Poetry Review

POETRY REVIEW

REVIEW OF AUTHORIAL APPROACH

Most of poem analyses in Helium, online literature, and poem hunter always discuss the authorial approach in the beginning. It is always done by literary analyst so it seems that the biographical approach is quite important in discovering what a poet means. One of the examples is Robert Frost biography. In order to understand what is meant by Acquainted with the Night, Thor tries to start with the author’s life. Then, he shows us how Robert Frost life is. The biography is also attached with the social-economics condition where the author lives at that time. Thor stated that the environment surrounds where Frost lives can signalize the reflection of his works. His statement is proved by the accident which happens where Frost lives. Suicide because of contemplation is what Thor relates to the latest issue into the author’s environment. Besides authorial approach, some of analyst also considers the setting approach which always comes up in the most of poems. It is logically accepted because the representation of setting can be the reflection of a poem. By explaining the setting, Online Literature discovers what the implicit meaning behind of every single word is. So, the correlation which is built by online literature between the setting and the stanza is quite good to transmit what the poem meaning is actually. According to the most analyses, it can be concluded that the authorial and setting approach in the beginning of analysis can be the warming up level before we analyze into the deeper discussion.

REVIEW THE THEME APPROACH

The discussion of theme in a poem is rarely explained in details. Cheryl Kottke is the Helium analyst who discusses how she can find out the theme in a poem. According to her analyses, how to discover a theme is the same as how to read a poem by heart. So, reading the poem many times can create the atmosphere and feeling which is able to be used in analyzing the theme. After we get the chemistry with a poem which we are going to analyze, we then are able to match and guess the theme. It is not a usual guessing but an analytical guessing. Why do most of the poem analyst seems to use the shortcut in analyzing the theme? The reason can be the difficulties archaic meaning. Because the classical poems according to Cheryl Kottke have different background thought from we are now. That is why the difficulties can be found while we are faced by archaic poem because of different background knowledge.

REVIEW THE STRUCTURAL APPROACH

The analyses which are pointed to the structural elements of a poem are easy to find. By using the theory which has be published, it can make us easier in analyzing this part. Rhyme, sound pattern, imagery meaning, and rhythm are the structural elements we have to know. Before analyzing these parts, according to Tim statement we first have to understand what is meant by rhyme, what is meant by sound patterns. Tim describes the sound patterns which appear in A Praying in Spring, he explains how every word is read in this great work of Frost. After he depicts the sound pattern, he moves on to the imagery meaning or symbolism, one by one Tim tries to dive the symbol which appear in A Praying in Spring in order to create the deep meaning. And the last of his analyses are discussing the tune of poem. How he gets the tune is using the previous processes such as examining the sound patterns, finding the symbolism, and classifying the rhyme. Those can lead us into the unity of an artistic poem. So, the structural analyses help us build the truly meaning.

CONCLUSION

Some of the processes in analyzing of poem have to be passed in order to reach the truly meaning. The elaboration of author biography, considering the theme and setting, and combination of structural elements are what we have to pay attention in building the great analyses.

the old man and the sea and the nature

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA AND THE NATURE

A novel which appreciates the God gift, The Old Man and The Sea seems to be a part of our universe. Because Ernest Hemingway serves the reader with a great Marlin, the blue sky, the stars, the shark, and the lion. That is why this work can be concluded as the author’s appreciation to the nature.

Sharing a life which is a capricious mixture of incredible beauty and deadly violence and in which all creatures are both hunter and hunted, they are bound together in its most primal relationship  CITATION Cli60 \p 4 \l 1033  (Clinton S. Burhans 4). Human being life and nature complement each other. They should be in relationship. Santiago, an old man, is the representation of person who appreciates his nature. He has been a part of his own nature. Our beloved nature must be cared as long as we breathe in this universe. A devoting relationship has to be created between us, human being and our nature in order to harmonize our precious life. What we see now shows how we as the best God creature, cannot synchronize to our nature. We have never considered what we have done to our nature.

