Mutability -- Percy Shelley
We are as clouds that veil the midnight moon;
How restlessly they speed, and gleam, and quiver,
Streaking the darkness radiantly!—yet soon
Night closes round, and they are lost for ever.
Or like forgotten lyres, whose dissonant strings
Give various response to each varying blast,
To whose frail frame no second motion brings
One mood or modulation like the last.
We rest. – A dream has power to poison sleep;
We rise. –One wandering thought pollutes the day;
We feel, conceive or reason, laugh or weep;
Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away:
It is the same! –For, be it joy or sorrow,
The path of its departure still is free:
Man’s yesterday may ne’er be like his morrow;
Nought may endure but Mutability.
posted by Brady Kelso @ 8:37 AM
3 Comments:
In this poem, the main idea that is trying to be conveyed is "change," and that change is on going.
Shelley (1792-1822) was born into a rich Aristocratic family. He is known to be one of the best English romantic poets. He traveled alot during his 20s-30s.
In the first two stanzas, there is alot of imagery. References to clouds gleaming radiantly through the darkness, and dissonant strings varying in each note of its frail frame. These images bring in the reader closer to the poem, sparking interest and later, understanding of the concept of change.
The third stanza incorporates rhythm. Short, two word sentences preceeding a longer one, describing the outcome of the first sentence, creates a melodramatic feel to the poem. The preaching tone is within the whole poem, from the first images to the last stanza.
The last stanza brings it all together, making the poem come full cirle. The imagery and rhythm in the first three stanzas had an positive/negative placement in them. Take the first stanza: "We are clouds...speed, gleam and quiver...night closes round...lost for ever." These beautiful things are easily lost into the night. The third stanza's rhythm is also based on positive/negative: "We rest" (assuming that rest is a good natural thing we need) and then comes "dream has power to poison." This places a contradictory aspect of "rest", along with "rise" and "embrace fond woe," or "cast our cares away." It is unlikely for us to favor our misfortunes or disregard our personal needs.
The rhyming sceme is simple, ABAB for each stanza. The last light brings it all together, stating that change is inevitable, that it is a constant and will always come. Change being something that is the same is quite contradictory when you think about it, but when you see it through this poem, one can understand the dynamics of change and why Shelley decided to write this poem.
west
west poem
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