.gif)
Lines (Emily Brontë poem)
Encyclopedia
Lines is a poem written by English
writer
Emily Brontë
(30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) in December 1837. It is understood that the poem was written in the Haworth
parsonage, two years after Brontë had left Roe Head, where she was unable to settle as a pupil. At the time Lines was written, Emily had already lived through the death of her mother and two of her sisters, Elizabeth
and Maria
. As the daughter of a parson, Emily received a rigorously religious education which is evident in much of her work. Lines is representative of much of Emily’s poetry, which broke Victorian
gender
stereotype
s by adopting the Gothic tradition and genre of Romanticism
, allowing her to express and examine her emotions.
Throughout their lives, the Brontë children struggled with leaving their in home in Haworth
to which they felt so closely attached. The gender prejudice of the nineteenth century left little choice for young women, like Emily, who were seeking employment, occupation or education. It was widely accepted that females would hold self-effacing roles as housewives, mothers, governess
es or seamstresses. Any poetry written by females was expected to address issues of religion, motherhood and wifehood on an instructive and educative level.
The Brontës subverted these stereotypes, choosing to write on topics such as death and love. The family lived in a parsonage opposite the church graveyard and was plagued with poor health and loss of life- inevitably death appears frequently in their writing.
s of four lines each:
I die but when the grave shall press
The heart so long endeared to thee
When earthly cares no more distress
And earthly joys are nought to me
Weep not, but think that I have past
Before thee o'er a sea of gloom
Have anchored safe and rest at last
Where tears and mourning cannot come
' Tis I should weep to leave thee here
On the dark Ocean sailing drear
With storms around and fears before
And no kind light to point the shore
But long or short though life may be
' Tis nothing to eternity
We part below to meet on high
Where blissful ages never die
For life is but a passing breeze
Nothing that we gain can we enjoy
Nor can we delight in its devulgant pleasures
Above waiteth thy bliss of glory
Above waiteth thy noble hearts peace
Thy victory in the grave shall be proclaimed
For thou art converted in splendour
Emily continues with the metaphor of life as the ‘Ocean’, using adjectives such as ‘dark’ and ‘drear’ to describe it negatively. It becomes apparent that death is a safe haven for Emily. Death is represented by the ‘shore’, where the troubles of ‘storms’ and ‘fears’ cannot reach. The final stanza is more positive and adopts a different perspective on life and death. Displaying her religious beliefs, she pitches the insignificant length of time against the afterlife which will last for ‘eternity’. Life is ‘nothing to eternity’, especially when the afterlife can unite Emily with her lost family members. Emily seeks to prove the greatness of such a place where ‘ages never die’. With enjambment and without punctuation, Emily creates the effect that life is transient, death is close and that the pains and ‘fears’ of living will not be endured for long.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
Emily Brontë
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
(30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) in December 1837. It is understood that the poem was written in the Haworth
Haworth
Haworth is a rural village in the City of Bradford metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is located amongst the Pennines, southwest of Keighley and west of Bradford. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope...
parsonage, two years after Brontë had left Roe Head, where she was unable to settle as a pupil. At the time Lines was written, Emily had already lived through the death of her mother and two of her sisters, Elizabeth
Brontë
The Brontës were a nineteenth-century literary family associated with Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte , Emily , and Anne , are well-known as poets and novelists...
and Maria
Brontë
The Brontës were a nineteenth-century literary family associated with Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte , Emily , and Anne , are well-known as poets and novelists...
. As the daughter of a parson, Emily received a rigorously religious education which is evident in much of her work. Lines is representative of much of Emily’s poetry, which broke Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s by adopting the Gothic tradition and genre of Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
, allowing her to express and examine her emotions.
Throughout their lives, the Brontë children struggled with leaving their in home in Haworth
Haworth
Haworth is a rural village in the City of Bradford metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is located amongst the Pennines, southwest of Keighley and west of Bradford. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope...
to which they felt so closely attached. The gender prejudice of the nineteenth century left little choice for young women, like Emily, who were seeking employment, occupation or education. It was widely accepted that females would hold self-effacing roles as housewives, mothers, governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
es or seamstresses. Any poetry written by females was expected to address issues of religion, motherhood and wifehood on an instructive and educative level.
The Brontës subverted these stereotypes, choosing to write on topics such as death and love. The family lived in a parsonage opposite the church graveyard and was plagued with poor health and loss of life- inevitably death appears frequently in their writing.
The poem
The poem is structured in four stanzaStanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
s of four lines each:
I die but when the grave shall press
The heart so long endeared to thee
When earthly cares no more distress
And earthly joys are nought to me
Weep not, but think that I have past
Before thee o'er a sea of gloom
Have anchored safe and rest at last
Where tears and mourning cannot come
On the dark Ocean sailing drear
With storms around and fears before
And no kind light to point the shore
But long or short though life may be
We part below to meet on high
Where blissful ages never die
For life is but a passing breeze
Nothing that we gain can we enjoy
Nor can we delight in its devulgant pleasures
Above waiteth thy bliss of glory
Above waiteth thy noble hearts peace
Thy victory in the grave shall be proclaimed
For thou art converted in splendour
Critical appreciation
The poem begins prominently with 'I die', immediately setting the tone for the poem which describes Emily's feelings concerning death. Emily gives the impression of indifference to death. Death will free her from 'earthly cares' and 'distress'. It is possible to interpret this attitude as death as relief from the suffering she has endured while mourning the losses in her family. As a teenager, it seems strange for Emily to be writing of her own death; however the presence of death in her life would have been inescapable. Using metaphor, she describes a ‘sea of gloom’ over which she passes to be ‘anchored’. This appears to be her interpretation of life as uncertain and relentless. She sees security in death which will allow her to ‘rest’ and remain ‘safe’ from the torment of ‘tears’ and ‘mourning’. It is by now clear, at the end of the second stanza, that death itself is a desirable escape from the repercussions it brings into life.Emily continues with the metaphor of life as the ‘Ocean’, using adjectives such as ‘dark’ and ‘drear’ to describe it negatively. It becomes apparent that death is a safe haven for Emily. Death is represented by the ‘shore’, where the troubles of ‘storms’ and ‘fears’ cannot reach. The final stanza is more positive and adopts a different perspective on life and death. Displaying her religious beliefs, she pitches the insignificant length of time against the afterlife which will last for ‘eternity’. Life is ‘nothing to eternity’, especially when the afterlife can unite Emily with her lost family members. Emily seeks to prove the greatness of such a place where ‘ages never die’. With enjambment and without punctuation, Emily creates the effect that life is transient, death is close and that the pains and ‘fears’ of living will not be endured for long.