Many people in Haiti suffers famine and cholera, more than a hundred people are died because of the extreme weather in Finland, and hundreds of Wasior people in Indonesia is swept away by the land slide. Those show how our beloved Earth; our nature gets angry to us. We are not able to be a person who thanks to what we have got. We always want more and more even we do not realize that we have destructed our own nature. So, who should be blamed because of a lot of disasters? Human being or our Earth. So, this great Hemingway novel can show us how a faithful Santiago wait for Marlin as his treasure of life. He asks the star to talk with him. He considers the sea as his wife. The appreciation which is shown by Santiago can be taken as a good example for us.  The love he can feel for such a universe and his humility  CITATION Cli60 \p 3 \l 1033  (Clinton S. Burhans 3).  According to this Clinton article, Santiago even thanks to what he is now. He loves just the way his life is. He does not protest or regret to what happens with him. Santiago does not blame God or even nature. He tries to give every dews of love into his universe. That is Santiago who is an old man with all his struggles and appreciation of nature.

Through the nature symbols, Hemingway correlates them into Santiago’s life. The old fisherman, moreover, lives pagan-like in a personified world: the sea is a woman (la mar); the marlin, the porpoises, and the stars are his "brothers  CITATION Ken70 \p 3 \l 1033  (Johnston 3). All of those symbols have been the best companion of Santiago in The Old Man and The Sea. Marlin is one of those. The great marlin is unlike the other fish which the old man catches; he is a spiritual more than a physical necessity. He is unlike the other fish, too, in that he is a worthy antagonist for the old man, and during his long ordeal, Santiago comes to pity the marlin and then to respect and to love him CITATION Cli60 \p 4 \l 1033   (Clinton S. Burhans 4). Here, this sacred fish which has been the treasure into the entire of this great novel influences Santigo’s life. Marlin is like his precious diamond. Marlin is like her wealth which needs to be struggled for. That is why the old man, Santiago must get it. The prestige and pride is the two human being “properties” which is to show that I exist in this world. So, what Santiago reaches is not only a very big Marlin but also the prestige which is brought by that precious fish. It is going to be awesome and great when an aging man can bring a very big Marlin. An old man will be regarded as a great old man when he can get the prestige of Marlin. He has been jeered up by others because of the title as an aging man. An old man cannot do what a youth can do. An old man is just waiting for his death. Although he kills Marlin in order to reach the prestige, he keeps appreciating that the most beautiful creature. in winning his struggle with the marlin and in killing him, the old man sets in motion the sequence of events which take from him the great fish whom he has come to love and with whom he identifies himself complete CITATION Cli60 \p 5 \l 1033   (Clinton S. Burhans 5). Santiago falls in love with his target, Marlin. It is not a usual love to someone. More than that he does respect this God creature, the power of Marlin has rooted into the Santiago’s blood. This holy fish unconsciously influences the way Santiago lives. He becomes a spirited old man. He is not like an old man but he has had a youth passion in his twilight age. How others insult him as an unlucky man. That is why he seems to prove to others that trough his twilight age he is not a useless man but he can create a great breakthrough.

One clearly sees how Hemingway used the star allusion to unite the major characters of the novel  CITATION Ken70 \p 4 \l 1033   (Johnston 4). After the powerful Marlin, now stars have been the object of Hemingway in The Old Man and The Sea. Stars are usually dealing with sailing. Stars can direct a sailor to the right way. Stars are like the sailor’s GPS. According to Johnston, why he states that starts in this Hemingway work unite the major characters is because of the constellation. It also strengthens the structure of the novel by joining the four stars of the tale- Santiago, Manolin, DiMaggio, and the marlin CITATION Ken70 \p 5 \l 1033   (Johnston 5). For examples, the Lodestar, a star, especially the Pole Star used to help find direction; it has the special structure which can join stars into one unity. Santiago, Manolim, Dimaggio, and Marlin are the story elements which are like a constellation. They influence and encourage each other. While Santiago is in the cliff of desperation, Manolin tries to raise his spirit. While an old man, Santiago is in the well of silence, DiMaggio asks him to talk with. Although Marlin does not seem to help him, this big fish finally has come to Santiago’s baits. The unity of constellation is the representation how they have been successfully in delivering the implicit message in this great literary work.

