Assignment 2: Poem Analysis (week 5)

Poem 1: Long Neglect Has Worn Away by Emily Jane Brontë

Introduction

Emily Jane Brontë, born on 30 July 1818 in Thornton, England, was an

English novelist and poet. She was best known for her only novel, Wuthering
Heights, and is considered as a classic in English literature in current times. She has
also published a book specifically for poetry alongside her sisters, Anna and
Charlotte. The title of the book was Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, where
Currer is Charlotte, Ellis is Emily, and Acton is Anne. I this book, she has inserted
her own poems as is regarded as a "poetic genius." She published her work during
the Romantic Period and under the pen name Ellis Bell. Emily was the fifth child of
six, and the third-eldest child of the four surviving Brontë siblings but died on 19
December 1848 at the age of 30 in Haworth, England. Her resting place is in St
Michael and All Angels' Church, Haworth, Yorkshire.
Long Neglect Has Worn Away by Emily Jane Brontë
Long neglect has worn away
Half the sweet enchanting smile;
Time has turned the bloom to gray;
Mold and damp the face defile.

But that lock of silky hair,

Still beneath the picture twined,
Tells what once those features were,
Paints their image on the mind.

Fair the hand that traced that line,

"Dearest, ever deem me true";
Swiftly flew the fingers fine
When the pen that motto drew.
Meaning of Each Stanza

Stanza 1
The poet starts the poem by describing the state of the persona and the cause of it.
The persona has been neglected by possibly their loved ones, causing changes in
them. They no longer have a genuine smile that is enchanting, and their days have
turned sad and gloomy. The persona also does not care for their appearance in their
current state, leaving it to appear hideous and uncared.

Stanza 2
The second stanza explains the persona is remembering nostalgic, happy memories
with their loved one. The persona was possibly holding a picture of them and their
loved one when they were happy. Silky hair may be referring to the persona's hair in
the photograph of what their condition was before. It also gives the readers that the
persona was beautiful and had beautiful silky hair in the past but is now a wreck,
leaving their being unkept in the present. It also tells the readers that those
memories were replaying in the persona's mind.

Stanza 3
The stanza tells the reader of the persona's action, which is tracing a line, possibly
located on the photograph. The line that was written in the poem was quite personal,
meaning it was written possibly by a lover. The sentence Dearest, ever deem me
true might be comforting words to ease the persona's doubt towards their lover,
making the persona to trust that the lover's love is real. The next two lines describe
the persona writing a "motto," possibly overwriting the previous line to forget the
betrayal of their lover. In a different context, it could also indicate the birth of the
persona's love for literature as the poem was written in the romantic era.
Analysis of the poem

In Long Neglect Has Worn Away by Emily Jane Brontë, the poem has the
theme of memories of an emotionally abusive relationship. Memory is a time that has
happened in one’s past that they would not easily forget, be it something joyful or
something traumatic. My analysis of the theme in Brontë’s poem is supported by
literary elements that have been identified; imagery, settings, and figures of
speeches such as tone and mood. First, in Brontë’s poem, it contains three stanzas
and 12 lines (four lines per stanza). It also includes a rhyme scheme, which is ABAB
throughout the poem. This specific structure in poetry is known as a ballad. Ballad
poetry is a type of narrative poem that is either poetic or musical (containing
emotions and feelings). It consists of a rhyme pattern – ABAB – and is usually in
quatrains (four lines per stanza). Long Neglect Has Worn Away follows this type of
structure, thus making it a ballad poem because it is narrating a story about a person
remembering memories they once had with their significant other, causing them to
dive into an emotional crisis.
Next would be the imagery of the poem. A few imageries that we can get from
this poem is in line 2 to 4 of stanza 1 (Half the sweet enchanting smile;… Mold and
damp the face defile) and line 1 to 4 of stanza 2 (But that lock of silky hair,… Paints
their image on the mind.). The lines of the first stanza describe the condition of the
persona after time has passed. Their face has turned grimed, and their view towards
the world had turned dark. In the past, the persona might have viewed the world
differently; however, that changes in their current state. Meanwhile, lines 1 to 4 in
stanza 2 describes an image the persona possesses, and a lock of hair possibly
attached to the photograph. The stanza also describes the memory of beautiful
features that the persona once possessed in the past.
Other than that, the settings of the poem also contribute to the theme. While
there is no exact setting mentioned, the poet had written a sentence that gives the
readers a clue on what the setting could be. This would be line 3 in stanza 1 (Time
has turned the bloom to gray;), where it gives the readers a slight imagination on
what the situation was like for the persona; rainy and gloomy. This line and setting
also contribute to be a type of symbolism; bloom represents happiness, while grey
represents sadness or grief. This is in line with the theme of the poem, memories of
an emotionally abusive relationship, where it highlights the emotional abuse issue.
Finally, the figures of speech found in the poem. Figure of speech ranges
from hyperbole to irony. In Brontë’s poem, the figures of speech that could be
identified are hyperbole, synecdoche, irony, and understatement. The hyperboles
are in line 4, stanza 2 (Paints their image on the mind.). It exaggerated the idea of an
image being painted in the main, which is quite impossible, yet it meant that a
memory from long ago that was still fresh in the persona’s mind. Line 2, stanza 3
(“Dearest, ever deem me true” ;) is considered as irony. It is because the persona’s
lover had said these words to comfort that persona, reassuring them that they would
be there for the persona, yet in the end had left. It is seen as a sort of irony and
betrayal towards the persona; thus, it is in line with an emotionally abusive
relationship. The understatement found in the poem would be line 1, stanza 1 (Long
neglect has worn away). Neglection is seen as a simple issue in this statement and
is dismissed rather casually while it is a severe issue, moreover emotional
neglection. And lastly, synecdoche. This would be seen in line 4, stanza 3 (When the
pen that motto drew.). Synecdoche is a figure of speech where a part is used to
represent the whole or the whole of a part. It is used in line 4, stanza 3, to represent
the persona who began to write a motto. It might also indicate the persona writing
something to ease their heartbreak and depression, countering the previous
sentence that is present in the poem.
In conclusion, as a reader, I find the poem that Brontë wrote is related to
those who has suffered emotional abuse in their relationship. The poem was created
by Brontë during the Romantic Era (1800 to 1890), and the relationship itself can be
many things such as a loving relationship with a family member or a friend. However,
many people are not aware that neglection is a form of emotional abuse, and I think
that Brontë tried to make society realize that. Therefore, I believe poems such as this
should be expose to society nowadays, so they would know that neglection
contributes to emotional abuse and it is a severe issue.