Somewhere Safe To Sea
Contents:
Winds somewhere safe to sea. Then star nor sun shall waken,. Nor any change of light: Nor sound of waters shaken,. Nor any sound or sight: Nor wintry leaves. Winds somewhere safe to sea. Then star nor sun shall waken, Nor any change of light: Nor sound of waters shaken, Nor any sound or sight: Nor wintry leaves.
Since it is left relatively unclear whether the beauty and love are ending as a result of death or the simple passage of time, these claims reinforce both the inevitability of death and the idea that life is composed of small deaths. Proserpine herself is primarily described as a harbinger of death, but this symbolic significance is also contrasted with her association with spring and rebirth.
Somewhere Safe to Sea
She is first described as a Grim reaper-like figure:. By associating her with death, and then drawing attention to her immortality, the narrator contrasts the permanence of death with the transience of life.
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This passage also reminds the reader that the earth, unlike the Underworld, houses such lively things as fruit, corn, and flowers. This can be seen when the narrator writes:.
While it may be reasonable to love life, as he acknowledges that it has wonderful aspects, loving it too much will prevent a person from appreciating that death brings peaceful respite from all agitation. The metaphor at the end of this passage emphasizes this point; while water is in a river, it flows and rushes and is constantly moving, making it analogous to earthly life.
But eventually, all of the water in the river will reach the ocean, stop moving, be literally at rest and be figuratively at peace. The use of this particular metaphor also reinforces the conception of death as a natural part of life; Swinburne uses an intuitive example from nature to emphasize the inevitability and naturalness of death. This point is also emphasized in the poem by the recurrence of the concept of sleep.
This idea recurs in the final stanza:. The reference to the seasons also hearkens back to the Proserpine myth.
the weariest river winds somewhere safe to sea
As she essentially experiences death on a periodic basis, she is symbolic of the small deaths which constitute everyday life. She is essentially a liminal figure, hovering between life and death, and Swinburne reconciles these symbolic significances by using Proserpine to illustrate the idea that life is composed of many deaths. Just as everything else in nature works in oppositions in order to find a balance- winter balances summer, night balances day, sleep balances activity, etc.
Brilliant post and immensely helpful. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. This inevitability of death as a part of life is further emphasized later in the poem: Though one were strong as seven, He too with death shall dwell, Nor wake with wings in heaven, Nor weep for pains in hell; Though one were fair as roses, His beauty clouds and closes; And well though love reposes, In the end it is not well.
Welcome to Keep Calm and Relax. This website was inspired by the profound and insightful wisdom of courageous people throughout the ages. I have woven my thoughts on coping with difficult times and how to survive them around the wise and wonderful words of great men and women. Do get in touch if you agree or disagree with anything I have to say. I don't have answers just my thoughts and the thoughts of wise men and women that might just make you think differently. There will always be periods in life when we feel scared and unsafe.
Feeling unsafe can be about physical or mental safety, maybe we are vunerable because we're small, or feel insecure about how we look. Feeling safe can mean very different things, for some it is living all their life in the same place, it means never moving out of secure surroundings, because familiarity brings feelings of safety. It may not be the place that brings them happiness, but they are too afraid to leave, being contained and restricted makes them feel safe. Prisoners have said they felt safer in prison than living in the outside world where they have to make their own decisions, in a world with no routine and no structure.
As he helps out the many friends and neighbors he has known for so many years, his path becomes clearer; as Christmas approaches, his heart is filled with joy despite the problems and doubts that beset them all. Will you lift up your eyes between sadness and bliss, Meet mine, and see where the great love is, And tremble and turn and be changed? Be the first to discover new talent! Nov 03, Apr 24,