The Rooms by Charlotte Mew (Sahaj)

Summary
The speaker opens the first section of "Rooms" by recalling some rooms she has
stayed in over the course of her life. One in Geneva, one in Paris, and perhaps
one that smelled like seaweed. The latter is where she has an extramarital
relationship (perhaps a reference to her sister who she cared for while dying of
cancer). The room serves as a metaphor for Mew's overall limitations
throughout her life as well as the dark times that eventually lead to the poem's
conclusion and her wish for the only form of freedom she can imagine: death.

Themes:

The theme of confinement is primarily explored in "Rooms" by Charlotte Mew.

In order to show how confined and in charge she, or at least her speaker, was
throughout her life, the author uses the image of a room. She kept finding
herself in depressing and disappointing rooms as she moved from place to place
before arriving at the one, she's in right now. one that is battered by the tide and
has a seaweed odour. She is lying there with another person who is also trapped.
The speaker in Mew is constrained in every way a woman could have been in
the 19th century.

Analysis:
"Rooms" is a poem by Charlotte Mew that explores themes of loneliness,
isolation, and the passing of time. The poem is divided into three stanzas, each
of which focuses on a different aspect of the speaker's life.
The first stanza describes the speaker's childhood home, which is now empty
and abandoned. The language used in this stanza is very evocative, with vivid
descriptions of the rooms and the objects within them. The repetition of the
phrase "all empty, still" emphasises the sense of abandonment and loneliness
that the speaker feels.
The second stanza focuses on the speaker's present situation, as she reflects on
her own life and her feelings of isolation. The imagery in this stanza is more
abstract, with references to "waves that leap/ Out of darkness, to white forms
that pass" suggesting a sense of movement and change. The final lines, "But no
one sees me, no one hears me/ Yet in a short while, I shall be free," suggest that
the speaker is resigned to her isolation but also hopeful for a future release from
it.
The final stanza returns to the theme of the passing of time, with the speaker
imagining her own death and the eventual decay of the abandoned house from
the first stanza. The use of the phrase "all dead and gone" emphasises the
finality of death and the idea that everything eventually fades away.
Overall, "Rooms" is a poignant exploration of themes that are central to Mew's
work, including isolation, loneliness, and mortality. The vivid imagery and
carefully chosen language combine to create a powerful sense of loss and
longing.

Literary Devices:
1. Metaphor: The rooms in the poem serve as a metaphor for the different
stages of the speaker's relationship. For example, the "first room"
represents the beginning of the relationship, while the "last room"
represents its end.
2. Symbolism: The different objects in each room also serve as symbols for
different aspects of the relationship. For example, the "cupboard with its
cruel key" in the second room represents the secrets and hidden pain of
the relationship.
3. Imagery: The poem uses vivid imagery to create a sense of nostalgia and
longing. For example, the "little forgotten dusty smell" in the fourth room
conjures up a sensory memory of a forgotten past.
4. Personification: The rooms themselves are personified throughout the
poem, giving them a sense of life and personality. The "last room" is
described as "cold" and "hollow," suggests the emptiness of the
relationship's end.
5. Allusion: The poem makes an allusion to the biblical story of Samson and
Delilah in the fifth stanza, using it to underscore the theme of betrayal
and the destructive power of love.
6. Repetition: The phrase "and yet" is repeated throughout the poem,
emphasizing the conflicting emotions of the speaker as she remembers
her past relationship.
Away Melancholy stevie smith

Summary
The narrator attempts to push away their deep sadness, asking themself to let it
go. In search for comfort, the narrator observes how the world continues to
exist, and elements of nature remain unaffected by his dejection and worries.
The speaker tells their despair to leave them free once again and for their
emotions to disappear once again. According to the poet, humanity is the best of
all species. Humans are the only animals who construct “god” by putting down
a stone. Considering how amazing it is that people continue to believe in the
ideal of kindness that they name God, shows true faith. The speaker tells them
to let go of their grief. The speaker says that mankind tries to be nice and longs
for love. Humanity, battered and beaten, still possesses qualities like kindness.
He tells his sadness to move away one last time.

Theme
Away, Melancholy by Stevie Smith is a poem which revolves around the theme
of positivity in the face of sorrow. The poet shows how humans are reflected in
the beauty of nature and reinforce that humanity is good. The goodness of
humanity is of more value than its failures, so the feeling of melancholy must
depart.
Analysis
Stanza-1&2
In the first lines of ‘Away, Melancholy,’ the speaker begins with the line that
later came to be used as the title of the poem. She seems to be letting go of
"melancholy." This stanza serves as a reminder to the speaker that things are
still in overall good condition. The rivers flow, the trees are green, and the wind
blows. The world's elements are in harmony and functioning as usual. This is
something to enjoy and find comfort in. It should be sufficient to drive away
any sadness.
Stanza-3&4
Smith continues in the third stanza by stating yet another natural reason why
everyone should be open to joy and happiness. For example, the ant carrying
“his meat.” Everything, like the ant, is going about its business. It’s ready to “be
eaten or eat.” The final line of the poem, "away, melancholy," feels like a call to
goodwill.
The fourth stanza connects the behaviour of the ant to the human world.
Humans are living their lives as well. They are coupling and moving quickly.
The speaker wants the reader to remember that people are also animals with
instincts and simple joys. The use of the musical “hey how” in the fourth line
means that the poet creates a perfect rhyme with “also” and “go” in the
preceding and the following line.