If the stars are the connector to the whole elements of nature in The Old Man and The Sea, now Sea will be the major setting of this novel. Sea may symbolize the unconscious thought or mind. It may symbolize the stage of life where the human being plays their roles. Sea contains of water. Sean can create a tidal wave. The unstable condition can be found in sea. Sometimes it is calm. Sometimes it is horrible. The changeable character as represented in this symbol is also found how human being character is. A careful study of the behavior of the creatures Santiago encounters at sea reveals an affirmation of the values of strength, total immersion in activity, and the exploitation of adversity CITATION Bic66 \p 3 \l 1033   (Sylvester 3). The unlucky man, Santiago must face how the death wave will sweep his skiff away. The power of an aging man is bet in this stage of life, sea. He must fight for the worst disaster which may come to his skiff. Hemingway seems to warn us in order to look out in this complicated world. The character of sea has gone into the soul of Santiago. The silence of Santiago turns into the aggressive of Santiago. His fear nerve seems to go away from his body. He decides to go into the gulf. The death sea is ignored by him. The passionate Santiago now is getting turned into the power of sea. The nature here really participates in building his braveness. Sea is the place where Santiago can reach his dream. Sea is the place where he spends with his Marlin. Sea gets Santiago to be a brave man.

The lions which Santiago dreams about and his description in terms of Christ symbols further suggest solidarity and love and humility as opposed to isolated individualism and pride. CITATION Cli60 \p 8 \l 1033   (Clinton S. Burhans 8). Clinton states that lion in Santiago’s dream is the representation of Christ symbols. He also described that solidarity and love are dealing with lion as the Christ symbols. Some of the literary analysts also consider The Old Man and The Sea as the representation of Jesus journey. But besides that, the lion here Santiago’s dream can be symbolization the power of youth which is contrast to Santiago. They represent virility, power, the promise of a better future and youth. The lion imagery at the end of the novel represents hope of eternal life. The decreasing power of an aging man is like when he was young.

The strength which is needed by Santiago to battle among the death sea now remains the aging power. It is like an ironic imagery. While the lion is dreamt, Santiago at his age now cannot be a lion. Although it is just a dream, Santiago’s life can be started from a dream. A dream which can give us a hope is the strength of life to lead us into the better life. The same as Santiago, in order to reach his dream, he must face a lot of barriers. It is not easy to catch a big Marlin while he is an aging man. It is not easy to break Santiago society’s thought that an old man is easy defeated. But the eternal power which is given by his dream can build up his passion and spirit. Thus the shield of lion skin is a symbol of courage and invulnerability. And so the old man's recurring dream of the young lions playing upon the beach in Africa may be likened to a kind of shield against the assaults of old age, a harking back to a period of his youthful courage and invincibility  CITATION Ken70 \p 4 \l 1033   (Johnston 4). So lion is the youthful dream when Santiago was young. When he was young, it is very easy to prove that he is a great man. Lion is just the symbol of strength. But the most important is how this power becomes his major spirit to dive into the ocean of misery.

Lion is the positive power for Santiago but it is different from Shark which must be fought by him. Shark is the number one killer fish. It causes death. It causes end of life. Fear of sharks means fear of death. It means that the fear comes closer into our life. As a result, the weakness of our life comes up earlier that we think. We fear means we are weak. We are weak to fight our fear. We are afraid of being lost in a struggle. But Santiago does not view that Shark is the God Creature which should be avoided. He even fights and kills them as the barrier. Sharks are the battle of life. How Santiago serves what he can is always obstructed by an offensive remark from his society. Thus, when the sharks come, it is almost as a thing expected, almost as a punishment which the old man brings upon himself in going far out "beyond all people  CITATION Ken70 \p 5 \l 1033   (Johnston 5). The insult is also the expected thing which comes to Santiago’s life. Learning from the Johnston statement, Santiago is able to predict that he will get insult from others because of his age and weakness. Johnston also tries to approach deeply the shark as the punishment symbol. Refers to Santiago characters, he is a very stubborn person. Although Manolin stops him sailing to the gulf, he stays to his principle. He must sail to the gulf in order to get his existence.

Santiago represents a noble and tragic individualism revealing what man can do in an indifferent universe which defeats him, and the love he can feel for such a universe and his humility before it.  CITATION Cli60 \p 3 \l 1033  (Clinton S. Burhans 3). Clinton here depicts that Santiago is a honest, not selfish, and brave person. He is not an old man who is easy defeated. But he is a man who is able to break the hardest reef even he must be hurt.

The Old Man and The Sea

A.    Introduction

      The greatest novel of Ernest Hemingway which is ever claimed by literary critical that is The Old Man and The Sea. It is also the last literary fiction works of Ernest Hemingway because after the publisher published his novel, Hemingway committed suicide by shooting his favorite gun. It is very ironically while a great author must die by suicide. At the age of 50’s, he wants to prove that an old man also can do what a youth does. Although he is an aging man now, through The Old Man and The Sea, he wants to show that he still has a passion to live; he still has a huge power to struggle the “shark”.

