'A Letter: To My Blood-forbidden Love'

~ Dedicated to Ms. G ~


Accursèd fate!

    your face, a flow'r,
entrances me with sinful pow'r;
and to with you share ev'ry hour,
O, would I blight our bloods.

I fear not for the Hell we're taught
to fear for fear we'd've laws forgot,
and fear not I, though this 'ffair ought
be pun'sh'd by Heaven's floods.

We cannot bonds of blood adhere,
so beg, consider this, my dear,
as we'll be made to disappear
and our love made to shush:

have we to from this world away,
if possible, ere break of day;
and lest we be discov'r'd, I'll pray
our passage shall be hush.

'Tis not our fault that this romance
rose from our boiling blood by chance,
requiring us to take a stance
to love in pain or pleasure.

My world will be one dark abyss
if never could I your lips kiss;
thus we must each our bloods dismiss,
their judgements of displeasure.

We'll love for long, I have no doubt;
but our bad blood will not allow't,
and at us curses they will shout
to tear us both asunder.

As whom to love us they will teach,
as 'gainst our love to us they'll preach,
we'll wont to wish to other each:
"Godspeed on th'Devil's thunder."



25/01/16

Poet's Notes

I was inspired to write this poem about forbidden love as I was deeply touched by the near-forbidden romance of Aragorn and Arwen in The Lord of the Rings. Another name that comes to mind when thinking of the notion of forbidden love is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as he was, at least towards the end of his life, homosexual; back in the day, it would be a great sin (much more than it is now) to be a gay man, making his love life immensely complicated and Pathetique (pun purely intentional). However, the theme of familial bonds in this poem comes from none other than William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. 

The idea of forbidden love through familial bonds can be one of the most heartbreaking instances a person can experience, in my opinion. As the person has no choice in determining what blood runs through his veins, it would be a rather oxymoronic tragedy as love, as much as it could be a choice, is lead by the heart. Looking back at my history of forbidden love, I've experienced, to some degree, a situation similar to this, where family was the determining factor that decided my relationship was a sin. Akin to the poetic persona, I have also gone against my "bonds of blood," and I suppose my actions inspired the rebelliousness I've given the persona. Even in the past, the notion of forbidden love has intrigued me as I've once written a (bad) short lay-like poem entitled The Tragedy of Herrick and Kayla Kruger, if any of you IGCSE Drama classmates out there recall. I suppose this tragic topic simply catches my attention, as love is always a gamble of pain and pleasure, especially within forbidden relationships.

Analysis: 'Love (III)' by George Herbert

The Poem

Love bade me welcome. Yet my soul drew back

        Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack

        From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,

        If I lacked any thing.

A guest, I answered, worthy to be here:

        Love said, You shall be he.

I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,

        I cannot look on thee.

Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,

        Who made the eyes but I?

Truth Lord, but I have marred them: let my shame

        Go where it doth deserve.

And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?

        My dear, then I will serve.

You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:

        So I did sit and eat.

Analysis

As George Herbert was a Christian, and even a priest for the later part of his life, this poem is evidently a religious one, possibly a guess at what the poet's first encounter with God would be once he leaves this Earth. Love here is personified, and is God in the context of this poem, as the persona refers to Love as "Lord" in the final stanza.

"Love bade me welcome."

- the short, easily comprehensible sentence emphasises the simplicity of God's forgiveness of sins and welcome into Heaven - Christians believed that once you leave a confess your sins and proclaim your faith in Christ, you are Heaven-bound.

"Dust and sin"

- sibilance represents the hissing of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, showing readers that this phrase is particularly negative in meaning;

- "dust" is a reference to original sin, as Adam, one of the original sinners, is made from dust;

- also can be a reference to the damnation of mankind in death, as the saying goes "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust;"

- "sin" is direct reference to the evils that caused the downfall of man.

"Quick-eyed"

- emphasises God's quickness to forgive His children when they repent.

"Drew nearer to me"

- shows that God takes the initiative to go to the persona, showing His willingness to save him.

"Sweetly questioning"

- to say these words requires the lips to be in a kissing shape;

- kissing is an act of love and compassion;

- this shows, through what God asked, His love for His children.

"If I lacked any thing."

- even as the King of Heaven, He asks the persona about his needs;

- this shows God's ever-benevolent selflessness.

