Woodspurge Analysis Essay Example for Free

Woodspurge Analysis EssayThe Woodspurge is a sixteen-line poem divided into four-line stanzas that describe a affliction-stricken narrator in an outdoor setting. In his depressed state, the narrator aflamely observes the details of the woodspurge, a species of weed that has a three-part blossom. The poems first stanza presents a countryside and begins to provoke the narratorss state of mind. The narrator is not walking toward a specific destination he moves in the direction the wind is blowing and once the wind ceases, he stops and sits in the grass. The f proceeding that his walking and stopping be guided merely by the wind indicates aimlessness and passivity The narrators sit down in the second stanza indicates that he feels exceedingly depressed. Sitting on the grass he is hunched over with his head between his knees. This shows that he is insecure.His depression is so severe that he cannot even groan aloud or speak a word of grief. His head is cast down, as is his soul so oftentimes that his hair is touching the grass. He remains in this position for an unknown length of time but long enough that he heard the twenty-four hour period pass. In the third stanza, My eyes, wide open, had the run let the readers know about the sudden changes in his attitude. He finally accepts what had happened and knows that he has to move on. From his seated position, he says there are ten weeds that his eyes can fix upon. This reflect that he sees his problem and becomes aware of it. He realises that the weeds (his problem) are in his way and the hardiness of the weeds tells that the problem that he faced are hard to be rid of.Out of that group, a flowering woodspurge captures his sweep through attention and he is dramatically impressed by the detail that it flowers as three cups in one. The narrator attributes his depressed state to perfect grief in the final stanza. He then comments that grief may not function to bring wisdom and may not even be remembered. He implies that he himself learned nothing from his grief that day and can no longer remember its cause. However, One thing then learnt remains to me He had been visually overwhelmed by the shape of the woodspurge and consequently, its image and the fact that The woodspurge has a cup of three have been vividly burned into his memory forever.Themes and MeaningsAlthough the cause of the narrators unhappiness is never specified, the poem was written in the spring of 1856 when Rossetti was in an anguished state. Hewas experiencing intense strife with Elizabeth Siddal over the issue of her desire for marriage. Rossetti was also torture at that time about relationships with other women and what he perceived as lost of artistic opportunities. However, nothing in the poem points to these specific issues. By expiration the cause of the narrators depression unspecified, Rossetti gives universal expression to the psychological phenomenon of acute mental awareness and heightened sensation simu ltaneously with mental and emotional distress.Although The Woodspurge has a plants name as its title, the poem does not have nature, or even the woodspurge itself, as its subject. Nature does play an indirect role in the poem, but it is not the focus here or in other works by Rossetti. Both in his painting and poetry, the function of nature is to act as a background for the presentation of human action and emotion. The depiction of details from nature is not meant to draw attention to nature itself but to reflect an inner experience. In conclusion, The Woodspurge is about the narrators grief and that an insignificant detail or image can remain vivid after emotional pain is forgotten. It concentrates on creating emotional effect, accuracy of detail and the use of nature as a framework for the expression of the mental and emotional state of the narrator.