      This paper was conducted to analyze and examine the symbols which come up in this Hemingway work. First part, it will be explained the sea symbolism which is the major place setting of the entire story. Second part, it will be explained the shark symbolism which symbolizes the struggle of Santiago. The third part, it will be explained the lion which is always dreamed by Santiago. And the last part, it will be explained Marlin as the treasure symbolism of Santiago.

      The Old Man and The Sea seems a meaningless novel because the reader is just shown by a boring fisherman. He is just waiting for the Marlin for hours. He tries hard to draw out the fish but he cannot because he is just an old man.  Santiago, an old man, always wants to show what an old man should not be able to do. It is like a silly thing which is done by an aging man. That is why the reader seems to be served by the impossibilities things. So, the boring atmosphere when we read this novel will come, waiting for the impossible things, and struggling for nothing. But those are just the surface meaning when we first time read this great novel. More than that, the philosophical message and value is the precious virtue which can be got in The Old Man and The Sea.

B.     The symbolism in The Old Man and The Sea

Ø  Sea (showing the life/varied problems)

According to Hemingway, man was most able to prove himself worthy in isolation. The sea, in the novel, represents the Universe and Santiago's isolation in the Universe. It is at sea, with no help and no recognition, that Santiago faces his ultimate challenge. Sea may symbolize the unconscious thought or mind. It may symbolize the stage of life where the human being plays their roles. Sea contains of water. Sean can create a tidal wave. The unstable condition can be found in sea. Sometimes it is calm. Sometimes it is horrible. The changeable character as represented in this symbol is also found how human being character is. What Santiago hopes will come true when he sails into the gulf. How long he must stay on the sea, he does not care. The stubborn Santiago starts to prove that he can reach his dream although he is an aging man. He is not easy to give up because of insulting from others. He is not easy to give up for his fate. The representation of sea has represented how Hemingway’s life. He is not easily getting the noble prize. The same as sea, he must face the tidal wave. He must sail into the most dangerous wave. He must dive into the sharpest reef before he arrives at the calmness of sea.

Ø  The Shark (showing battle of life)

It is the number one killer fish. It causes death. It causes end of life. Fear of sharks means fear of death. it means that the fear comes closer into our life. As a result, the weakness of our life comes up earlier that we think. We fear means we are weak. We are weak to fight our fear. We are afraid of being lost in a struggle. Through Santiago character, the shark is not a fear to be worried but it is like a reef which must be broken. The shark can lead him into the pride of his life. Many times Santiago must face shark on the way home. He is not afraid at all. He battles with the five sharks at the same time. He does not feel that he is an old man. His spirit is like Manolin. The youthful spirit appears in the battle of Santiago and the sharks. So, every problem we face in our life is like the shark. We have to battle and fight hardly in order to reach what we want. Through battling with every problem, it can lead us into the hierarchy of life. The more we are clashed by complicated problems, the more we will be a great person who is able to see and face the life maturely.

Ø  The lion (showing the passionate youthful spirit)

The lion in Santiago’s dream symbolizes the power of youth which is contrast to Santiago. They represent virility, power, the promise of a better future and youth. The lion imagery at the end of the novel represents hope of eternal life.   The decreasing power of an aging man is like when he was young. The strength which is needed by Santiago to battle among the death sea now remains the aging power. It is like an ironic imagery. While the lion is dreamt, Santiago at his age now cannot be a lion. But, Manolin who is set by Hemingway is the appropriate character related to the lion. He can be concluded as the youthful representation of Santiago when Santiago was young. By dreaming the lion, this strong symbolism can encourage Santiago power and spirit in struggling with his fish. The lion also symbolizes the pride. The lion’s roar sparks the huge passion and power. In order to fight the shark, we need the lion’s roar and passion. How lion lives is how we endure our meaningless life into the brightness of life.

