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Last but not least!

Finally, the last text I want to review is a poem written in 1801 by William Wordsworth called To A Butterfly. First of all, many would consider Wordsworth’s work to be wonderful and vibrant. I personally think he’s a little wish-washy and I generally don’t enjoy reading his work. That being said, my opinion is only influenced by the cultural context that I am living in. In the 1800s, the sort of language that he uses in his work was commonplace and widely respected, so I can overlook that aspect of it quite easily.

The poem is quite short, a seemingly simple ode to a butterfly as it visits his garden. Wordsworth observes the butterfly as it rests on a flower and he ponders it’s existence. He offers his garden as a sanctuary for when the butterfly is weary, a guardian if in need.

Wordsworth was never one to write about such simple things though. If we look past face value and investigate some possible deeper meanings of the text, we can see that the poem may not be to a butterfly after all.

First of all, what is a butterfly? On a denotative level, it is just a flying insect with colourful markings on it’s wings. What do Butterflies signify though? A beautiful, elegant being floating with the wind. It connotes a peaceful existence, something delicate and something to behold. Surely most of these things could also be found in a pretty girl.

So with this semiotic analysis, we could assume that the Butterfly represents a love interest. Wordsworth offers his abode as a place of sanctuary to her, watching her as she peacefully sleeps. By happenstance, she finds herself with him as the winds of fate carry her. They share the plot of Orchard together as he offers his undying devotion to her, promising no wrong. He offers opportunity of happiness if she will take his hand, talking of bright summer days and elated relaxation. The poem could be a declaration of love and longing.

This is most probably the case as William Wordsworth was and still is regarded as a very popular Romanticist. Wordsworth uses an element of personification to give the butterfly character, a wandering, spontaneous soul ready to be swept away by a charming gentleman such as himself.

Another interpretation could be the loss of his childhood. Upon seeing the butterfly, Wordsworth reminisces about his life, realising the fragility that it has. The butterfly represents the final stage in life. There is the inherent metamorphosis of starting life as a caterpillar, cocooning in a self-reflective phase and emerging as a complete being in beautiful brilliance. Perhaps Wordsworth reflects on his childhood, time squandered or missed and wishing he could take it back. This is especially prevalent in the last stanza, specifically referring to his childhood and joyous times gone by. This is very much up to interpretation because the butterfly is silenced. The narration from the poet’s point of view leaves a gap that must be filled by the reader.

Another thing I considered was when the poem was written. Wordsworth published this poem towards the end of his career, which solidifies my theory that he knows time is fleeting. He no longer has his whole life ahead of him and the wants the butterfly (representing his childhood) to stay.

Overall I think the poem was an excellent stimulate for self-reflection. Whether the poem was about a love interest or the natural progression of life, it is up to the individual to decide. Personally I prefer the love interest theory as it fits within his character of writing in the Romantic genre.

It is still interesting to note how the same poem can be interpreted in different ways and thus hold completely different meanings, as I have pointed out. That’s the fantastic thing about poetry; there is no right or wrong answer, everything is up to interpretation. It just depends on how far down you want to dig.

Bibliography

Finally, just a quick Bibliography of the texts that i referred to for literary techniques and the texts themselves! Moon and Berger were great sources for the different analysis elements. They helped refresh my memory from high school English classes and reminded me of some elements that i missed when i was first reviewing the texts. It was hard to try and cover all the techniques over the three reviews due to the low word count for each text, so i tried to balance them out over all three instead.

Berger, Arthur Asa. (2005). Chapter 1: Semiotic Analysis in Berger, Arthur Asa, Media analysis techniques, Thousand Oaks: SAGE, pp.3-37.

Mellor, Bronwyn et al. (2000). Chapter 2 : Reading Positions and Readings in Mellor, Bronwyn et al, Reading fictions : applying literary theory to short stories, Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English, pp.17-38.

Moon, Brian. (1990). Chapter 1: What is Literature? in Moon, Brian, Studying literature : theory and practice for senior students, Scarborough, WA: Chalkface Press, pp.5-23.

Weller, A. (1990). Stolen Car in Davis, J. Muecke, S. Narogin, M. Shoemaker, Paperbark: A collection of black australian writings, St. Lucia, Qld.: Uni of Qld Press, pp.128-140.

Hello Internets!

Recently, I’ve started to read some more literature over the past couple of weeks. This goes against my usual habits of video games, music and socialising but I thought I would report here nonetheless. I want to talk about three texts that I read and give my reflections on them. First up is a poem by Pam Ayres, entitled Good-Bye Worn Out Morris 1000.

I chose to review this poem because the subject matter is something that I can relate to. The poem is about a person who loves their car. Unfortunately, it’s on its way out. Pam Ayres uses personification to give life to the car, evoking empathy within the reader.  A stronger connection is built with the person in the poem through the last line, “Why do your rusty headlamps look like sad, reproachful eyes?”

Despite all the things wrong with the car, the person still feels the sentimentality of their first car. This is something I can very much relate to. I bought my car first car last year and have done a fair bit of work to it. New rims, tyres, body kit, etc. Not only is that sentimentality there because it is my first car, it’s also there because I put so much effort into getting it looking like it does. To part with it would be like losing a friend, which would only get worse over time.

In the poem, the person feels much the same regret and sentimentality. This poem, regardless of whether you own a car or not, positions the reader to feel empathy towards the car at the end of its days. The poem is very easy to understand, as it doesn’t use complicated language or word choices. This would help to appeal to the modern day audiences, contrasting to the elaborate phrasing and sophisticated language of the 19^th century literature, that most people get lost in.

At university, we’ve been discussing what literature really is. Can it be defined? Well, there are many ways to define literature. There is no one correct way; it greatly depends on your values, attitudes and beliefs. (Moon, 1990). I would definitely agree with this. The poem above is a pretty good example. If someone was to write Good-Bye Worn Out Morris 1000 back in the 1800s and was to ask the literary scholars, such as Wordsworth, if it was “literature”, the answer would most likely be a profound “no!”

The cultural context of the 1800s is very different to when the poem was written only a decade ago. Moon continues to explain that there are some distinct features that one can attribute to “literature”. Let’s have a look at what those features are, and if we can find any in Good-Bye Worn Out Morris 1000.

Features of a literary work

• Contains finely crafted language.
• Offers serious themes for consideration.
• Is imaginative and creative.
• Uses special techniques of writing.
• Offers a perceptive view of the world.
• Educates as it entertains.
• Is generally agreed to have serious merit.
• Doesn’t have a simple, practical function.

(Moon, 1990).

From scanning over this list, we can immediately see that there aren’t too many of these features that can be found in the poem. This is not to say that the poem does not qualify as being literature, though. A lot of these features are very subjective. Who decides what “finely crafted language” is? Again, this is culturally and socially specific. Of course, this is just one man’s interpretation as to what literature should include. There may be some features that have been omitted and some that have been included may not belong there at all.

By using this set of features, it can be established that Good-Bye Worn Out Morris 1000 is not literature by definition. The poem uses basic language, simple rhyme and metaphors and does not provoke deep thought within the reader. It is a light poem, which is part of its charm. It appeals to modern day audiences through a simple subject matter and colourfully expressed prose.