Textual analysis of the poem “A faithful swallow”

Introduction                                                                   

Right from the title,the reader may be curious to find out why the poet (Thomas Hardy) tells about a faithful bird. Such curiosity may lead to acareful reading of the text.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                In addition another possible conjecture to be made is wondering whether the bird might be used as a symbol.

 

Layout            

The first step to comprehension is to consider the layout : it clearly shows the poem consists of two octaves,and seems rather balanced since both stanzas have more or less the same line-length.                                                                                                                                                                                  Each line consists ofa few words, mainly three. The language is simple and therefore the ideal reader may be a popular audience; besides, you can see that each stanza ends with an exclamation mark and, as a result, it may involve emotions. What strikes the attention is line 12, the only one consisting of a single word, that recalls the title.  One can think the word fidelity may play a relevant role in the message.

Denotation 

Analyzing the denotative level the reader can confirm his or her conjectures. The structure of the poem has been arranged into two stanzas, on porpouse, : the first octave introduces a pleasant mood, a warm and hot weather : it’s August, and the sun is shining in the sky. The setting is favourable to the swallow : she is happy with the environment and everything seems to be perfect.    “It’s sweetest!”The use of superlative, as well as, the very language of the bird “Here evermore”reinforces the idea. The use of oral speech adds meaning to the swallow’s condition. She doesn’t want to leave that place and she considers all other swallows fickle because they are going to leave. She is determinated “not go away to another shore”. Her determination is well expressed not only by direct speech, but also by the use of the simple future “I will stay,not go away”; the will future expresses an immediate decision taken almost istinctively, thanks to the positive weather conditions. For the same reason, the swallow, faithful to the place she finds herself makes a strong judgement on her companion swallows. The intelligent reader should understand that the deviation of line 8 (“as fickle they”) is suitable to create a distance between the speaking voice and the other “they”. The subject pronoun has been placed in key positions : at the end of the line and at the close of the first stanza to highlight the distance and the difference between her,the faithful one, and the others. The beauty and pleasant atmosphere of summer time is conveyed by the sound-level : the poet used a run-on-line in the first three lines to create an effect of speed and fluent rhythm also underlined by the rhyme between “day” and “stay”, both words synthesize the meaning of the swallow’s decision. The use of the personal subject pronoun “I” gives strength to the swallow’s decision, her point-of-view made even stronger by the comma.   “Fickle” belongs to the same semantic field of “another shore”.

Connotation 

 It’s through the assonance of sound “ei”in “they”and “came”that the poet moves to a different context, suggested by a different setting, conveying a different mood. December is no longer a day : it is a long month and together with “twas not the same”rhyming with “came” on the previous line, adds meaning and strength to the change, which is a change in weather, in mood and in response.                                                                    The change is for worse and only now the swallow can understand that.    The exclamation mark in line ten expresses the swallow’s regret.    Differently from the first stanza, where poetry seemed to rely mainly on narrative poetry, in the second octave lines still being very similar if not the counter mirror of the first one seem to be used to elicit reflection and the text turns out more reflected than narrative. The reflection made covers lines from 11 to 13, where the swallow confesses to the reader that she didn’t know being faithful did not return her any advantage.  Fidelity, single in line12, visually underlines the swallow’s solitude; the mood is also conveyed by the juxta position of “frost, hunger and snow”. The setting has been turned upside down. Rather strangely, the same placed (summer shine it’s sweetest) as now become a land of terrible suffering for the swallow.In the last two lines of the second octave, the swallow comunicates all her suffering and pain : December has replaced August.             It can be said therefore that somebody, of which the swallow is a symbol should not make instinctive decisions as did the swallow, but people should take into consideration matters from multiple perspectives.  Such consideration would have protected her from her present situation.