Those stars, that glide behind them or between, Now sparkling, now bedimmed, but always seen:
beauty of the sky imagery to show either beauty of his life
Those stars, that glide behind them or between, Now sparkling, now bedimmed, but always seen:
beauty of the sky imagery to show either beauty of his life
From morn to evening, all the hot Fair-day, So sweetly, that they stirred and haunted me
memorable day at a fair, which was filled with sights, sounds, and emotions
Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour; England hath need of thee: she is a fen Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
poet laments the moral and spiritual decline of England during the early 19th century
cry of every man,
life is not as beautiful as london
Pitying, I dropped a tear: But I saw a glow-worm near,
speaker feels sorrowful and empathetic for Tom’s suffering, the glow-worm near him represents a fleeting, almost imperceptible source of light in a world full of darkness and suffering.
When voices of children are heard on the green, And laughing is heard on the hill,
sense of innocence, playfulness, and vitality.
Sound the flute! Now it’s mute! Birds delight,
excitement and blooming of everything, people, animals and flowers
All pray in their distress, And to these virtues of delight Return their thankfulness.
their innocence and suffering, turn to faith and gratitude as a means of coping with their circumstances.
And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark, And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
are forced to wake up before dawn, likely to work long hours in the cold, dim light,
There’s little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head, That curled like a lamb’s back, was shaved; so I said,
highlight the innocence and vulnerability of child laborers during the Industrial Revolution.
For he hears the lambs’ innocent call,
he loves them so much that he hears them even though they cant directly talk
From the morn to the evening he strays; He shall follow his sheep all the day,
focusing on the shepherd's deep connection to his flock
When I consider how my light is spent, Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
poet's lament over his blindness, focusing on the feeling of loss—both personal and existential.
Mine as whom washt from spot of child-bed taint, Purification in the old Law did save,
religious and Biblical imagery to express the purity and sanctity of the love shared between himself and his wife
oward which Time leads me, and the will of Heaven,
heaven as in death soon
ut my late spring no bud or blossom shew’th. Perhaps my semblance might deceive the truth,
aging, the passage of time, and the tension between outward appearance and internal reality.
prison me, for I
prison of love
I, like an usurp’d town to another due, Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;
expressing frustration over the inability to fully engage in or allow love, despite effort and desire.
Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.
woman should not reject the bond they share, symbolized by the flea,
Where we almost, nay more than married are. This flea is you and I, and this Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;
small creature, a metaphor for their connection, challenging conventional ideas about love, marriage, and intimacy.
So all were lost, which in the ship were found,
everything which was once found or held dear—possibly hope, love, or opportunity—has now been lost
We said, and tell us what we love; We see by this it was not sex,
searching for a deeper understanding of their connection, coming to the realization that their love is something more than just sex.
All day, the same our postures were, And we said nothing, all the day.
suggests a static, unchanging situation.
Call us what you will, we are made such by love; Call her one, me another fly, We’re tapers too, and at our own cost die,
love, while beautiful and all-consuming, also involves sacrifice and vulnerability.
Or the king’s real, or his stampèd face Contemplate; what you will, approve, So you will let me love.
the speaker contrasts the material and societal value represented by the king’s image (real or stamped on a coin) with the personal, emotional act of love.
Of Heaven, and hope to have it after all.
spiritual realm or afterlife
I write of youth, of love, and have access By these to sing of cleanly wantonness.
