"Home Thoughts from Abroad"
by Robert Browning
Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England—now!
And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
Hark, where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops—at the bent spray's edge—
That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!
And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower
—Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!
Discussion Questions:
1. This has a bizarrely complex rhyme scheme. The first stanza is ABABCCDD, and the second is AABCBCDDEEFF. What might be some reasons Browning chose to scatter-shot his rhyming that way instead of writing a poem with a more conventional rhyme scheme?
2. This is considered one of the great Romantic poems. What details in this poem really give it a Romantic flavor? (You can reread this post on Wordsworth for a refresher on Romantic poetry.)
1. It makes it seem more like someone actually rhapsodizing out loud about something than a carefully rhymed poem. Maybe it's so you can tell that he was actually enthusiastic about England in the spring, because it seems more like someone just conveying their thoughts than it might if written in a more conventional rhyme scheme. It also seems more unique that way, because it's not just another 'conventionally rhyming' poem. It's kind of like the difference between "Santa Fe" from Newsies and, say, "Seize The Day" from Newsies. "Santa Fe" had a much less orderly rhyme scheme than "Seize The Day" does, so it sounds more natural and more like something you could just come up with on your own, even though it IS carefully rhymed.
ReplyDeleteThose are good insights and reasoning. It definitely feels more personal and instantaneous this way.
Delete2. Like you said in that post on Wordsworth, it's about reveling in and appreciating the beauty of nature. "Home Thoughts from Abroad" is all about how beautiful England is in the spring. First about the trees, and then about the birds, and then the fields and flowers. So that would make it a Romantic poem.
ReplyDeleteYup, very good.
DeleteI guess the crazy rhyme scheme makes it more all over, like the birds in spring. Birds are crazy in Spring. Here in Wyoming, these birds called grackles shriek and wake me up early every spring. And spring itself is a little chaotic. Everything that's been asleep all winter is waking up. Plants, Animals, everything! So perhaps he's using the rhyme scheme to give that impression?
ReplyDeleteUgh! I keep forgetting to number them! Sorry!
DeleteThat all makes sense! It's kind of a bouncy, boisterous poem like spring itself can be.
Delete2. He's talking about the natural beauty of England a lot, and natural beauty, like you say in your Wordsworth post, is a key factor to a Romantic poem.
ReplyDeleteYes, very good.
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