 9) but says there is an "autumnal blast"(line 13) above him. With Fall comes death, but in death, some plants release their seeds laying down the groundwork for new life. With this in mind, the speaker's statement has some symbolism that his last trek before death may still contain some surprises.
Rachel Sather
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I guess I'll start things off....
So obviously both of these poems have an underlying sense of fear in the face of age, due to a fear of dying before they are able to fulfill everything they have set out to do in their lifetime. However, what I think contrasted the two poems was that in "When I Have Fears," by the end of the poem, the author has realized that the loss, or perhaps complete absence of love and fame in his lifetime does not truly matter, looking back. However, in "Mezzo Cammin," the author evokes strong feelings of regret for all that was not accomplished in his past, as he feels himself moving closer and closer to death.
Thoughts?
Briana Amos
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I completely agree with Rachel Sather. In "When I Have Fears," the poem expresses the fear of not just dying, but of never experiencing life again. The speaker feels love for this world that, he or she, is leaving behind because of death. "Mezzo Cammin" I felt was very different in the fact that they were almost excepting their fate of dying. As if death was something that was inevitable, just waiting for it to happen.
But of course, I could be completely wrong.
I'm not the best analyzer.
Anyone else?
Ryan Cuizon
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I agree with you Briana. Throughout each of the poems they both express an underlying message of an inevitable death. But in "Mezzo Cammin" I also came to believe that the speaker feels he still has a chance to change. In line 13 the speaker hears "autumnal blasts" which I think has to do with change because autumn is a season of change. Also along with what Rachel said about "When I Have Fears," the speaker believes that in the end love and fame do not truly matter because in the end you will be alone. I also came to believe that he may have loved someone at one point but never got the chance to do something about it. In line 6 it says "Huge cloudy symbols of high romance," may mean he was unsure if he should do something about his affection for that person. And finally, I believe what contrasted these 2 poems was that the poem "When I have fears" is what he is thinking before he is going to die and "Mezzo Camminn" is the speaker sensing death creeping on him because he is half way through his life.
This is just my interpretation
What else did you guys come up with?
Victor Chavez
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When Ryan mentions the "autumnal blasts" in Longfellow's poem I not only interpreted as he had, but also connected it to Keat's constant reference to "rich garners" and "full ripen'd grain" (line 4). I made this connection because grain is usually harvested in autumn. Another common attitude is brought up by Briana in that both poems are about death and what the speakers' life has been like. Keat's speaker is afraid of what he has not managed to do in his life and Longfellow's poem is almost like a reflection of the speaker's life.
Anything you want to add?
Monique McClain
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For the most part, I can agree with Rachel, Brianna, Ryan, and Victor on their conclusions about 'When I have Fears' and 'Mezzo Cammin'. The speaker in 'When I have Fears' seems closer to the end of their life compared to the speaker in 'Mezzo Cammin' who is only just starting to realize that death is closer than they thought.
On a different note, did anyone notice that 'When I have Fears' closely resembles a Shakespearean sonnet (I don't know for sure) and that 'Mezzo Cammin' resembles and Italian sonnet? I know that a Shakespearean sonnet divides thoughts into three quatrains and is concluded by a couplet compared to an Italian sonnet in which the first eight lines pose an issue that is resolved or concluded in the last six lines. My question is how does the structure of each poem influence the way the message is relayed to and interpreted by the reader?
Jeremy Miclat
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Monique's point about the structure of them both is interesting to look into. I was thinking that the English sonnet ("When I Have Fears") shows us that the speaker is unresolved on the topic of fulfilling his goals and desires. This also shows in how he finishes the poem by standing alone, thinking. On the contrary, the Italian sonnet ("Mezzo Cammin") gives us some sort of closure, which I interpreted as a decision to accomplish his aspirations albeit dim and hard to see how it would work out.
To add to the discussion on the word "autumnal," it could also mean "characteristic of late maturity verging on decline." I would think this as a sort of late realization of how much time the speaker has left.
My question to you all is if "romance" and "love"(mentioned in lines 6 and 12, respectively, of "When I Have Fears" are a literal love for someone, or a figurative one for the speaker's goals and aspirations. If the second, it would make a parallel to "Mezzo Cammin" and the speaker's "restless passions" (line 6).
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Corresponding to Jeremy's question about when love and romance is mentioned in "When I Have Fears", I have a hypothesis that the romance could be a literal love for someone, and a figurative one. A reason i think the speaker could possibly be talking about both is that in line 6 the words "cloudy symbols" particularly the word "cloudy" refers to uncertainty or ambiguousness. Also a symbol is something meant to represent another subject, though I am unclear of what that could mean.
I do have an interpretation of lines 2-4 in "When I Have Fears" that Jacquelyne requested, i have paraphrased it and came up with this:
Before my pen has written down the thoughts from my mind over flowing with ideas/Before the high- piled written books/stocked granaries hold the ripened grain
I think these lines emphasize the abundance of ideas he has within him, i have come to this conclusion by looking at word within those lines like "high- piled" and "teeming". I find line 4 to be particularly interesting in that by using the granaries of full ripened grain, he is referring to his "ripened" ideas, that have been harvested or are ready to be harvested. This can be seen as a sort of paradox because he is the grain being picked as well as the harvester, picking the grain (ideas) and turning them into poetry.
Eric Hum
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Continuing on what Mr. Cochrane said about lines 2-4, did anybody else see that one of the aspirations that the speaker in Keats’ poem, “When I Have Fears,” has, to create many books filled with “ripened” ideas, is very similar to the aspiration in Longfellow’s poem, “Mezzo Cammin?” In Longfellow’s poem, the speaker mentions that he regrets not fulfilling his life aspiration, “to build/ Some tower of song with lofty parapet.” (3-4). Does this somehow put an image of songs being piled on top of each other, creating a huge tower? Also, we can go even further by directly comparing “high-piled books” from Keats’ poem to the “tower of songs” in Longfellow’s poem. In this situation, it seems as if both speakers in both poems both had a goal to create many pieces of literature to form a large collection of their works. That is probably a similarity out of many between these two poems. If anyone else sees one, can you please tell us?
