NAME: SÁNCHEZ LUCÍA

POEM ANALYSIS: “IMPRESSION DU MATIN”

“Impression Du Matin” is a poem written by Oscar Wilde, in 1881, which was

referred to as “a painting in words” due to its elaborative description. The poem
consists of four quatrains with an ABBA rhyme scheme. Oscar Wilde named the
poem “Impression Du Matin” and the title itself already describes an impression or
a painting, which is also reflected through the structure and form of the poem.

This poem begins by describing a vast scence of London, it is very open and not
personal. However, stanza by stanza, the poem becomes more intimate, ending
with the description of the features of one woman in the big city. Each stanza
focuses on describing from one perspective.

In the first stanza, Wilde starts by describing how daybreak erases the “blue and
gold” of the nighttime. It is said that the quote ‘nocturne in blue and gold’ is a
reference to the artist Whistler. Many have said that Wilde’s work is the poetic
version of Whistler’s oeuvre as he uses a lot of musical descriptives (eg. nocturne
– composition of a dreamy mood and harmony). Then in the second and third
stanza Wilde continues with the description of the city. He writes about a chill
yellow fod that creeps over London, throwing the houses into shadows and then a
sudden clang of “waking life”. I think the first three stanzas are devouted to the
description of night changing into daylight, specially in the thrid stanza when he
seems to describe the quick movements and noises that a bustling city as London
would make when awakening.

Then suddenly in the four stanza the tone of the poem changes, the passive
descriptions of the city are left aside and a “pale woman all alone” appears. It feels
as if this woman defies the natural movement of night into day because Wilde
already portrays the woman bathed in daylight, yet waiting in the pale pool of light
of "the gas lamps' flare," as she refuses to let go of the last remnants of night.
Decadence

I think this is a beautiful poem because it confines its imagery to illustrations of a

departing night into an imminent daylight. This transition and the way it is written is
what I admire the most about Wilde’s writing. Moreover, despite I had to read it
more than once to fully understand it, I appreciate the fact the words he uses are
simple, when he rhymes gold with cold for instance, or down and town, they all
seem to lend the poem an effortlessly sincere nature. VERY GOOD