F. De Samara to A. G. A.
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F. De Samara to A. G. A. is a poem by British author and poet Emily Jane Brontë, written on November 1, 1838. The poem below has been reproduced from a copy used in the 'Penguin Classics Collection'.
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[edit] 'F. De Samara to A. G. A.'
- Light up thy halls! ‘Tis closing day;
- I’m drear and lone and far away –
- Cold blows on my breast, the north wind’s bitter sigh
- And oh, my couch is bleak beneath the rainy sky!
- Light up thy halls – and think not of me;
- That face is absent now, thou hast hated me so to see –
- Bright be thine eyes, undimmed their dazzling shine,
- For never, never more shall they encounter mine!
- The desert moor is dark; there is tempest in the air;
- I have breathed my only wish in one last, one burning prayer –
- A prayer that would come forth although it lingered long;
- That set on fire my heart, but froze upon my tongue –
- And now, it shall be done before the morning rise;
- I will not watch the sun ascend in yonder skies.
- One task alone remains – thy pictured face to view
- And then I go to prove if God, at least, be true!
- Do I not see thee now? Thy black resplendent hair;
- Thy glory-beaming brow, and smile how heavenly fair!
- Thine eyes are turned away – those eyes I would not see,
- Their dark, their deadly ray would more than madden me
- There, go, Deceiver, go! My hand is streaming wet,
- My hearts blood flows to buy the blessing – To forget!
- Oh could that lost heart give back, back again to thine
- One tenth part of the pain that clouds my dark decline!
- Oh could I see thy lids weighed down in cheerless woe;
- Too full to hide their tears, too stern to overflow;
- Oh could I know thy soul with equal grief was torn
- This fate might be endured – this anguish might be borne!
- How gloomy grows the Night! ‘Tis Gondal’s wind that
- blows
- I shall not tread again the deep glens where it rose –
- I feel it on my face – Where, wild blast, dost thou roam?
- What do we, wanderer, here, so far away from home?
- I do not need thy breath to cool my death-cold brow
- But go to that far land, where she is shining now;
- Tell Her my latest wish, tell Her my dreary doom;
- Say, that my pangs are past, but Hers are yet to come –
- Vain words – vain, frenzied thoughts! No ear can hear me call –
- Lost in the vacant air my frantic curses fall
- And could she see me now, perchance her lip would smile
- Would smile in careless pride and utter scorn the while!
- And yet, for all her hate, each parting glance would tell
- A stronger passion breathed, burned in this last farewell –
- Unconquered in my soul the Tyrant rules me still –
- Life bows to my control, but, Love I cannot kill!
[edit] Context
[edit] Historical Context
1838 was a year that saw the UK demand universal suffrage, and the beginning of the Central American Civil War. At the time of writing, Emily was two months into her new teaching job at Law Hill Girl's school, in Halifax.
[edit] Gondal References
The title of the poem makes reference to two characters from Emily's imaginary childhood island of Gondal, a place which she invented and wrote short stories about along with her younger sister Anne. Gondal was a kingdom ruled by the powerful Queen, Augusta Almeda, to whom the poem is written, from another character Fernando De Samara. Gondal was often at war with its rival nation Angria - another imaginary island and country, created by Emily and Anne's two siblings Branwell and Charlotte.
When read in this context F. De Samara to A. G. A. reveals Fernando de Samara's last words to his beloved Queen Augusta, as he commits suicide for her sake. [1]
[edit] Poetic techniques
[edit] Linguistic techniques
Suicide, as a theme, is evident also from the use of vivid imagery, as well as the heavy hearted tone conveyed through Emily's use of caesura and interjection.
[edit] Structural layout
The poem uses thirteen stanzas, constructed using an ‘aabb’ rhyming structure. This is a conventional style of writing poetry, upon which Emily’s mark can be seen in the way certain lines lack the required rhyme. The effect of this technique is often to draw emphasis to the content of the line, and add impact to that stanza.
[edit] Notes
- ^ As written by Pamela Norris, editor of 'The Brontës' poetry book published by Orion Books in the 'Everyman's Poetry' collection