Also, there have been some issues over which poem had been the more positive in tone and which one the more negative in tone. I really cannot see any difference between these two poems. In my opinion, we can add to the similarities list that both poems are pessimistic and negative about death. In Keats’ poem, the speaker mentions at the end, where the concluding couplet is supposed to be, that “on the shore / Of the wide world I stand alone, and think/ Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.” (12-14). The statement creates an image of a young man at the end of the world, isolated from all human contact, alone, accompanied only by his thoughts. This young man is about to die, and all he can do is think and fear the coming of his death. He could just think about all the lost love, aspirations and fame that he will leave behind when he dies, and he is just alone and afraid. That does create a pretty sad image, right? But then, on Longfellow’s poem, we also feel a negative mood and tone. The speaker mentions the “autumnal blast”, which Mr. Cuizon, Mr. Chavez, and Mr. Miclat were discussing as a negative appeal to the speaker. Also, the speaker hears “The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights.” (14). When we put these two images together, we see an old man at the base of a cliff. He is looking back down the path he went, the Past, but he hears behind him a loud waterfall falling down from the heavens. We could see the pain in this old man, the hardships and years are entrenched in the wrinkles of the man’s face, and we know that he must keep moving forward up the path of life and climb that cliff up to death. This image of Longfellow’s is not all that positive and optimistic; it actually implies a sense of fear, lost, and imminent death. With these two images locked up in our minds, it is hard to say which one has the more negative or more positive outlook of death. It is just my opinion that they are both pessimistic and negative towards death.
Everyone did a great job staying on the prompt and analyzing what the similarities and differences between the two poems are. We have quite a list, but it would be best if we can add to the list, or go further in depth about one of these topics. If anyone has any sort of epiphany on their hands, or just has something they want to add, please share it with us.
The test of AP Literature was failed by many, was succeeded by some, but was mastered by a few. Those few who did asked me to tell you to follow these three important things: study hard, listen to Mr. Domingo, and live Huminationed!!!
Hannah Pollock
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I agree with the preceding interpretations and ideas, especially with Monique's idea that the speaker in “When I Have Fears” is closer to death than in “Mezzo Cammin”. In “When I Have Fears” the speakers refers to, as Kevin mentioned, “Before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain”. This can bring up the thought that maybe the author has health problems, preventing him from finishing the work he set out to accomplish. While in “Mezzo Cammin” the speaker can see death in the distance, an inevitable force, but he is described as being only halfway there. Continuing on Rachel’s idea, another difference in the poems I noticed was that the speaker in “Fears” mentions how he regrets not taking the chances of love that he was given, but now sees how love and fame don’t matter now, as if he’s at the end of his life. While in “Mezzo Cammin” the speaker only speaks of his ambitions and how he couldn’t complete them while he was in his youth, still giving the possibility that he might have time to complete them. This demonstrates how the two people are in different stages of their life, one reflecting on their life as a whole and the other only on the loss of time.
I also agree with Eric’s interpretation on how the two poems both illustrate a negative tone, but however I do think that “Mezzo Cammin” displays a sort of hopeful vibe. Keat’s life is described in “When I Have Fears” as full of misfortunes and setbacks, reflecting a powerful sense of melancholy. Although Keat’s did express a love and appreciation for the beauty in his life, such as the “fair creature of an hour” and his “faery power of unreflecting love” that I’m guessing was his past relationship. However, in the end of the poem he is left reflecting on his death and not being able to express his potential thoughts, showing perhaps how short his life will have been. This leaves me with a negative feeling, that he didn’t have enough time and he resents it. In “Mezzo Cammin” the speaker expresses a common tone of regret that he couldn’t accomplish his goals when he was in a state of some kind of self-pity in the past. His regret is portrayed in the thought that he would die an unfulfilled life, death being emphasized as a concern. Though the poem is not entirely deprived of hope, it has a sort of listless or spiritless quality, expressing how full of passion he was in youth, but now growing old he sees inevitability in death and loses ambition. However the big idea of Longfellow’s poem is that though he realizes that he is dying, he realizes that he is in the middle, between his past and death, and he realizes the need to change and to fulfill his long-term goals.
I am curious on what everyone thinks the theme of these two poems are? I was thinking that the theme of "When I Have Fears" is that perhaps 'death conquers all' or as Mr Olsen would say 'In the end nothing matters'. Then in "Mezzo Cammin" I think the theme is that 'death brings realization' or something along that line. I've never been good finding the theme or central idea of a poem. Ideas?
Hannah Drees
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In response to Eric's analysis of the tones, I was also thinking that as well. I have talked to a few people who have thought that one poem was more positive than another but I do not see that either. In "When I Have Fears" there is kind of an almost depressing tone throughout the poem. When the speaker refers to the "huge cloudy symbols of a high romance"(line6) it gives off an almost gloomy-like tone. This line I can also briefly respond to Jacquelyne when talking about love. My interpretation was that when the speaker talks about "a high romance" I took it as an unreachable romance, either literal or symbolic. Also adding to the fact that the speaker hasn't reached the things he has wanted to accomplished before he dies which is also a worry of the speaker in "Mezzo Cammin". There is definitely a tone of regret as shown in line 1-3 of "Mezzo Cammin" where it says, "Half of my life is gone, and I have let/The years slip from me and have not fulfilled/The aspiration of my youth..." The speaker's attitude toward death is regretful because, similar to "When I Have Fears", he hasn't accomplished all that he wants to. I interpreted it as though he still wants to live through his childhood and he's not ready for the change into death quite yet. In "When I Have Fears", at the end I understood that there was an acceptance that he was going to die and that he didn't care (what Rachel said). However, in "Mezzo Cammin" I did not get the same understanding. Toward the end of that poem there was still more of a feeling that he was not ready and he was almost trying to avoid death if he could. But again that is from my interpretation.
