Write a summary of Philomela by Matthew Arnold.
Answers
Explanation:
This poem summary focuses on the poem ‘Philomela’ by Matthew Arnold. The title of this poem makes it clear that it is based on the Greek myth of Philomela, the princess of Athens, turning into a nightingale. Philomela has classically been associated with unlawful passion, betrayal, and revenge. Hence the nightingale, which has often been depicted in English poetry (for example, by Coleridge, Keats, and Wordsworth), is generally thought to sing in a melancholy tone. Arnold here sees the pain of the nightingale as being unending and unchangeable. Go through Philomela summary by Matthew Arnold.
Philomela by Matthew Arnold Summary
‘Philomela’ is made up of four stanzas. Each of these stanzas is again made up of a varying number of lines. In all the stanzas, we find an unnamed narrator speaking. This narrator can be equated with Arnold himself.
The first stanza consists of four lines. In this stanza, Arnold hails the vision of the tawny-coloured nightingale as it flies across the field of his vision. He urges his readers to look out for the nightingale as well. As the nightingale bursts from the cedar trees of a forest at night time, its sudden and dramatic movement seems to convey a sense of triumph. However, it is only pain that the nightingale brings to mind.
The second stanza also consists of four lines. In this stanza, Arnold assumes the tradition of Old English poetry and sees the nightingale as a wanderer – one who has travelled across the sea from the far-off shores of Greece. However, it is not only in terms of geographical location that Greece is portrayed as a distant land. Rather it is time as well that separates this ancient land, associated with history and myths, from contemporary England in the Victorian era where Arnold writes this poem.
However, neither the years, nor the miles that has brought the nightingale to English shores has succeeded in lessening the pain that it has experienced. The nightingale’s anger at betrayal, and its “wild” desire for revenge has remained unquenched, like a thirst that no amount of water can cure. These feelings are so deep in its very being that they will not be easily eradicated.
The third stanza consists of seven lines. In this stanza, Arnold directly addresses the nightingale and asks whether its pain will ever heal. Arnold then conjures up a soothing picture of the pleasant environment that the nightingale has encountered in England. In that context, he describes how at night, the temperature of the entire surroundings of the forest into which the nightingale has flown are now cool, and the trees there are letting out a refreshing fragrance. Arnold implicitly hopes that this will freshen the nightingale’s mind and purge it of all negative emotions.