This is a short poem that is part of a play written in rhyming verse called
Pippa Passes. The concept of the play is that an innocent young girl walks past a series of people in various stages and walks of life, and makes up little songs to herself about what she believes is going on in their lives. This is one little song she sings, and the most famous bit of the whole play. (If you've read
Anne of Green Gables recently, you may remember it getting quoted in that.)
"Pippa's Song"
by Robert Browning
The year's at the spring,
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearl'd;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven,
All's right with the world!
Discussion Questions:
1. Analyze this poem!
1. (I numbered it! FINALLY! 🤪)
ReplyDeleteShe's saying it's springtime, at seven in the morning, the dew is still covering the hillside, the earliest birds, both of spring and just the day itself, are out and about looking for food, the snail is out of its shell, probably because of the dew. I find it interesting that she says "God's in his Heaven" BEFORE "All's right with the world!". Instead of saying, "everything is how it should be at seven in the morning, in spring, therefore God's in Heaven.", she says all these things she sees around her that PROVE everything is right with the world, but God being in Heaven is the deciding factor for what clearly is already determined through basic logic. I don't know if that was on purpose or not, but I just thought it's cool if it was. It's also interesting that she doesn't mention people. Just nature. In your Introduction to Wordsworth, you mentioned not only in romantic poetry do you glory in nature, but also possibly even wonder at the supernatural. In this poem, there is definitely a lot about nature, and there's that line about God, but there's not really express WONDER, or any defined admiration. Could this poem still be considered a Romantic poem?
Good insight about how Pippa says that all is right with the world only after pointing out that God is presiding over everything. If I recall correctly, within the play, she is supposed to be a naive and "unspoiled" young girl who has a lot of faith in God and believes the best about people -- as contrasted with the unkindness or ugliness of the world and people around her. So it makes a lot of sense that Browning would have her declare that all is right in the world because of God presiding over it, and because every creature and bit of nature is doing exactly what it ought to.
Delete1. It's seven in the morning in the spring, which means a lot of prepositions but also it's early in the day and early-ish in the year, so everything's kind of fresh and new. Dew on the grass gives them image of green, healthy grass and not the old dead grass, so that's fresh in a way too. Everything is also the way it's supposed to be and where it should be. God has ordered everything in the way it should be, and He knows where everything is and is caring for it, so that means that all's right with the world.
ReplyDeleteThat's a solid walk through the poem. I like your last sentence -- she's pointing out whom we can thank for making such an orderly world for us.
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