Oh, my big question is from "when I Have Fears" when it says, "Never have relish in the faery power/Of unreflecting love;"(lines 11&12). I looked up what "faery" meant but all I got was like a "fairy". So if that is what it means,then I took it as the speaker never got to experience or take pleasure in the enchanting power of love. I do not know if that is the right interpretation for that so if anyone has any thoughts on that it would be a lot of help.
Florencia Etcheverry
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I agree with Hannah Drees and Eric Hum in that both poems convey a negative and regretful tone. Both talk about how the speaker’s lives have passed before them quickly and that they aren’t ready to die. One thing that I did interpret differently is the ending of "When I Have Fears" (lines 12-14). It seemed to me that the speaker was trying to say that if he continued to think about death and worry about the idea of never accomplishing his goals, then the rest of his life wouldn’t matter. If he continued to worry that he would never find love, and never finish writing books, then the life that he had left would be nothing and a waste of time. “On the shore of the wide world,” he would stand alone. If anyone else has an idea on what the ending of “When I have Fears” could mean, please post.
To answer Hannah Drees’ question about lines 11 and 12, I think that the speaker used the words, “faery power” to show that the love he felt could be magical or unrealistic and out-of-this world. I also believe that the speaker is trying to say that he’s worried that he will die before he experiences love.
Both poems seem to have similar themes. For “When I have Fears,” I think the theme could be that when people think too much about their past and continuously worry that they are going to die, they don’t realize that they are wasting the time that they do have left. I came up with this from my interpretation of the last three stanzas that I wrote in the first paragraph above. For “Mezzo Cammin,” I believe that the theme is that people need to make use of their lives and make sure that when they look back on it, they won’t regret any of it. I came up with this because throughout the poem, the speaker is recalling his past and saying that that he hasn’t accomplished all of his aspirations. The author writes, “Half of my life is gone, and I have let/the years slip from me and I have not fulfilled/the aspirations of my youth.” This seems to give a very regretful and sad tone because the speaker has not done everything he has wanted to.
I agree with Florencia's theme for "Mezzo Cammin," and came up with the similar theme that people need to take advantage of every moment or else a future of regret and doubt is inevitable. The speaker is looking back on his life as "half gone," as opposed to half-lived (using the same idea as seeing a glass of water as half empty versus half full). I felt this showed the speaker's regret ever since he "let the years slip."
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree on one of her Florencia's earlier opinions regarding "When I Have Fears," that if the speaker continued to dwell on the thought of not finding love, the rest of his life would be nothing and a waste of time. Lines 9-14 make me think that if he were to cease to thinking about a love interest, and "never look upon thee more," then that is when he would "stand alone" and "think till love and fame to nothingness to sink." This would be supported by Florencia's first interpretation of "faery power" as unrealistic and out of this world. If the speaker were to view thinking about his love as a negative thing, I do not think he would describe her in such admiration.
I am unsure about the interpretation of lines 11-12 of "Mezzo Cammin." A fellow classmate saw the "smoking roofs" as a sign of not being able to live the fire inside of him. On the other hand, I saw it as an image of unclarity, along with the "gleaming lights" that may be blinding as you look back at them. The author looked down on the hill of the Past as faint and unclear, something that hurt to look back on. Any other suggestions as to what these lines mean?
Kristina Wade
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I agree with Andrea, I also came up with the theme that every moment in life needs to be taken advantage of before you may regret it. But I do believe that the speaker in "Mezzo Cammin," has come to more of a realization with his past and now understands what is coming next in his life. The speaker may know that they have not completed the aspirations of his youth, but he also knows that there was something that held him back from accomplishment, which is seen in lines 3-7. While the speaker in “When I Have Fears," doesn't seem to have come to terms with the idea of death and is still just thinking of it and that is why the speaker has "fears that I may cease to be".
I also agree with Andrea’s interpretations of lines 9-14 in “When I have Fears,” that once the speaker lets go of his love that he will be able to look back and reflect on what has happened until his love is gone. But I do believe that lines 11-12 may be interpreted as something else, because after looking it up when you “relish” something it’s of a pleasing or enjoyable quality. So the speaker is saying never enjoy the imaginable power of false love, so possibly the speaker realizes that something in his past has gone wrong and now he is left “on the shore of the wide world,” to “stand alone, and think.”
In the poem “Mezzo Cammin” I am not sure that I completely understand what the speaker means when he says “Some tower of song with lofty parapet,” what is the tower of song supposed to symbolize in this poem. I interpreted it as building up his life and accomplishing his goals but I would like to know what other people might have interpreted this as.
Jose De Soto IV
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I agree with the comments above. My interpretation of "When I Have Fears" is more dark and takes a more of a death coming closer than life going away. In lines 3-4 I interpreted that His literary works have succeeded with fame.I got that the theme of "When I Have Fears" is that fame is less important than love at the time of death. To my interpretation lines 6-7 mean that a good romance was always overshadowed by other elements of life and that he will never trace a good romance. I connected this poem with the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 18th century. Due to the invention of the printing press by Johanes Guttenberg, John Keats was able to produce some of his best works and achieve fame. He was also known as the last born English Romantic poet.
In Mezzo Cammin I interpreted that the theme of the poem was that look at forward in life. Henry Wadsoworth looks at life from a glass half full perspective. The poem is more straight forward than When I Have Fears. Although it is straight forward there is still literary devices used. Personally I did not understand line 5. Was Henry a musician?
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I agree with most of the posts on here, that both of the poems express the regrets that the speakers have in their life and that they both fear their approaching death.
To answer Jennisha's question, Longfellow suffered several tragedies in his life that might have affected his point of view in the poem. Longfellow's first wife suffered from a miscarriage and died a few weeks later. I believe this experience gives you background on what he meant in lines 7-8 in Mezzo Cammin when he said, "But sorrow and a care that almost killed/Kept me from what I may accomplish yet;"
Did anyone get a possible connection to the allusion of a 'city on a hill' in lines 9-12? I interpreted these lines as saying that in the past, he wanted to be a role model or have a lasting influence on others, but that it's no longer possible.
