A Reminiscence

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A Reminiscence

Yes, thou art gone! and never more
Thy sunny smile shall gladden me;
But I may pass the old church door,
And pace the floor that covers thee,

May stand upon the cold, damp stone,
And think that, frozen, lies below
The lightest heart that I have known,
The kindest I shall ever know.

Yet, though I cannot see thee more,
'Tis still a comfort to have seen;
And though thy transient life is o'er,
'Tis sweet to think that thou hast been;

To think a soul so near divine,
Within a form so angel fair,
United to a heart like thine,
Has gladdened once our humble sphere. (1)

Anne Bronte

Key Themes
Death
Nature
Religion
Love

Rhyming pattern
ABAB throughout

Notes
The poem is thought to be about William Weightman, her father's curate, who died of cholera in September 1842. This poem parallels with other poems, suggesting that Anne may have fallen in love with William. However, there is no evidence to suggest an attachment other than references by Charlotte Bronte. Anne also had other dead, real and imaginary to mourn.
Throughout the poem, Anne seems to be desperately searching for William.
The poem was originally named "Yes, Thou Art Gone" in 1844, but was retitled "A Reminiscence" in 1846.
Anne was still situated at Thorp Green when she wrote the poem, a place that she deeply disliked. This could explain her tenuous, almost desperate sounding poetry about a man, that may or may not have even noticed her and whom she had only ever met on occasion. His increasing importance to her may have been as a result of the absence of other opportunities for love, marriage, and children.

Stanza 1
The exclamation mark emphasises the point that "yes, thou art gone!" seemingly as though she has only just realised it - it is a shock to her.
When Anne writes "sunny smile", it suggests that William was kind and brought warmth to her and that his smile was something special, that it gave her something that the smiles of others didn't.
The use of the word "may" when stating that she may pass the old church door, conveys a perverse sense that she prefers william in death, as it means that she can have him and visit him as opposed to in life, when he was unrequited to her.

Stanza 2
The stone is described as “cold” and “damp” giving a gloomy, lonely feel to the poem and shows the emotions Anne could be feeling at the loss of William. William’s body is then described as “frozen”, continuing this cheerless feeling.
It is ironic that the "kindest" hear she will ever know is dead, emphasising the tragic nature of Anne, and all of the Bronte's lives.

Stanza 3
The word “transient” (meaning short lived or fleeting) suggests that William's life was a short but worthwhile existence. Here Anne could be trying to find a silver lining in William’s death.
“’Tis sweet to think that thou hast been;” is sickly sweet, almost not genuine, suggesting that maybe Anne makes out their relationship to have been perfect when really it wasn’t.
Interestingly again Anne says, “think” as opposed to “know” that “thou hast been”…which gives the sense that she does not know him, that she simply thinks on him, or knows of him. Their relationship, therefore feels indirect by implication.

Stanza 4
This idealizes William to "a form, so angel fair" implying that in death he has become perfect to her almost in a perverse way; Anne may prefer him in death because it would give her a reason as to why he can't be hers. It gives her the opportunity to turn him into one of her fictional characters where she could now decide what he was like and who he fell in love with.
The phrase “humble sphere” suggests the earth, or world suggesting that Anne feels that his presence at some point “gladdened” her world. Interestingly, she calls it “our” humble sphere which also conveys some form of want, or desperation, that he was never hers. However in Anne’s view they at the very least shared something, despite it being the world which everyone shares.


Links:
Sources of reference: (1) The Brontes, Everyman's poetry, Selected Poems, Edited by Pamela Norris