Cleanly wantonness" suggests a tension between innocence and passion, hinting at the idea that love and youthful energy
Thy silv’ry feet, My soul I’ll pour into thee.
beloved's beauty, and the act of "pouring" his soul suggests complete surrender to her
Then Julia let me woo thee, Thus, thus to come unto me;
expressing a sincere, respectful request for Julia’s favour
To live and die for thee.
an ultimate declaration of love, offering both their life and death
As in the whole world thou canst find, That heart I’ll give to thee.
they convey a willingness to give everything they are to the person they love
Then while time serves, and we are but decaying; Come, my Corinna, come, let’s goe a Maying.
a kind of celebration of life, urging readers to live in harmony with the natural rhythms of time
Come, my Corinna, come; and comming, marke How each field turns a street; each street a Parke Made green, and trimm’d with trees: see how Devotion gives each House a Bough,
urging Corinna to witness how nature and human life blend harmoniously to create unity
Above an houre since; yet you not drest, Nay! not so much as out of bed?
the urgency to rise and greet the morning, emphasizing that time is slipping away while the person isn't doin any work
Get up, get up for shame, the Blooming Morne Upon her wings presents the god unshorne.
Get up, get up for shame" is a call to action, urging someone
Next, when I cast mine eyes, and see That brave vibration each way free, O how that glittering taketh me!
continues the admiration for Julia’s beauty, celebrating the elegance and sensuousness of her appearance
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then (methinks) how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes.
"Silks" symbolizes luxury, refinement, and beauty
careless shoe-string, in whose tie I see a wild civility:
"carelessness" here is not negative but rather indicative of a natural, effortless beauty order enhance charm
A lawn
Lawn" refers to a fine, sheer fabric
A sweet disorder in the dress Kindles in clothes a wantonness;
celebrating imperfection
Into a fine distraction; An erring lace, which here and there Enthrals the crimson stomacher
the rhyme scheme is not constant
That age is best which is the first,
the earlier life is the best as you spend it with yourself and so what you choose to do before you get into the complexities of life
The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
it is referred to as the sun or heaven, means it holds a big status and it is a big blessing
Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,
make memories as many as you can before they are disrupted by married life responsibilities
To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
the people who are unmarried, to enjoy their life
Nor will you ever stop now.
the whole poem reflects the atmosphere and weather in summer. It is very vibrant and playful in summer.
Seeds grow and meadows bloom
makes the reader imagine summer and its vibrancy through imagery
Summer has arrived,
summer means life and everything will be fun and exciting
Sing cuccu
the only word i truly understood. I literally could make resemblance between these words and words in modern language sing and Cuckoo.
ing cuccu nu
ing can refer to singing especially the fact that we see the word sing in the next sentence
Then the guardian of mankind,
Over here, I change my perception and think it as it is referring to something eternal and powerful. They have the power to guard humankind. Guard something that is so great itself
Modern English
we seem to get a moment of relief when we see the word new which means that it will be more comprehensible for us living in this contemporary world.
primo cantauit Cædmon istud carmen.
It surely follows the title's connotation of old being being and outdated and hard to understand.
Hē āērist scōp aelda barnum
This is quite hard to be read as the language and form and the sentence structure is very different than new contemporary English.
Old English
refers to something that is old and hard to read
And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying.
The author is saying that the adulthood and youngness isn't always going to stay. Its here today but will be gone tomorrow. You have beauty today and everyone is attracted by your beauty today but they wont be anymore once your beauty is gone by tomorrow.
How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth
the rhyme scheme is ABBA.
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
a lot of pauses maybe portraying that she is broken but yet she loves him deeply.
We can die by it, if not live by love,
Implementing that love is immortal.
The Canonization
The rhyme scheme is ABBA
Get up, sweet-Slug-a-bed
I would find it very sweet if someone woke me up like this :)
Delight in Disorder
you don't need to perfect every time, sometimes being untidy and natural is more attracting and alluring than being perfect and flawless.
A lawn about the shoulders thrown
Lawn material is thin, which might be accentuating her beauty more.
Corinna’s Going A-Maying
the rhyme scheme is AABB
liquefaction of her clothes
It could also refer to her beauty which is as flowing elegance. It is alluring others towards her.
To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
It has ABAB rhyme scheme.
glorious lamp of heaven, the sun
Youth is like a glorious sun, you are as gorgeous as a sun that is nice and bright when it is at its peak.