Ø  Marlin (showing the treasure he does want)

The marlin represents the ultimate opponent, one that brings out the best in Santiago. Marlin in this great work of Hemingway is considered as the treasure of fishermen. Everyone who is able to catch this precious fish will be regarded as the legend of fisherman. That is why Santiago tries very hard to get it in order to show that he can do the impossible thing although he is now an old man. In this case, Marlin is like the Santiago’s symbol of pride. The prestige and great acknowledgement will be got when Santiago can catch the Marlin. Someone who needs existence from others they must do everything in order to get attention and acknowledgement. It is also reflected by Santiago character. He sails for Marlin for eighty four days but he gets nothing for forty four days. But he decides to go to the gulf in order to show that an old man can catch the Marlin. How human being considers that something can be the media of prestige is depended on how the prestige causal opposes the society thought. Although we have chased and struggled, we need to prevent that our society may not commit to admit what we have done. The purpose of getting acknowledgement is just the existence need. Life is not only chasing the acknowledgement forms others but the most essential part in our life is how we can be a useful person for our own life and others. The acknowledgement does not need to chase but how this can come to our self by itself.

Ø  The lost harpoon  

Santiago loses the harpoon when he fought against those sharks. The lost harpoon represents temporary loss of power and strength. It becomes the symbol of individuals who lose faith in their life’s problem. Like Santiago, without a harpoon, persons with no faith are defenseless. They are easy to be defeated. They can be so weak.

Ø  Skiff  

It represents the old man himself. It is an old, small, and decrepit ship. It is only for a person. It looks like Santiago’s life. He lives alone. His wife has passed away and he is a poor fisherman. Moreover, patched-up sails and fragile frame also represent Santiago himself. He wears patched clothes like his sail. Because he is an old man, he is a fragile man.

C.    Conclusion

In this story, there are some symbols which have implicit meaning such as: sea, shark, lion, marlin, lost harpoon, and the skiff. They are the representation of life stages. Sea is a place where we live where we are faced to the hardest wave of life. Shark is the antagonist role who is able to breakdown our life but this symbol can lead us to the better life. Lion is the passion how we go along with our own world. Marlin is our destination or dream. The lost harpoon represents the loss of human power and strength. And the skiff represents Santiago himself. After passing by the stages of life, the treasure we have dreamt for years can be caught. The great symbols which are represented into The Old Man and The Sea can create a great inspiration for others in order to face the life maturely.

oh..Ivan Ilych

THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYCH

1.      THE CRUELTY OF MAN

q  she again began talking and brought out what was evidently her chief concern with him — namely, to question him as to how she could obtain a grant of money from the government on the occasion of her husband's death.

q  She began to wish he would die; yet she did not want him to die because then his salary would cease

A faithful and well-behaved wife should weep on her husband’s death. That is in the opposite of Praskovya Fedorovna’s act. While the funeral ceremony of his husband begins, she starts to ask about how to get a grant of money after his husband’s death. The materialism thought is the concern of Praskovya. Ivan, the faithful man, should be treated like that. He has been working hard for her and family. He has sacrificed the entire of his life for the family. He tries to fulfill whatever she needs. Because of Ivan’s hard working, Praskovya lives as a high class society. But why he is treated as if Ivan is a rude, and unfaithful husband. The unreasonable reason must be pointed to his unfaithful wife, Praskovya. Materialism and unfaithfulness cannot be avoided from Praskovya. The mistress here can be one of the influences why Ivan finally faces the death. He is forced to do what he cannot do actually. The suppression and oppression is what Ivan feels. The psychological forces also attacks Ivan. So, it is not really fair while the faithfulness must be paid by unfaithfulness.

q  So on receiving the news of Ivan Ilych's death the first thought of each of the gentlemen in that private room was of the changes and promotions it might occasion among themselves or their acquaintances.

It is ironic while we are happy for our acquaintances death. Happiness may be comes up while the person who is died is the man we hate. Happiness may be comes up while the died person is our competitor. And the same case happens in Ivan Ilych’s life. Because of his succession in his carrier, there are a lot of opponents who hate him. That is why while Ivan is died, it seems that the spring comes. Ivan’s acquaintances show their exaltation on Ivan’s death. It means that they can get and take what Ivan has. So, death is not only about misery or sadness but it is able to come up “happiness on death”.

q  Praskovya Fedorovna — was not always conducive to the pleasures and amenities of life, but on the contrary often infringed both comfort and propriety, and that he must therefore entrench himself against such infringement.

q  As his wife grew more irritable and exacting and Ivan Ilych transferred the center of gravity of his life more and more to his official work, so did he grow to like his work better and became more ambitious than before.

