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"My Soul is Dark"

My soul is dark - Oh! quickly string The harp I yet can brook to hear; And let thy gentle fingers fling Its melting murmurs o'er mine ear. If in this heart a hope be dear, That sound shall charm it forth again: If in these eyes there lurk a tear, 'Twill flow, and cease to burn my brain.

But bid the strain be wild and deep, Nor let thy notes of joy be first: I tell thee, minstrel, I must weep, Or else this heavy heart will burst; For it hath been by sorrow nursed, And ached in sleepless silence, long; And now 'tis doomed to know the worst, And break at once - or yield to song.

Comments

Mood: Dark/ Dreary Tone: Deep/ melancholic Uses sensory images: hearing (harp/ ear/ notes/sound/murmurs/silence/song) feeling (gentle/ fingers/ fling/ burn my brain/ ached in sleepless silence) Themes: -hope -music for ventilation (his feelings towards the music) Speaker: -1st person point of view -talks about his feelings Rhyme Scheme: abab/bcbc dede/efef Form: 2 stanzas (octet)

1st part: he talks about his feelings towards the music 2nd part: how the music affects him (relief).

Alliteration: melting murmurs/ fingers fling/ heart a hope/ sleepless silence... He uses alliteration and rhyme scheme to add to the rythm of the poem.

Summary: He wants his sorrow to come ot first because he feels the only way to be happy is to be empty of all other feelings. (he would burst if he does not find inner peace)

(1788-1824) **
 * Remember Thee! Remember Thee! **
 * by Lord Byron

Remember thee! remember thee! Till Lethe quench life's burning stream Remorse and shame shall cling to thee, And haunt thee like a feverish dream! Remember thee! Aye, doubt it not. Thy husband too shall think of thee: By neither shalt thou be forgot, Thou false to him, thou fiend to me!

Comments:

Form: 2 Stanzas each is a quatrain Rhyme Scheme: abab caca Speaker: 1st person point of view and he's adressing his mistress Tone: anger Mood: seriousness The tone and mood are created through the diction that the author uses such as: - burning steam - haunt thee - thou false to him, thou fiend to me! The use of excalamation marks adds to the anger that the author is trying to portray. Allusions: "Lethe" allusion to Greek mythology (Lethe is a river in the underworld that induces forgetfulness) Repitition: "Remember thee" Note: the "thee" in "remember thee" could be viewes either as remember me or us.

The poem was written by Byron and adressed to his mistress Caroline, whom he finds out is married and is therefore mad at her for keeping such a person. In this poem the speaker is adressing his mistress and telling her that by hurting her husband she has betrayed him as well.

|| **By the Rivers of Babylon We Sat Down and Wept** ||  || ||   ||  We sat down and wept by the waters Of Babel, and thought of the day When our foe, in the hue of his slaughters, Made Salem's high places his prey; And ye, oh her desolate daughters! Were scattered all weeping away.

While sadly we gazed on the river Which rolled on in freedom below, They demanded the song; but, oh never That triumph the stranger shall know! May this right hand be withered for ever, Ere it string our high harp for the foe!

On the willow that harp is suspended, Oh Salem! its sound should be free; And the hour when thy glories were ended But left me that token of thee: And ne'er shall its soft tones be blended With the voice of the spoiler by me!


 * George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron**

Comments:

Form: 3 stanzas, the first two stanzas are six lines each. The last stanza is 7 lines. Rhyme Scheme: ababab/ cdcdcd/ efefefe Point of View: 1st person point of view Allusions: - "waters of Babel" (Babylon) - " Salem" Alliteration: - desolate daughters - high harp Atmosphere: melancholic/sad Tone: sad This poem is Byron's personal translation of the 137th Pslam from the Holy Bible, which talks about the exile of the Jewish people from Jerusalem to Babylon where they were being foreced to change their religion. Symbolism: The harp is used as a symbol of prayer and faith in God, which was the only thing the the Jews kept after being exiled form Jerusalem. Salem is a symbol of Jerusalem (Jerusalem is also refernced as Salem in the Old Testament) ||