Prothalamion
In the first stanza of the poem, the narrator highlights how it is impossible for the modern man to live a happy and content life since everything in this world pushes him to an existence filled with misery and problems. The main character in the poem becomes an unnamed man, used here as a general character to transmit the idea that everyone could find themselves in his situation. The man wants nothing to do with the world and does not want to have anything tying him to one place only. This presents the fear many have today of not being able to be as free as they want when it comes to personal relationships and jobs.
In the second stanza, the man is compared with Saint Simon, a French philosopher who inspired later writers to express their feelings when it comes to living in society and among others. The narrator notes how almost every person who wants power claims to try and use it for the greater good. In the end however, they all fail and use the power to further their own desires.
The third stanza presents the way in which many saw marriage, namely as a prison from which they could not escape. The narrator shows compassion for the married man, described here as being ‘’doomed’’ because of their connection with another woman. The men are also called ‘’slaves’’, a reference made here towards the way in which many men of the time were persuaded by women who offered them sexual favors. This stanza portrays women in a negative manner but also as being extremely powerful when it came to having their way with the men in their close vicinity. The fourth stanza is a continuation to the third, in which the narrator agrees that the picture presented here does not apply to all women, but rather to a small minority and as such, men should not criticize the women in their lives.
In the rest of the poem the narrator presents his opinion on happiness, or rather how he believes happiness is a myth which no one should take seriously. However, this proves to be an understatement towards the end of the poem when the narrator agrees a person can find true happiness by marrying someone who will be their perfect match for the rest of their lives.
To a Scientific Friend
The narrator addresses a person simply referred in the poem as ‘’you’’, someone who sees poets as people who have nothing to do with reality and who push other people to do the same. The way in which poems present the truth is also criticized, the narrator mentioning how many people tend to look down on poetry and call it ‘’false’’.
The narrator, representing the voice of the poet, criticizes in turn the scientists, calling them cold and uninterested in the happiness of the world. Science is compared to a beautiful woman who has the power to seduce many but who doesn’t bring any real pleasure and happiness. What is worse, science also makes nature seem less beautiful and thus pushes the rest of the society away from it. Nature is compared with a normal person who has ‘’blood’’ flowing through their veins. This has the purpose of transmitting the idea that society should not be afraid of nature but rather embrace it and try to understand it. This is presented as being the only way through which a person can experience true happiness and the only way to find everlasting peace.
Young England
The poem deals with the way in which the society changed because of the Industrial revolution, the narrator using the pronoun ‘’we’’ at the beginning of every stanza to transmit the idea he was affected be those events as well. The narrator rejects these changes from the beginning, preferring to resolve back to his old way of life and to try and maintain a happy and carefree life, without letting anyone intervene.
In the second stanza, the narrator calls almost every person in this world as being a hypocrite. This happens because, as the narrator points out, many people claim they want to help the world through their inventions but the reality is that those people are only looking for financial gain and prosperity. The normal people, or rather those who in the past were considered peasants changed as well, now having dreams of becoming part of the aristocratic class and having wealth. This can be achieved through education, described here as a gate to the upper class.
Another change is the rise in violence, often because more and more people want to fight for the birth and implementation of new ideas and beliefs. This made society in general to be more violent, as nowadays they use the argument of fighting for their rights as a shield to hide their true intentions. Violence is also presented as being the way through which many people want to achieve ‘’manhood’’ or rather the way through which they feel brave and the manner to achieve respect among their peers.
Women also changed, now no longer happy to stay in the shadow of their husbands but rather asking to be equal with the men around them and to have wealth and property. The narrator describes this as something unnatural, something which he does not agree with and will never be able to accept as being normal.
The poem ends with the analysis of another area which was affected by the passing of time and the revolution: religion and consequently, morality. They have been affected in a negative manner to the point where many people turned into creatures resembling animals, with no restraint and with no desire to do what is best for those around them.
Love and Liberty
The poem is composed of seven stanzas and tells the story of a little bird, a linnet which escaped from the cage in which the bird lived all its life. The poem appears to be a straightforward story at a first glance but it is filled with symbolism and meaning, each element being used as a symbol.
Upon closer analysis, the reader can reach the conclusion that the poem is actually an allegory about marriage, in which the bird represents a wife unhappy with her predicament and decides to leave the marriage. The cage and the room from which the bird escaped are thus used here to symbolize the confinement of marriage and the social norms a woman must follow while being married.
The bird experiences happiness for a short time after escaping from the cage but then encounters problems when the night comes and the bird has to face a large number of predators. The day could symbolize here the youth of a woman, a time when the divorced woman does not experience hardship and problems, most likely because she still has family members supporting her financially. The night and the predators could symbolize the later years, when a woman could no longer depend on her father’s income and should have had her own home and a husband. Thus, the woman has to live without the protection offered by a husband and without the assurance of an income.
Every stanza in the poem ends with a line transmitting the idea that liberty is worthless in the absence of ‘’love’’ or in this case, marriage. Thus, the poem wants to persuade woman into believed their lives are significantly better while married, even if they are not loved and not respected, and presents them the consequences of a life of freedom.