Another possible interpretation to lines 9-12, particularly in line 12, is that Longfellow could possibly be referring to his family. Smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights remind me of a family or community. Since Longfellow lost his wife in a miscarriage, I thought that he was saying that a family is not possible for him anymore, that it's in the past.
Anyone agree or have another interpretation?
Monique McClain
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In response to Sabrina's interpretation, I think her analysis is sound and connects the historical past of the poet to the poem's content.
To add to Sabrina's interpretation, not only could the city represent his family or community, but also anyone he could have met in his life. At birth, my interpretation would be that the city would have started off as a small town that developed and grew as the speaker's life progressed. In line 12 when then reader describes the city ("smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights"), it gives a sense of familiarity since it appears that this city (past) was all that the speaker has ever known.
When twilight falls apon the city, this represents a transition in the speaker's life which they already have pointed out in line 1. They have reached a point in their life when they realize that they will have to leave behind all that they have known sooner than expected.
Does anyone agree or care to elaborate their interpretation on this subject?
Rennel Parino
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I also agree to Sabrina's interpretation. "Smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights" can be referred to a community he previously lived in in the past. Monique's interpretation makes sense as well, pointing out the shift in time.
I would also like to mention that in lines 10-11, it mentions, "Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights/A city in the twilight dim and vast". Dim means weak light, and the lines mention the city being dim, yet vast. A possible interpretation is that he hasn't experienced many things in his young life, in his childhood. Another interpretation of the city being dim could mean that the speaker is just about to die, with the speaker's last sight being a small fragment of his past.
Any agreements or different interpretations on this?
Davin Mallory
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Rennel, I like the first interpretation you added.
"A city in the twilight dim and vast" is most likely used to demonstrate a lack of experiences in his life; that the "City" represents his life and since it is not illuminated, he must not feel he has fulfilled his aspirations.
Perhaps another perspective on the excerpt would be to think of the city as simply used for the imagery. In this way the speaker creates his depressed tone.
Anyone else?
Davin Mallory
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Since people had expressed such an interest during class as to how John Keats died, with the intent to link the fact to his depressing poetry, I decided to research it. The result is that yes, the poet WAS terminally ill, but not with cancer.
John Keats died of Tuberculosis and severe lung haemorrhage's. This was not, however, what must have caused the depression in his poetry because he did not begin to experience symptoms identifiable as tuberculosis until about 1820. He most likely caught the disease from his sick brother ,who John had attempted to nurse back to health. John's brother, Tom, died December 1st 1818. This fact, compounded with the death of many others in the Keats family from such a horrible and contagious disease as Tuberculosis is a more likely cause of the mood evidenced by his poetry.
I tried to write it in as clear a way as possible, so I hope this helps anyone out there that was wondering the motivation for John Keats's poetry.
Rennel Parino
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Thank you for the information on Keats' death.
In response to your other post, I agree with your interpretation on the city, Davin.
The city could create a depressed tone, and then there's the line that says "With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights". It describes the city as something good, but it adds to the sad tone due to the fact that he won't be able to see it ever again.
Anyone else have anything to add?
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ReplyDeleteI messed up the formatting...AGAIN!! Sorry.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ms. McClain’s thoughts about the different sonnets. The poem “Mezzo Cammin” is an Italian sonnet because the set of end rhymes changes as well as a change in the subject matter or idea. The first eight lines of the poem are pessimistic and reflective meanwhile the last six lines are optimistic and hopeful. The poem “When I Have Fears” is an English sonnet because the first twelve lines are expressing the internal conflict that Keats will not be able to accomplish his dreams, finish his artistic career, have a love, and notoriety. The last two lines resolve his internal conflicts by depreciating the importance of his biggest goals; he is grasping the failure of his life's greatest ambitions. I interpreted the last two lines as “I will leave the world alone and without possesions either way, why does having it all really matter?”
“Mezzo Cammin" and “When I Have Fears” contrast yet balance each other by giving us insight and alternative ideas of death and the period of time before it. One is optimistic and hopeful, the other remorseful, reflective, and full of doubt. Its seems as if John Keats feels his work is inadequate and is saying that we put so much into our lives only to leave with nothing. Henry Longfellow seems to be saying that life provides us time for achievement and fulfillment and that we should take advantage of the time we have. Longfellow is reflecting on his own life, his short-comings before death and how he still has time in his life to change and accomplish things.
The two poems focus on the coming of death and productivity as artists. Both Keats and Longfellow are worried about producing as much as they can to feel satisfaction and closure when they die. However, I feel that an artist’s work is never done. Even after death the artist is inspiring others to create something. The artist is still producing but through another creative soul.
Angeleen Lardizabal
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Drawing from the idea that Monique pointed out regarding the two different forms of sonnet, and as Julia was saying, I feel that the format of "Mezzo Cammin’" abides by the standards of the Italian sonnet. As they had both aforementioned, the first eight lines present the issue which is then resolved/concluded in the last six lines. While we can agree that the first eight lines of "Mezzo Cammin’" emphasize a very dismal and hopeless mindset, I feel that as a whole, this poem takes on the more positive overtone—even if it is only a subtle one. If you examine the shift that occurs in Line 9 of the poem ("Though, half way up the hill, I see the Past"), I viewed the word "though" as a keyword, synonymous to words such as "in spite of" or "nevertheless", etc. The relevance of the "though" being there, then, suggests that even as the speaker remorsefully expresses his inability to accomplish his many aspirations, when he reflects upon the past it seems that his trials weren’t completely futile. As Rennel suggested, perhaps the city is something good. This was the impression the poet’s diction suggested to me—when he uses words like "soft" and "gleaming" one notices the stark contrast with the preceding somber diction. To address the smoking roofs" portion, I viewed this as some kind of productivity—which is supported by the idea in Line 5 stating that it "was not indolence" that kept him from his goals. Perhaps he did not fulfill these lofty and high ambitions he aspired to accomplish, but I feel that he is trying to convey the idea that somewhere along the way, he attempted to do what he possibly could. Just as many of us might not have a chance in our lifetime to accomplish our abundant ideals—by some hindrance or another—I think that the poet is suggesting that his efforts weren’t completely in vain. As much as he is distraught by what he hasn’t accomplished, he realizes by the end of this poem that there is still room for change.
