D.H. Laurence Poems Essay, Research Paper
‘Look We Have Come Through! The title of this section suggests a note of hope and faith in human resilience. How far is this reflected in the poems?’
The poems in this section are about the hardships of life and the problems that people have to face, yet there is an undertone of hope in them too, the problems may not be solved, but the poems show that there is a sense of faith in human resilience.
‘On the Balcony’ is about the relationship between a man and a woman and how they are what are important in an unpredictable inanimate world.
The first line is almost an oxymoron in itself describing the ‘sombre mountains’ next to ‘a faint lost ribbon of rainbow.’ The atmosphere through out the whole poem is sombre like the mountains, yet through it all lies the rainbow, which in biblical terms refers to the rainbow in Noah’s Arc which was a symbol of hope, showing that there is also hope for the couple in the poem.
Lawrence describes the relationship between the world and the couple as ‘us and it.’ This shows a strong sense of unity between the two, it’s as though nothing can get between them. The only other people around are the labourers who are like ‘dark stumps’ standing in the ‘green wheat.’ They are presented as heavy, steady unimportant parts of the landscape and are a contrast to the intimate relationship that the couple have. They are standing on a balcony and the man can ‘distinguish the scent’ of the woman’s hair. The balcony is a symbol of the solidity of their relationship, and the fact that he can smell her hair shows that they are standing very close together, this shows the bond that they have.
The atmosphere around the couple is unpredictable, as a ‘pale-green glacier river floats a dark boat through the gloom.’ Yet Lawrence replies, ‘we have each other!’ The tone of this line is almost celebratory in a sigh of relief, this is shown by the exclamation mark. However, the tone changes slightly, as he says ‘what have we but each other?’ as Lawrence realises that ‘the boat has gone.’
The atmospheric conditions may represent the hardships that the couple had to go through in their relationship, and may also be used contrast the unpredictability of the outside world compared to the steady relationship that the couple have.
‘A Youth Mowing’ is also a poem about relationships, this time it is between a younger couple. The river ‘Isar’ is a symbol of freedom, it represents the way that the men’s lives are. However, this sense of liberty is broken by the ‘swish of the scythe-strokes’ as the girl takes ‘four sharp breaths.’ Sibilance is used to show that there is a sinister undertone to the freedom that the boy has which will be broken by the news that his girlfriend is bringing. She feels guilty for ‘what’s in store,’ as now the boy will have to be committed to spending the rest of his life with her, and paying the price for the fun that they had.
The entrapment is shown by the possessive way that the girl says, ‘I claim him once and for all.’ The boy is described as being ‘as proud as a deer…shoulder deep in corn.’ It’s as though Lawrence is saying that sex is nothing sinful in the animal world and that it is just a natural thing, but in the human world the voice of society sees it as being immoral, and that a man and woman should marry and be committed to one another for the rest of their lives if a pregnancy occurs.
There is an undertone of faith in this poem as the girl feels sorry for her boyfriend, and can understand that it is unfair to put him under the pressure, this shows that she cares about him a lot. However, she feels as though she has to tell him because he has a right to know, this shows a glimmer of hope in their relationship. They trust and love each other enough to understand how one another feels, yet at the same time they can be truthful and honest with each other.
‘Giorno dei Morti’ is a poem about family relationships, and of how a mother and a father act at the funeral of their child compared with the way that the rest of society sees the funeral.
The atmosphere is mournful set along and ‘avenue of cypresses’ which are traditionally trees of mourning. The priests are wearing ‘gold and black’ which are heavy definite colours to represent the finality of death. The villagers ‘crowd silently’ to ‘wistfully watch at the banner of death, and the mystery.’ They aren’t really concerned about comforting the family and paying their respects to the person that has passed away at all, the only reason why they are there is because it’s something to do, and something to gossip about. The funeral to them is almost like a drama, they have a chance to get dressed up in their traditional funeral clothes and parade along with what’s going on.
The true emotion is shown by the immediate family, at the foot of the grave the father stands with a ‘sunken head, and forgotten, folded hands.’ This shows simple grief, its as though he has no strength anymore as he is so full of grief that he has forgotten about his own hands in prayer. The mother is also at the foot of the grave, she ‘kneels’ with a ‘pale shut face’ as she neither ‘hears or feels.’ This could show that she is so shocked and numb that she has shut down completely, and is isolated from others and doesn’t need to communicate as she is so absorbed in her own grief and sadness.
Lawrence is saying that there is hope in family life and that it is where true emotions and feelings lye. The mother and father showed this as they were the only ones at the graveside of their child, whereas everyone else was superficially following a procession for the sake of curiosity, and for something to do. Lawrence seems to be criticising society in all the poems for the views that they possess, as in each poem it is the voice of society that dictates and disrupts people’s lives. It’s as though people cannot be free to do as they please, they have to follow a set of unwritten rules in order to be accepted. Lawrence finds this annoying, and has written the poems in this section to show that there is hope and faith in human resilience, that people can get through the difficulties in life if they just believe in their own views and be strong, that way they will come through the bad times, hence the title of the section, ‘Look We Have Come Through!’