Last Hope

Paul Verlaine

Title
Our rst impression of the title is that a sense of desperation is present. The speaker seems as if he has only one opportunity for something to come true.

Paraphrase
Within a cemetery there is a tree growing, not in someone's memory but freely. A bird is drawn to the tree, singing its sad song, no matter the season. The tree and the bird represent you and I. You are a memory that forever hold onto. I am empty without you presence. Will your love allow my memory to remain fresh.

Connotation
We believe that this poem is lled with symbolism. The most apparent example is when the speaker compares the tree and the bird to him and his dead lover. We also believe that the speaker, by saying that he, the tree, is not bound to a memory, means that although no longer in the esh, his spirit roams freely.

Attitude
Speaker: The speakers tone is depressed and yearning. The speaker is questioning his ability to live without his other. Author: The authors tone is consistently negative.

Shifts
The speaker stays consistent throughout the poem. There is a shift in tone from gurative to literal where the speaker begins describing a scene and if shifts to become reality, this is between the second and third stanza. At this point the tone becomes more introspective and depressed. From stanza three to four the speaker's attitude shifts to uncertain.

Title
We no believe that Last Hope in the speaker's eyes is the memory of his lost love. Without the memory he with not be able to survive and will become "cold nothingness."

Theme
We believe that the theme is, everyone relies on something and when that is lost you will feel a sense of desperation.

Explanation

We believe that the poem is about lost love.