The cataract of Death is something the speaker acknowledges as he makes his way over the hill; it is thundering and making itself known, as if it were a reminder. It’s a reminder of his mortality. As he grows older, this reminder is greater amplified—however, this speaker is not necessarily on the brink of his last days, being just halfway through his life. I feel that the poem takes on the more positive (for lack of a better word) connotation in the sense that the speaker’s "reality check" (acknowledging the proximity of death) might expedite his striving for his ambitions, in hopes of achieving them before that time is gone. As Julia suggested, I feel that it contrasts deeply with Keats' poem, as the speaker of "When I Have Fears" allowed his former ideals and hopes to become subject to apathy in the end.
Michelle Pombrol
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I agree with Briana when she says that although both poems are dealing with death, the speaker in "Mezzo Cammin" seems to have accepted that he is slowly getting closer and closer to death. Longfellow writes "[I] hear above me on the autumnal blast / The cataract of Death far thunderung from the heights." These lines convey a sense of awareness and acceptance; although the speaker has not yet reached his death, he hears it thundering from afar and knows that he cannot avoid it. This does not mean that he wants to die or is necessarily ready to die, he just knows that it is coming no matter what.
Another point that I found interesting was the way Longfellow compared the journey of life to climbing up a hill. Not only does climbing a hill symbolize and difficult upward journey, it also indicates that there is something waiting at the top. In the case of this poem, the thing waiting at the top of the hill for the speaker is death. Although the speaker realizes that sooner or later he must make it to the top, he dwells at the half-way point and looks backs toward the events of his past. In the poem, the speaker is stuck at a point between life and death. Although the speaker feels that he has not fully lived yet, he also has not died yet either. He often refers back to the idea of being at a half-way point between two extremes. . The title of the poem roughly translates into "middle of the walk." The author also uses the words "twilight" and "autumnal." Twilight can be defined as an "intermediate state that is not clearly defined." Autumnal, interestingly, has two definitions that both add to the meaning of the poem. One definition is "the season between summer and winter." Once again, a reference to a half-way point. Or, as Jeremy mentioned, another definition is "a period of maturity or decline." This indicates that the speaker senses that he is maturing and he life is beginning to decline.
I also agree with Julia when she wrote that the two poems provide us with contrasting views on life and death. Although both speakers feels death looming towards them, the speaker of "Mezzo Cammin" seems to feel that he can still achieve something meaningful before his death, while the speaker of "When I Have Fears" seems to feel that with death looming closer, he cannot do anything but dwell on it until "love and fame to nothingness do sink," meaning that things that were once considered important are now rendered meaningless.
Does anyone else have other thoughts on the use of imagery and diction in the two poems?
Rennel Parino
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Angeleen, I agree on your point that the poet's realization that there is room for change. Lines 7-8 of Mezzo Camin also supports that. " "But sorrow, and a care that almost killed,/Kept me from what I may accomplish yet". Take note that in line 7 that it says it says the word almost. It shows that his efforts almost died, but a bit of it is still there, meaning there is a small chance of him to fulfill his efforts.
The cataract of Death could be a reminder of his mortality. Although the speaker is halfway through his life, the line before the cataract says "And hear above me on the autumnal blast". The autumn can refer to death, meaning the poet is at his last moments of life.
Pauline Vitug
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Going back to Eric's, Hannah's, and Florencia's comments about the tone of the poems, I am kind of leaning more towards Hannah's analysis. Even though both of the poems' tone sound negative and regretful on the surface, I sense more of a reflective, even positive tone, on Mezzo Cammin. "Half of my life is gone, and I have let/The years slip from me and have not fulfilled/The aspiration of my youth..." The speaker realizes that his life is NOT ALMOST over, but that he just reached the midpoint of it, and he still has not reached all of his goals. Now he stops and sees his past. By using words like "soft bells" and "gleaming lights" we can infer that his past was mellow and enjoyable. Although he shifted into saying "cataract of Death far thundering" and it gives the feeling of uneasiness, he is really saying that death is still far from him. If his past was a long time ago, his death is also a long way to go, since he's just in the middle of the journey. He looks and stops at the present and realizes that he is willing to do his best until death comes. In contrast to "When I Have Fears" by John Keats, I feel like he is portraying a hopeless and negative attitude about death. But I'm just throwing this out here since I feel like everyone is indecisive about the tone of the poems. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
"Of the wide world I stand alone, and think/
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink."
I was very puzzled by these two lines. Is Keats trying to say that love and fame doesn't matter to him in the end? Does anyone have any insights on this?
Unzi Park
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I agree with Kristina and Andrea about Mezzo Cammin’s theme. The poem is emphasizing the great importance of one’s period of youth. The author wants us to realize that every moment in life should be lived to its best potential. In the poem, the narrator regrets his actions in the past because he/she was not able to fulfill his aspirations.
In the previous posts there seemed to be confusion in lines 11-12. I also found this part of the passage confusing. Through this part of the poem, “Though, half way up the hill, I see the Past/ Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights,/ A city in the twilight dim and vast,” I interpreted that the narrator’s regretted past was located at a city. In the following lines about, “smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights,” I interpreted them as symbols of distractions that prevented the narrator from accomplishing his/her aspirations.
In the poem “When I have Fears” the narrator mentions his thoughts on love. I disagree where Jennisha says his attitude towards love shift from hopeful to regretful. The narrator says, “When I behold, upon the night’s starr’d face,/ Huge cloudy symbols of high romance, And think that I may never live to trace.“ Through this part of the poem, I interpreted, that the narrator had a depressing tone towards love. The author describes romance as huge cloudy symbols, where cloudy could refer to feelings of hesitation or confusion. I interpreted the last part of the line as the narrator’s fear that he may never be able to experience true love.