This quotation is another episode of psychological forces. Praskovya seems to become crueler and crueler. Whatever she wants must be fulfilled soon if not she may become mad. The behavior of this cruel wife cannot be tolerated at all. But, the faithfulness of Ivan cannot be broken; he keeps following and obeying to what Praskovya orders. The changes of Praskovya characterization also affect how Ivan is characterized too. According to this quotation, Ivan also becomes ambitious in his work. The influence of a woman to a man does affect in many aspects. The self-control and assertive is needed here in order to avoid women attacks such Praskovya’s attacks.

2.      THE CRUELTY OF GOD

q  ….and that this poison did not weaken but penetrated more and more deeply into his whole being.

q  how his illness had progressed and grown worse. There also the further back he looked the more life there had been. There had been more of what was good in life and more of life itself. The two merged together. "Just as the pain went on getting worse and worse, so my life grew worse and worse," he thought.

q  Always the same. Now a spark of hope flashes up, then a sea of despair rages, and always pain; always pain, always despair, and always the same. When alone he had a dreadful and distressing desire to call someone, but he knew beforehand that with others present it would be still worse.

q  From that moment the screaming began that continued for three days, and was so terrible that one could not hear it through two closed doors without horror. At the moment he answered his wife realized that he was lost, that there was no return, that the end had come, the very end, and his doubts were still unsolved and remained doubts.

Now these quoted lines show Ivan’s gloominess, desolation, and desperation. Because of the death disease, he feels as if he is a useless man. His miserably life now poisons others. It is the unbelievable part in this Leo Tolstoy work, he screams for three days because of the suffered pain. That is the moment when someone cannot bear and feel how his pain is. I as the reader question about this part whether it is concluded as an exaggeration or not. Screaming for three days is really painful and horrible. The ignorance of God applies in this situation. While others also ignore how Ivan feels, God also does not take care about his painful disease. He is just let out by screaming for three days. The poor Ivan Ilych just feels alone how his disease strikes him.

q  Suddenly some force struck him in the chest and side, making it still harder to breathe, and he fell through the hole and there at the bottom was a light.

The next painful series continue to figure out how Ivan fights his painful life. In the above quotation, it is shown the continuity pain starts to crawl into this body. The confusion of reader may come up why a good characterization such Ivan Ilych must face this cursed situation. It seems not to be appropriate for him. It is not fair for the goodness he has made. God seems to test him but why he should give the hardest examination which cannot be solved by his priest. God is cruel for him. For the sake of cruelty, Ivan must be the “victim”.

3.      THE ABSENCE  OF GOD

q  …and Ivan Ilych was left alone with the consciousness that his life was poisoned and was poisoning the lives of others,…

Through these lines, we can see that there is no “God” which helps Ivan Ilych. He looks like a left creature. The left creature, Ivan’s companion is his own loneliness. No others who can understand how he is suffered by the death disease. He feels more painful and more. Even, people around him are also “poisoned” by his suffering. The “chaos and uncontrolled” pain spreads sporadically. Spreading and ruining along Ivan’s life and family is the purpose this death disease. God has been ignoring him. God just lets him out, no matter his pain suffers him. No helps and pities are always conditioned to Ivan Ilych.

q  "For Christ's sake let me die in peace!" he said.

May be it is the pitied groan of Ivan. For he has been treated as if he is a cursed creature, he just wants to die in a peace. He wants to die means he wants to get rid of his painful pain. He cannot stand anymore to the conditioned condition which has been set only for him, not Praskovya or his acquaintances. Begging for the kindness of God is the way of Ivan in order to let him pass away in peace. It is ironic while a good character should give up because of the desperation and cruelty. The characterization of Ivan Ilych seems to be a simile for the women nowadays. The mistress is “the trends” of women. But, manhood must fight and win women forces.

i love ephemera

Ephemera

‘Your eyes that once were never weary of mine

Are bowed in sotrow under pendulous lids,

Because our love is waning.

And then She:

‘Although our love is waning, let us stand

By the lone border of the lake once more,

Together in that hour of gentleness

When the poor tired child, passion, falls asleep.

How far away the stars seem, and how far

Is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart!’

Pensive they paced along the faded leaves,

While slowly he whose hand held hers replied:

‘Passion has often worn out wandering hearts.’

