Fare+Thee+Well

Fare Thee Well

"Alas! they had been friends in youth: But whispering tongues can poison truth; And constancy lives in realms above; And life is thorny; and youth is vain; And to be wroth with one we love, Doth work like madness in the brain;

But never either found another To free the hollow heart from paining - They stood aloof, the scars remaining. Like cliffs which had been rent asunder; A dreary sea now flows between, But neither heat, nor frost, nor thunder, Shall wholly do away, I ween, The marks of that which once hath been." Coleridge, Christabel

Fare thee well! and if for ever, Still for ever, fare thee well: Even though unforgiving, never 'Gainst thee shall my heart rebel.

Would that breast were bared before thee Where thy head so oft hath lain, While that placid sleep came o'er thee Which thou ne'er canst know again:

Would that breast, by thee glanced over, Every inmost thought could show! Then thou wouldst at last discover 'Twas not well to spurn it so.

Though the world for this commend thee - Though it smile upon the blow, Even its praise must offend thee, Founded on another's woe:

Though my many faults defaced me, Could no other arm be found, Than the one which once embraced me, To inflict a cureless wound?

Yet, oh yet, thyself deceive not; Love may sink by slow decay, But by sudden wrench, believe not Hearts can thus be torn away:

Still thine own its life retaineth, Still must mine, though bleeding, beat; And the undying thought which paineth Is - that we no more may meet.

These are words of deeper sorrow Than the wail above the dead; Both shall live, but every morrow Wake us from a widowed bed.

And when thou wouldst solace gather, When our child's first accents flow, Wilt thou teach her to say "Father!" Though his care she must forego?

When her little hands shall press thee, When her lip to thine is pressed, Think of him whose prayer shall bless thee, Think of him thy love had blessed!

Should her lineaments resemble Those thou never more may'st see, Then thy heart will softly tremble With a pulse yet true to me.

All my faults perchance thou knowest, All my madness none can know; All my hopes, where'er thou goest, Wither, yet with thee they go.

Every feeling hath been shaken; Pride, which not a world could bow, Bows to thee - by thee forsaken, Even my soul forsakes me now:

But 'tis done - all words are idle - Words from me are vainer still; But the thoughts we cannot bridle Force their way without the will.

Fare thee well! thus disunited, Torn from every nearer tie. Seared in heart, and lone, and blighted, More than this I scarce can die.

Jad Jaber, Hassan Khadra, Rana Jarrah, jad jabak and ramzy nassar. http://englishhistory.net/byron/poems/fare.html

Commentary:

In the poem, "Fare Thee Well", Byron somehow responds to Coleridge's "Christabel". In the latter poem, the torn relationship between a couple is described. Coleridge, the author, pictures the scene as harsh and painful. The lovers seem to have left each other in quarrel not forgiving themselves. Byron, in his poem "Fare Thee well" adopts the anecdote as his own. First, the speaker tells his lover farewell for "ever" not denying his everlasting love for her even if she'll never forgive him. He tells her that even if she appears to be unforgiving he knows that deep down she loves him and that she's suffering just like him. He tells her that it was never a good idea to fight and not forgive because now they're both in pain and missing each other. He also goes on telling her that even if she's hurting him she remains the one he loves. This shows that the person who is hurting him is person who loves him how ironic! In addition the speaker tells his lover that if she stops loving him she'll only hurt herself and her heart will break. He's in pain but at least his heart is still beating but he regrets that they may never meet again. His words are coming from his sorrow and from his grave now. They have a child but the speaker is gone before the child is born. He asks his lover who now we know is his wife to teach the child to say "Father" and to remember him. He tells her that when she looks and touches their child she should remember him. He also reassures her by telling her that he'll be looking over her from his grave. He tells her that she knows him better than anyone else and that he'll stay with her if she decides to keep him by her side. Finally he tells her that he's dead and so he's lonely and in pain he also misses her. This poem shows that people will suffer if they are separated for ever while being mad at each other or having unfinished business between them. The tone is a hopeful one and the mood is a heartbreaking one.