I also had a question on the poem, “When I have Fears.” I was confused on whether the narrator was talking about his past or whether he was simply trapped in his own thoughts. Many of the posts say that the narrator experienced the a conflict of love in the past but in the following lines, “And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,/ That I shall never look upon thee more,” The author uses the “when I feel” and “I shall,” which suggest that the author hasn’t gone through these phases of love. I think the author is saying he wants to go through these phases of life and experience love and fame and then sink to nothingness. To tie it back to the title, I think the author’s fear is not being able to experience these phases in his life. I’m still rather confused on the author’s true meaning of his poem. Does anybody have any other suggestions?
Rennel Parino
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After reading your view on the cataract of death, Pauline, I agree. Death is far. This also supports Angeleen's viewpoint of the poet having a chance for change.
"Of the wide world I stand alone, and think/
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink."
My insight on this is that love and fame do not last forever. They do not matter, since they sink to nothing in the end. He reflects upon himself and realizes that those things are temporary and will not be with him at the end of life. Love and fame do not last forever. Nothing does. You can take nothing with you when you die.
Ana Velasco
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Although I am possibly the last to post, I agree with the majority of my peers on their interpretations on both prompts.
Fisrt off, i agree on the fact that both "When I Have Fears" and "Mezzo Cammin" speak about fears of death ,and the regrets that they will have. Like Eric Hum said, it does seem that in both of the poems, both authors wanted to accomplish a goal of writing a lot of work that they were proud of to create a great collection of their literature.Another similarity that I saw while reading both poems was the tone. I see that both of the poems have a depressing tone tothem. Although, I DO see the shift from a negative to a positive tone in "Mezzo Cammin". The way I think all of us can interpret the change in the tone is that Longfellow's speaker is saying that he has regrets in his first half in life, but he can make up for that change in the second half of his life. Is that what you guys got from that?
I noticed that most of the posts agreed with with what I was thinking for an interpretation for "When I Have Fears". In the poem, I read "Unreflectiing Love" which I analyzed as he gave love to someone but he did not receive love back or visa versa. So, agreeing with Ryan Cuizon, the speaker of this poem did not know if he can do something about loving that person or thing (line 6- line 8). Furthermore, I do agree with Rachel Sather on when she said that in the end the speaker says in line 13- 14,"... i stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness I sink", that this means althought he might have not had love or fame, it still will not affect him because when he dies, he will be alone.
Now, for my interpretations on "Mezzo Cammin" is that he expresses that he has regrets of what he has not accomplished in the past, and is worried that he might not be able to accomplish those goals and dreams before his death.
The distinctions between Keats' poem and Longfellow's poem is that in "When I have Fears" the speaker is scared of death and thinking about before he is going to die, what he regrets or has not accomplished, but in "Mezzo Cammin" the speaker is starting to sense the feeling of death is beginning to loom up on him.
well those are my interpretations, any one have anything else?
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ReplyDeleteIn respond to Unzi's thoughts, I believe that "When I Have Fears" is about Keats' view of his life. The poem is divided into 3 different thoughts due to the end-stopped lines. In the first quatrain I think that Keats is referring to him being a poet, "Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,/
Before high-piled books, in charactery," I think that he "fears" that he will not grow as a poet. In the second quatrain, "Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace," Keats is stating that because time is running out, he wont be able to use what the world offers in his poetry. As for the third quatrain, it's about love. "fair creature of an hour," refers to a love affair that only lasted for awhile when he put all his effort into it but got nothing in return, "Of unreflecting love". At the end, Keats has come to a realization that in the end he will be alone and that "Till love and fame to nothingness do sink." love and fame (Keats as a poet) did not matter.
This is what i came up with after today's lecture about ryhmes and pauses.
Eric Hum
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In Keats' poem, the speaker is thinking about his lost fame and love that he had experienced. He believes that he has more to offer to the world. With lines 4-8, the speaker is more talking about his literature work. Romance can actually mean some fascinating appeal. The speaker is more reflecting about how he'll miss the beauty of nature, because the speaker uses nature to draw inspiration for his work. The "magic hand" can refer to his writing, since we use our hands to write literature. The "never live to trace/ Their shadows" refers to never having the chance to reach for his aspirations. The speaker is more concerned about his work of literature than he is about love. On lines 9-12, the quatrain was shortened up so that it was only 3 1/2 lines. Love is short lived, as he mentioned in "fair creature of an hour." He will never have the chance to experience love. Lines 13-14, it is very negative. The speaker feels as if he is alone despite the wide world that he has yet to see. The speaker seems to just think about love and fame, until he couldn't think anymore, "to nothingness". This poem has a very negative tone to death and the lost hopes that he had for life. The theme, is that death can occur very quickly, Keats was 26 when he died, and people should try to accomplish their aspirations before they die. He lived shortly, so he did not have the chance to live long and accomplish all his goals. The reader will have that chance to live a long time, so the audience should try to appreciate love and life goals. We have the chance to accomplish these goals that we set as a young child. He didn't.
Keats' poem influenced the making of Longfellow's poem. The speaker regrets the lost time and chances for achieving his goals that he had set as a youth. This is negative towards life in this first octave. However, as almost everyone mentioned, there is a shift to a more positive tone in the sestet. Although he hears the cataract of death, he realises that since he's only halfway through his life, he still has chances to accomplish his childhood dreams. Longfellow wrote his poem after Keats did. There is a large chance that Longfellow read Keats' poem. Longfellow intended to create a poem in response to Keats' poem. Longfellow might have responded to Keats' poem by creating a more optimistic second half of poem and of his life. He mentions that the city is "vast". Keats died very young, so in metaphorical comparison, Keats' city was smaller with a lot fewer experiences. Longfellow actually did have a chance to love. He did have a wife, and Longfellow had a chance to experience true, non-unreflecting love. Longfellow points out many of his better chances of life and goals in his poem. Though he regrets not having done much in the first half of his life, Longfellow reflected back on Keats' life and realised that Keats died when he was 26, while Longfellow is 35. Longfellow finaly reached an epiphany about his life and admits that he must appreciate the coming long life and go set out to do all the goals. The tone is negative in the beginning, but he shifts to a positive attitude. The theme would probably be similar to that of Keats' poem. Life lasts a temporary amount of time, and it would be best if people appreciate what they have in life and appreciate just being alive. In the short amount of time that we're going to live, we should go out there and live our aspirations and goals.