Stanza-5&6
The speaker introduces God—or the concept of a god—into the poem in the
fifth verse. She contends that the spirits of people are deeply embedded. She
compares humanity and God to raising a stone to a higher position. This is
supposed to remind the reader that there is more to life than whatever small
tragedies are bringing on a feeling of melancholy.
In the 6th stanza, she asks us to not speak to her about tyranny, wars, diseases
and all the other unpleasant things that mankind has faced or ask if God is good.
She wants everyone to know that it’s enough that humanity is good, or was
made good. And she again tells sadness to go away.

Stanza-7,8&9
The speaker’s hope in life comes from the fact that there is love and that
humanity aspires “To good” and “To love.” Even in the darkest moments of
life, when one is dying in their blood, humanity raises an eye to the sky and
“Cries, Love, love.” There is no reason to delve into the failings of humankind,
the speaker says. It’s more interesting to consider the depths of humanity’s
goodness. That is where the true complexity and amazement lie. The poem's
concluding lines repeat the first stanza and the theme that served as its
foundation.

Literary Devices
 Alliteration, the first of these, is a typical form of repetition. It is about
the repetition of the same consonant sound at the start of several
syllables. 'Fire' and 'Flow' in line four of the second stanza, and 'Good'
and 'God' in line nine of the fifth stanza, are two e examples.
 Anaphora is another sort of repetition. It happens when the poet starts
several lines with the same word or words. For instance, the first stanza's
first two lines both start with "Away," and the seventh stanza's first two
lines both begin with "To."
 Enjambment is a literary technique in which the poet ends a line before it
would naturally end. Several lines in the fifth stanza, for instance, as well
as the transition between the first two lines of the third stanza.
He never expected much by Thomas Hardy

Summary
The poem uses words from the "world's" comprehension and is dedicated to the "World". In
the first lines, Hardy's speaker reflects on his youth and the moment he realised that life
wouldn't always be ideal, joyful, or fair. In reality, he discovered, it would probably not be
just the majority of the time. He accepted this information with ease and built his life around
it. He was able to withstand some of his sufferings because he understood that no matter what
he accomplished during his existence, he would eventually pass away.
The movie "He Never Expected Much" explores the virtue of not having high expectations
for life. The elderly speaker addresses the "World" in frank terms, admitting that it has met
the low expectations it seemed to set from the start. The speaker then elaborates on what the
World has ostensibly always "said" to him: that although people may love or loathe it
because it makes them happy or disappointed, it doesn't offer anything other than chance
occurrences.

Themes
The speaker asserts that he has always anticipated that life would not be "all fair," and he
attributes this anticipation to the "World". In other words, he perceives life to be as arbitrary
and unfair as it appeared to him as a youngster, looking back from the perspective of old age.
He tells the World that it has lived up to its promises ("kept faith with me"), adding that
"Upon the whole you have proved to be / Much as you said you were." as a picture,
Interestingly, his absence of initial expectations also contributes to his lack of
disillusionment.
The speaker presents himself as a clear-eyed realist through his imaginary conversation with
the "World"—someone who accepts life as it is rather than loving or hating it. He imagines
the universe explaining to him that although many people have loved or despised it (as if it
were a godlike creature), it is driven by chance. It cannot provide rewards or penalties, only
"neutral-tinted haps": arbitrary, neutral occurrences.

Analysis
In the first stanza of ‘He Never Expected Much,’ the speaker begins by addressing the
“World.” This is a technique known as an apostrophe. The speaker is talking to something
incapable of responding to him. He tells the world that throughout his life, everything has
turned out pretty much as he expected throughout his life. The world has “proved to be /
Much as you said you were.” He thinks back to when, as a child, he used to lie and watch the
sky. Then, he knew, as he does now, that life wouldn’t always be fair. He describes this fact
in a sing-song-like tune that lightens the overall mood. But it is impossible to read these lines
without feeling like the speaker is in a general solemn state of mind.
In the second stanza of ‘He Never Expected Much,’ the speaker goes on to refer to that time
as a child when he communed with the world and learned its truths. Then, the world talked to
him and informed him that everyone who loved the earth and everyone who showed
contempt had ended up “dropped underground.” One way or another, the world told the
young boy, this is where everyone ends up.
The first lines of this stanza make use of some interesting repetitive elements. Hardy uses
“said” several times, building up the reader until it’s time for him to reveal what the world
said. This plays into the already song-like feeling of the lines.
In the final eight lines of ‘He Never Expected Much,’ the poem concludes with a few more
words from the world. The world told the child that it couldn’t promise much. There will be
some moments of happiness, but many more common, unremarkable ones.
The speaker comes back into the poem in the final lines. He tells the world and the listeners
that he took the world’s advice. He “failed not to take” it, so throughout his life, he knew that
things wouldn’t always be fair. He knew he’d struggle and “strain and ache” throughout the
years. But, because he was prepared for it, he could take it all in stride.

Literary devices
 In "He Never Expected Much," Hardy employs several literary techniques. Examples
of apostrophes, alliteration and enjambment are among them, but they are not the only
ones. The poem's opening words contain the first of these, an apostrophe.
 Hardy addresses the "World" at the beginning of the poem. The world is something
that cannot hear Hardy's speaker and could not respond even if it wanted to, making
this a prime example of this strategy.
 Another intriguing literary technique is alliteration, which involves using the same
consonant sound at the beginning of multiple words. An illustration would be the
words "since" and "said" in line one of the second stanza and "minds" and "mine"
inline four of the third verse.