I'm not certain if Tennyson's plan was to evoke emotion in readers from this piece, but it did for me. It took me back to my grandfather's passing and the raw emotions I still feel around his death. I'm not certain that my interpretation is what the author meant, but here are my takeaways.
"Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean;
Tears from the depth of some divine despair
Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,
In looking on the happy Autumn fields,
And thinking of the days that are no more. " (Lines 1 - 5)
Idle tears in my mind means the event that is causing the pain may be in the past, something happened at that moment that triggered the memory of the pain. Therefore, your eyes fill up with water and you begin to cry. Even though I've never thought of the phrasing "idle tears", I've experienced that reaction after seeing something that reminded me of my grandfather. Just in that instant, you transition back to those emotions of heart throbbing grief.
"Dear as remember'd kisses after death,
And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feign'd
On lips that are for others; deep as love,
Deep as first love, and wild with all regret;
O Death in Life, the days that are no more." (Lines 16 - 20)
I interpret these verse to mean we have our dear memories of our loved ones that we will hold forever. Even though those experiences will be no more.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It evoked emotions in me, too, but for different (dumber) reasons. See, I'm originally from Vermont, so whenever I hear something like "happy Autumn fields" I automatically have connotations of the beautiful fall foliage and golden meadows I was accustomed to. I grow very nostalgic. I like you defined idle tears-- I'm beginning to see that you're really good with poetic definitions in general! I guess it's like when you're emotional enough to cry, but the tear lingers in your eye. That's almost sadder. These dear memories are with us forever and can be treasured as such.
ReplyDeleteAngela,
ReplyDeleteExcellent blend in this post of specific analysis, insightful speculation, and sensitive sharing of personal emotions. I think you do a very good job opening up this brief lyric poem!
I think your interpretation was similar to what Tennyson was initially wanting to portray. I believe that he was in a situation where his friend had recently passed and he was reflecting on how no matter what, the emotions of that day can still come forward at any moment. I find this to be so true, as I too have lost loved ones and even though their deaths were years ago I still feel that initial sadness.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love reading your blog posts, because after reading your post I have a better understanding of the readings. My rational is that people do have pent up emotions and it is just a matter of WHEN these emotion choose to show up.
ReplyDelete