Textuality » 3ALS Interacting
SCarrara-The Faithful Swallow
by - (2013-10-22)
Up to 3ALS - How to analyse a text
Right from the title, the reader may be curious to find out why the poet (Thomas Hardy) tells about a faiyhful bird. Such curiosity may lead to a careful reading of the text. In addition another possible conjecture to be made is wondering whether the bird might be used as a simble.
The first step to comprehention is to consider the layout: it dearly 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 of 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 envolve 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.
Analizing the denotative level, the reader can confirm his/her conjectures. The structure of the poem has been arranged into two stanzas on parpous: the first octave introduces a pleasant mood, a warm and hot weather, it's August and the sun shines in the sky. The setting is favourable to the swallow. She is happy with the environment and everythin seems to be perfect: "it's sweetest". The use of superlative, as well as the language of the bird "here evermore" rainforce the idea. The use of direct 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 determinate "not to go away to another place". Her determination is well expressed not only by direct speech but also the use of simple future "I'll stay. Not go away". The will future expresses an immediate decision taken almost instinctively thanks to the positive weather condition. For the same reason, the swallow faithfulto the place, she finds herself make a strong judjment on her companion swallows. The intelligent reader should understand that the acrion of line 8 is suitable to create a distance between speaking voice and the other "they". The subject pronounhas been placed in key position (at the end of the line and of the first stanza) to highlight the distance and the difference between her (the faithful one) and the others. The beauty and pleaseant athosphere of summertime is convaded by the sound level: the poet used a run-on-line in the first three lines to create an effect of speed ans a fluent rhytm also underlined by the rhime between "they" and "stay". Both words synthetize 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 is made even stronger by the comma. "Fickle" belongs to the same semantic field of "another shore".
It is trough the assonance of sound ei in "they" and "came" that the poet moves to a different context, suggested by a different setting, convained a different mood. December is no longer a day, it is a long month and together with "‘twas not the same"rhiming with "came" of the previous line adds meaning and strength to the change which is change in weather, in mood and in responce.
The change is for the worst and only the swallow can understand that. The exclamation mark in line 10 expresses the swallow's regret. Differently from the first stanza, where poetry seemed to relie mainly on narrative poetry, in the second octave lines still being very similar if not the counter mirror of the first one seemed to be used to elicit reflection and the text turns out more reflective than narrative. The reflection made covers lines from 11 to 13 where the swallow cnfesses to the reader that she didn't know being faithful didn't return her any advantage. Fidelity, single in line 12, visually underlines the swallow's solitude. The mood is also convaid by jucksta position of "frost,hunger and snow". The setting has been turned upside down. Rather strangely the same place (Summer shone its sweetest) has now become a land of terrible suffering for the swallow. In the last two lines of the second octave, the swallow expresses all her suffering and pain: December has replaced August. It can be said therefore that somebody of which the swallow is a simble sould not make insinctive decision as did the swallow but people should take in consideration matters from multiple perspectives. Sucj consideration would have protected her from her present situation.
The first step to comprehention is to consider the layout: it dearly 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 of 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 envolve 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.
Analizing the denotative level, the reader can confirm his/her conjectures. The structure of the poem has been arranged into two stanzas on parpous: the first octave introduces a pleasant mood, a warm and hot weather, it's August and the sun shines in the sky. The setting is favourable to the swallow. She is happy with the environment and everythin seems to be perfect: "it's sweetest". The use of superlative, as well as the language of the bird "here evermore" rainforce the idea. The use of direct 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 determinate "not to go away to another place". Her determination is well expressed not only by direct speech but also the use of simple future "I'll stay. Not go away". The will future expresses an immediate decision taken almost instinctively thanks to the positive weather condition. For the same reason, the swallow faithfulto the place, she finds herself make a strong judjment on her companion swallows. The intelligent reader should understand that the acrion of line 8 is suitable to create a distance between speaking voice and the other "they". The subject pronounhas been placed in key position (at the end of the line and of the first stanza) to highlight the distance and the difference between her (the faithful one) and the others. The beauty and pleaseant athosphere of summertime is convaded by the sound level: the poet used a run-on-line in the first three lines to create an effect of speed ans a fluent rhytm also underlined by the rhime between "they" and "stay". Both words synthetize 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 is made even stronger by the comma. "Fickle" belongs to the same semantic field of "another shore".
It is trough the assonance of sound ei in "they" and "came" that the poet moves to a different context, suggested by a different setting, convained a different mood. December is no longer a day, it is a long month and together with "‘twas not the same"rhiming with "came" of the previous line adds meaning and strength to the change which is change in weather, in mood and in responce.
The change is for the worst and only the swallow can understand that. The exclamation mark in line 10 expresses the swallow's regret. Differently from the first stanza, where poetry seemed to relie mainly on narrative poetry, in the second octave lines still being very similar if not the counter mirror of the first one seemed to be used to elicit reflection and the text turns out more reflective than narrative. The reflection made covers lines from 11 to 13 where the swallow cnfesses to the reader that she didn't know being faithful didn't return her any advantage. Fidelity, single in line 12, visually underlines the swallow's solitude. The mood is also convaid by jucksta position of "frost,hunger and snow". The setting has been turned upside down. Rather strangely the same place (Summer shone its sweetest) has now become a land of terrible suffering for the swallow. In the last two lines of the second octave, the swallow expresses all her suffering and pain: December has replaced August. It can be said therefore that somebody of which the swallow is a simble sould not make insinctive decision as did the swallow but people should take in consideration matters from multiple perspectives. Sucj consideration would have protected her from her present situation.