"A guest, I answered, worthy to be here:"

- the caesura in this phrase slows the pace of which it is read;

- it displays the persona's nervousness in the presence of God.

"Love said, You shall be he."

- even God, speaking to a mortal soul, capitalises the "Y" in "You;"

- this is God showing the persona his worthiness in His eyes.

"Unkind and ungrateful"

- the repetition of the "un-" prefix emphasises the negativity in the persona's life.

"Cannot"

- this implies that it is physically impossible to look straight at God;

- it is believed that even the highest ranks of angels, God's divine creations, could not look directly at God for fear of burning in His glory (the reason behind having many wings: to cover their eyes).

"Love took my hand"

- taking one's hand is a gesture of compassion and closeness;

- it also shows that the relationship between God and the persona is a personal relationship, as holding of hands is usually reserved for people whom you share personal relationships with.

"Smiling"

- friendly gesture;

- it shows God's eagerness to save His child.

"Truth Lord, but I have marred them:"

- caesura again slows the pace;

- it shows the persona's shame in his confession, as would be normal for sinners to feel when confessing to a priest.

"Let my shame

go where it doth deserve"

- the enjambment quickens the pace, presenting the persona's eagerness to accept his damnation that he feels he deserves as a result of his sinful life;

- "shame" can be seen as a metaphor for his soul - his life was so full of sin that he feels that his soul is naught but shameful to him;

- "go" implies that his destination is far, and as we are aware, Hell is very much distant from Heaven;

- the alliteration of the "d" in "doth deserve" is a hard sound to signify the hard punishments that the persona expects to befall him.

"Bore the blame"

- the alliteration of "b" is bouncy and lightens the tone of the phrase;

- it is a happy thing that Christ died for our sins.

"You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:"

- the caesura here slows the pace, but it gives the phrase a more gentle and caring tone;

- the change to present tense in "says Love" shows that what is being said here by God will be said forever, as He never forsakes His children;

- "my meat" is a reference to the soul-healing Body of Christ that saves a damned soul from eternal punishment.

"So I did sit and eat."

- the poem ends with another simple sentence, further emphasising the simplicity of God's forgiveness and acceptance of mortal souls into His kingdom;

- the monosyllabic nature of this sentence further adds to the emphasis of its simplicity.

The rhyme scheme: ababcc

- the rhyme scheme, split into a quatrain and a couplet, may be seen as representations of a mortal, imperfect soul and its healing;

- abab would symbolise the sinner, unsettled in his morals, imperfect, and unworthy;

- cc would symbolise the sinner becoming settled and perfect through faith, receiving God's forgiveness, and made worthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

"Love" as a personification

- Love here, as mentioned earlier, is a personification of God;

- personification is to give something human qualities, and is often used to allow readers to build a more personal relationship with the subject;

- Christians believed that it is important to have a close, personal relationship with God, therefore the use of personification in this poem would be viewed to present that message.

'Sonnet III'

~ Dedicated to Anička ~


I strode across a field of Summer flow'rs,
where green the leaves and trees flourished the same,
but then arrived the clouds of rainy show'rs,
and withered they away as Autumn came.
I sat before the warmth of burning fire
under the sky glittered with glistening stars,
but then wind blew, and did the flames expire;
now shrouded was the coat of lights bizarre.
I lived in fear that all that's fair must fade,
and that no nectar could love eternise,
but then I saw thy face, beauty displayed,
that Chronos too could not its death devise.
So dare I say thy beauty has no end
in this my verse I writ to thee commend.



06/01/15

Poet's Notes

This time of year, just like every year, my school will be visited by a group of Czech students on a transfer program for an entire term. I'm feeling excited to meet them particularly because I'm directing them in a short extract from the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee. The Czech exchange students have always been an anticipated part of the school year, leaving the students and the teachers with many fond memories. 

I wrote this sonnet on the night after I'd first seen the Czechs last year, being mesmerised by the one of them. I had, at that point, been struggling to write as I had not the inspiration; her arrival was perfectly timed. She instantly was my muse for my next poem. Since I felt that the sonnet was regarded as the form of poetry for the adoration of beauty or love (thanks to the constant iambic pentametre mimicking the heartbeat), it felt only fitting to write a sonnet in dedication to her.