The woods were round them, and the yellow leaves

Fell like faint meteors in the gloom, and once

A rabbit old and lame limped down the path;

Autumn was over him: and now they stood

On the lone border of the lake once more:

Turning, he saw that she had thrust dead leaves

Gathered in silence, dewy as her eyes,

In bosom and hair.

‘Ah, do not mourn,’ he said

‘That we are tired, for other loves await us;

Hate on and love through unrepining hours.

Are love, and a continual firewell.’

William Butler Yeats

Ephemera by Butler are poem which seems to be pointed to “ripen” love.  In the beginning of this works has been stated that the speaker’s love has been weaker and weaker. Love also considers the ages. The lover cannot stand through entire of the time. The climax of ripening love is how we act to our lover. Getting bores may be is one of the symptoms. So, ripening love does not mean the doer is also getting old. But how our love can stand immortally into our soul or not. In this Butler’s work here, he seems to contrast two lovers. One is giving up of his love. And the other one is standing still with her waning love. Two binary oppositions here come up when love is stated as a waning love. While the one, who gives up for his love, is going to leave his love emperor, the one, who seems to be faithful to her love, forbids him to give up.

Lake, first kiss, and stars are served by the faithful one. Those three symbolizations can be the past memory which can freshen and “replant” the love which has been “built”. Lake is the media where Adam and Eve create the world of adoration. Lake is not like a sea. It is calm and peaceful. There are no waves which can have a crash with the reefs. So, this geographic place can be the representation of imperishable love. Lake has never drawn a big of tidal. Lake has never caused abrasion. But lake brings in calmness and peacefulness which can be brought into the dryness of adoration play.

First kiss happens when the affections have reached into the point of adoring desire. It is the “product” of love. It is the combination of verbal and action. It cannot be blamed when two lover join their joint into one unity. This expression can be the proof how we adore and respect to our lover. The emphasizing of “first” here is used to clarifying that the one, who is still faithful to her love, ask the one, who gives up of his love, to keep the affection feeling even though the age has ripened it. First kiss is not easy to be fallen off but it can be everlasting although time cannot count the time passes by.  

Then, stars seem to be the witness of their love. Stars may be has the relation to transcendental aspects. Stars are created by God. Stars shines because of God’s hand. Love is waning also because of God. This interpretation comes from the one, who gives up for his love. But there must be different point of view from the one, who is still faithful to her love. Stars shines is expected to shine her love. Stars are shining every night is also expected to “grow” her love. The beauty of stars is expected to polish up and “decorate” her boring love. Stars and adoration has been the friendship or the enemy in ruling where the love runs.

Butler tries to approach the waning love by representing the symbols of nature. Natural elements “decorate” the whole of this poem. It cannot be avoided that nature can be everlasting is because of the unity of love. That is why nature also seems to support every human being affections and adorations. The mutualism relation is needed in order to reach what is called by the balance of nature and human being affections.

While lake, first kiss, and stars are the anchor of loves. In the opposite, yellow leaves, faint meteors, and autumn are the crusher of love. The atmosphere of these three elements has created the gloomy pattern. They are created to represent the waning love. Affections and adorations has not been had their own Lord but they have been mortgaged. Yellow leaves, faint meteors, and autumn are the opponents of lake, first kiss, and stars. While love continues to trespass the forbidden border, those three, yellow leaves, faint meteors, and autumn will “obstruct” it.  How love can break and pass it easily is depended on how the lovers use the strength of their own love.

After analyzing the symbolizations of love which comes up the waning love as the main theme of this Butler’s work, now in this section will be discussed how every structural element can correlate and support what this poem actually wants. This work can be concluded as the free verse. There cannot be found the systematized rhyme and patterns of sound. Butler’s poem here seems to focus on how every single word in Ephemera can be delivered well to the readers. That is why the dictions and the figure of speech have been the “main dishes”. Personification and metaphor are the major figure of speech in Ephemera. Because the God’s creation is personified, Ephemera here seems to be alive. The way how Butler correlates the natural elements and love can strengthen the theme itself as a result waning love which has been judged as the theme is finally raised successfully.

Figure of speech and theme successfully create the image of Ephemera. This work can be considered as a good poem. It is because of the combination of structural elements and natural symbolization can reach what this poem wants. Love and natural relation has united into the holy unity in order to keep love as if love has sacrificed itself to save human being life.