I just found out that there was a maximum, so I had to shorten my response a whole lot, and I mean a lot. However, a followup is I was refering to all of your responses and trying to create one mesh of an idea. This idea is very radical, so I doubt it's right. However, I doubt if anyone will stay up this late, so here goes...
ReplyDeleteThe test of Ap literature was failed by many, was succeeded by some, but was mastered by a few. Those few who did asked me to tell you to follow these three important things: study hard, listen to Mr. Domingo, and lived Huminationed!!!
P.S. good luck to everyone
Well, many of you have had really good analysis on these two poems, and i agree with many of you.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all,the author of " When i Have Fears", John Keats wrote this poem because he was forshadowing a death. His past family had past away from Tuberculosis, and he knew he would soon die. My hypothesis is that he composed this poem as a way to let out what he felt at the time, knowing he was going to die soon and being a bit sad not finding love or being as accomplished as he wished. The general setting is on the sad side the reflection on death and his preoccupation of not being able to fully show his poetical gifts, seem to be a sort of prediction of how short his life will be. However, at the end of the poem, it says "Till love and fame to nothingness do sink", so does this mean that it doesnt mean much to him? or that at the end of the day, those things won't matter?
I feel like this poem has a bit of a regretful and sad tone, while "Mezzo Cammin" begins with a negative tone and then goes to a hopefull tone. In the beginning, it says "The years slip from me and have not fulfilled" (2). This shows a reretful tone, similar to "When I have Fears", showing that he has not truly accomplished what he wishes he has. Furthermore, in the ending, "Though, half way up the hill, I see the Past" (9). This gives me a hopeful tone because although he's going up a hill which symbolically, is going up to heaven, he's looking at his past, and my interpretation was that when he looks upon his past he wants to move forward and think positive.
Did anyone else notice that both Past and Death were capitalized, making it personifications?
I agree with the previous posts made by Eric about the towers from the two poems also. However, I believe that both poems did have negative connotations toward death, but I feel like " Mezzo Cammin" has a more hopefull tone towards his life, but has a negative tone towards death itself.
Did anyone notice that in " When I Have Fears" in the shift towards love, the stanzas were short, making it short-timed. Is Keats implying that love does not last long?
Well, good job guys!! Everyone did a great job proving their interpretationd of these poems :)
Shane Cho
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Like everybody else, I agree with almost everything that people have posted. I totally agree with Eric when he describes the comparisons of the two poems. I do not agree, however, with Jennisha. I have reread the poems several times and each time I feel a melancholic mood. However, in "Mezzo Cammin" there is an acceptance tone at the end.
In Keats' poem, "When I Have Fears", the speaker is explaining how fears allows him/her to stop writing and think of life in general. "Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,/And think that I may never live to trace" describes that the speaker can see and feel love, but has not actually experienced it before and never will. "Of the wide world I stand alone, and think/Till love and fame to nothingness do sink." is another quote that explains that the speaker is alone in the world and because of this his/her fame and love turn to dust. (sorry about the pessimistic tone)
In "Mezzo Cammin", the speaker starts off with a reminiscent tone, but at the end the tone changes to an acceptance. "Though, half-way up the hill, I see the Past/Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights,-/A city in the twilight dim and vast/With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights,-" describes a place that sounds comforting. Although the speaker describes the past as a comfortable one, he/she realizes that he/she cannot go back to that area. They know that all they can do is move on and keep going up the hill. "The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights." describes that the speaker still has time to accomplish some dreams, but at the same time, the time that the speaker has left is still short enough that the speaker can hear death approaching.
What do you guys think Keats and Longfellow are trying to tell the reader and what type of literary devices do they use to help the reader understand this message?
Yeah, so this is what I got out of these poems. If anyone has other interpretations, please be courageous enough to post it up. It would really help everyone on the timed writes to know every point of view. Good Luck on the timed write guys.
Erin Bixel
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In "When I Have Fears" the speaker is more concerned with what will not be accomplished before death, finding a love being one of those things. In reading "fair creature of an hour" I get the feeling that the speaker once had a love, though only lasting for a short period of time. As the poem continues it is as though since the speaker lost his/her love, the speaker now feels as though he/she will never find love again as supported by: "of unreflecting love...//I stand alone..."
"When I Have Fears" also creates a feeling of beign rushed as though the speaker must hurry to accomplish what he/she wants in live and must say what he/she feels needs to be said. "When I have fears that I may cease to be//Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,//Before high-piled books, in charactery..." suggests that the speaker has a lot going on in his/her brain and feels as though he/she will be unable to get everything out before the time of death.
"Mezzo Cammin" has more of a regretful tone as the speaker looks back on his/her life and is unsatisfied with the way it has been lived.
I am still unsure of the meaning of "Some tower of song with lofty parapet" though I think the speaker is refering to what he wishes has become of his younger years and instead he has nothing to show for it but regret and age.
The hill mentioned in "Mezzo Cammin" is a metaphor for the speakers life, with the top of the hill being the end of the speaker's life, and the speaker is looking down upon a city of "sounds and sights" and sees things he/she regrets not taking part in at his/her prime. Also, It seems as though the speaker had someone holding him/her back from living out his/her youth with out regret as though he/she were focused on a relationship of some kind rather than the enjoyment of being young.
In "When I Have Fears" the speaker is afraid to die, is dreading death as he/she is unfulfilled with life so far, however the speaker in "Mezzo Cammin" seems to wish he/she had done things differently yet is more accepting that death is coming.
Sebastian Navarro
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8/16/10
There are two different fears that Keats is expressing in "When I Have Fears" and Longfellow in "Mezzo Cammin". Keats is describing how he fears how he may never wittness the prime of his life, in regards to finding love. Keats stated in the third quatrain, "Never have relish in the faery power/ of unreflecting love; (ln. 11-12)". He is expressing how one-sided love has affected him, and how he hopes to find love in his future, and as stated earlier, fears that he may not. The fear Longfellow expresses in "Mezzo Cammin" is fear of death nearing him, for he is approaching the second half of his life. When Longfellow stated "Though half-way up the hill, I see the Past/ Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights/... And hear above me on the autumnal blast/ The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights (ln. 9-14)", he articulates how he is at the crossroads of his life, between youth and age, between memories of the past and death awaiting ahead, which he greatly fears. Also, Longfellow captializes "Death", making it into a proper noun.
Though both poems portray negative tones, "Mezzo Cammin" gives off more of a negative tone. In "When I Have Fears", Keats expresses uncertainty of finding love. On the other hand, "Mezzo Cammin" portrays more fear and negativity. Longfellow describes his past as "dim", "vast", and "gleaming lights" while his future is foretold in clarity as "The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights (ln. 14)". The focalpoint of Longfellow is death approaching him, not the past memories he cherished or the memories yet to be wittnessed.
Dino Digma
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In “When I Have Fears”, the speaker describes his fear of premature death. In the first quatrain the speaker claims that his mind is still over filling with ideas that he has yet to express through his works of poetry. In the second quatrian the speaker describes how death will prevent him from writing about the beauties of nature. Keats uses images like “the night’s starr’d face” and “huge cloudy symbols” to describe his love for writing about nature and allow us to see nature the way he saw it. Keats also explains how death would prevent him from love, by focusing attention on one person that he seems to have loved in the last quatrain.
One small thing I disagree with everyone is the interpretation of line 6 which reads “Huge cloudy symbols of high romance.” In my opinion the “high romance” isn’t referring to the love between two people, but to Keat’s affection for writing about nature.
Like what Eric said, it seems like Keats poem heavily influenced Longfellow’s poem because both writers express their feelings as they approach their death. Although, like stated in many other previous posts, Longfellow seems to add a sense of regret. This effect is added because Longfellow describes how “sorrow” prevented him from accomplishing his childhood goal.
In response to Kristina: In my class, there were also many different interpretations of Longfellow’s goal in line 4 of “Mezzo Cammin”. In my opinion, “song” refers to poetry, so “tower of song” refers to a massive collection of poetic works written by Longfellow himself. Although, the phrase “lofty parapet” suggests that his goal is set high and hard to reach. The phrase also led me to believe that Longfellow wants to do something never been done before and will never again be achieved.
I think that Eric Hum made a very important point in his first post because in my class, there were also a few arguments claiming that Keat’s “When I Have Fears” conveyed a more positive tone. Although, after reading the poem thoroughly I have come to the conclusion that the speaker gives a negative tone throughout the whole poem by describing his fear of premature death. The author, Keats, claims that death would prevent him from expressing the endless ideas he has not yet unleash. In lines 8-12 Keats describes the loss of love, adding more to the negative atmosphere of the poem. The only slightly positive reference between both of the poems was the ending couplet to “When I Have Fears”. Like Ana, I believe that he has come to accept his faith by realizing that as he dies, the love and fame will disappear anyways.
Also, there was one more thing that caught my attention in the first poem. Did anybody else notice that unlike Longfellow, Keats never actually used the word “death”. He replaces the word “die” by phrases such as “cease to be”, highlighting even more his terror of death.
Kevin Cochrane
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The last thing Dino pointed out about Keats' diction interested me, i think this further enunciates the idea that this poems mood is primarily negative revolving around his fear of dying young and not satisfying himself as a writer. Although in the last two lines he writes on how he thinks that love and fame are not important("Till love and Fame do nothingness do sink"). Also, I noticed that this poem is a shakespearean sonnet with a rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG.
Also, unlike Sebastian's post, I interpreted "Mezzo Cammin" as a more positive poem than Keats'. Line 9 and below Longfellow has realized he is half way through his journey and he looks back at the past, noticing it was not so bad, using words like, "soft bells" and "gleaming lights". He then looks into the future and sees death, he knows its coming but he also knows its far away and he still has things to accomplish. This shows he is beginning to find hope after his sorrow and "care that almost killed" in which he may be referring to his wife, Mary Storer Potter who had a miscarriage and died a few weeks after. This was also a reason for the negative mood in the first part of this poem.
John-del Andaya
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Unlike Sebastian Navarro's post that the fears expressed in both poems are different, I believe that they are similar. In "When i Have Fears," the speaker states "I have fears that i may cease to be before my pen has gleamed my teeming brain"(lines 1-2) and "I may never live to trace their shadows with the magic hand of chance"(lines 7-8) clearly showing he is afraid of reaching the end of his life before he really gets to his aspirations. In "Mezzo Cammin," the speaker states "half of my life is gone, and i have let the years slip from me and not fufilled"(lines 1-2) also showing that he sees death as the wall that will halt any other goals he wishes to achieve.
What makes the each poem's impact different, however, is the stance the speaker takes on his conflict. In "When i Have Fears" the speaker's attitude is much more sullen and timid. I interpreted his statements such as "when i behold, upon the night's starred face"(line 5) and "I shall never look upon thee more"(line 10) as reflections of the speaker's inner character. It shows that instead of taking action, he would rather watch from a distance and once that would not suffice, he would simply turn his back and curse death for the abrupt endings it brings. I believe this results in a more blunt, and as Shane Cho said,"a melancholic," outlook on death. On the other hand, the speaker in Mezzo Cammin" shows an attitude of failure. The speaker describes his past and his youthful aspirations as never met because of himself. He stated he was the cause of the failing "but sorrow, and a care that almost killed kept me from what i may accomplish"(lines 7-8). What makes this speaker different from the other is that he not only is accepting, but is still confident in being able to complete something else in his life. This is because he does state he is "half way up the hill"(line 9) but says there is an "autumnal blast"(line 13) above him. With Fall comes death, but in death, some plants release their seeds laying down the groundwork for new life. With this in mind, the speaker's statement has some symbolism that his last trek before death may still contain some surprises.