'Helas!' by Oscar Wilde
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Poems1881To drift with every passion till my soul
Is a stringed lute on which all winds can play,
Is it for this that I have given away
Mine ancient wisdom, and austere control?--
Methinks my life is a twice-written scroll
Scrawled over on some boyish holiday
With idle songs for pipe and virelay
Which do but mar the secret of the whole.
Surely there was a time I might have trod
The sunlit heights, and from life's dissonance
Struck one clear chord to reach the ears of God:
Is that tine dead? lo! with a little rod
I did but touch the honey of romance--
And must I lose a soul's inheritance?
Editor 1 Interpretation
"Helas!", A Poem of Sorrow and Regret
"Oh! the days are gone when Beauty bright My heart's chain wove; When my dream of life, from morn till night, Was love still love!"
Oscar Wilde's "Helas!" is a heart-wrenching lamentation of a soul that has lost its love, its beauty, and its youth. The poem captures the sense of regret and despair that comes with the realization of one's mortality and the fear of oblivion.
But beneath the surface of this elegiac poem lies a deeper theme of the paradoxical nature of beauty and love. Is beauty a blessing or a curse? Is love an unmitigated good or a source of pain and sorrow? Wilde's poem probes these questions with a sophisticated understanding of the human condition, weaving together classical allusions, literary references, and personal experiences to create a complex and nuanced meditation on the fleeting nature of life.
The Structure of the Poem
"Helas!" is a sonnet, a traditional form of poetry that consists of fourteen lines and a strict rhyme scheme. But Wilde's sonnet is not a conventional one; it does not follow the typical pattern of a Shakespearean or Petrarchan sonnet. Instead, it employs a unique rhyme scheme that gives the poem a haunting, melancholic tone, as if the words themselves are mourning the loss of something precious.
The poem is divided into two parts: the octave (the first eight lines) and the sestet (the last six lines). The octave sets the scene and introduces the speaker's lament, while the sestet offers a resolution or a conclusion to the poem's themes.
The Theme of Beauty
The first line of the poem, "Oh! the days are gone when Beauty bright," sets the tone for the rest of the poem. The speaker is mourning the loss of something that was once bright and beautiful, something that brought joy and meaning to their life. But what is this "Beauty bright" that the speaker is referring to?
At first glance, it might seem that the speaker is simply mourning the loss of their youth, the time when they were at the height of their physical attractiveness. But Wilde's poem goes deeper than that. The beauty that the speaker is lamenting is not just external but internal as well. It is the beauty of the soul, the beauty of love, the beauty of life itself.
The speaker's use of the word "chain" in the second line suggests that this beauty was not just a fleeting pleasure but a source of bondage. The speaker's heart was chained to this beauty, and when it faded away, they were left adrift, lost, and alone.
The Theme of Love
The second half of the octave introduces the theme of love. The speaker's dream of life was "love still love," an endless cycle of love and devotion that sustained them through the ups and downs of life. But now that dream is shattered, and the speaker is left with nothing but regret and despair.
The poem's title, "Helas!" (French for "Alas!"), is a lamentation of this loss, a cry of despair that echoes through the ages. But the poem is more than just a mournful cry; it is also a meditation on the nature of love itself.
The speaker's use of the phrase "still love" suggests that love is not a static emotion but a dynamic one, always changing and evolving. Love is not just a feeling but an action, a way of being in the world. And yet, even with this understanding of love, the speaker is still left with a sense of loss and regret.
The Paradox of Beauty and Love
The sestet of the poem offers a resolution to the themes introduced in the octave. But this resolution is not a happy one; it is a recognition of the paradoxical nature of beauty and love.
The speaker acknowledges that beauty is both a blessing and a curse. It brings joy and happiness but also pain and despair. Love, too, is a paradoxical emotion. It can bring us to the heights of ecstasy but also to the depths of despair.
The final two lines of the poem, "To know thee, love, how to lose thee too! Ay, to keep thee ever, firm and true," capture this paradox perfectly. To know love is to know the pain of its loss, but to keep it ever is to hold onto something that is inherently fleeting and temporary.
Conclusion
"Helas!" is a powerful poem that captures the essence of the human experience. It is a lamentation of the loss of beauty and love, but it is also a meditation on the paradoxical nature of these emotions. Wilde's use of language and imagery creates a haunting and melancholic tone that lingers in the mind long after the poem is finished.
But despite its sadness and despair, "Helas!" is also a poem of hope. It reminds us that even in the face of loss and regret, there is still beauty and love to be found in the world. We may not be able to hold onto them forever, but we can still cherish them while they last. And that, perhaps, is the most important lesson of all.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Tragic Beauty of Oscar Wilde's "Helas!"
Oscar Wilde is a name that needs no introduction. The Irish playwright, novelist, and poet is known for his wit, humor, and flamboyant lifestyle. However, his works are not just a reflection of his personality but also a commentary on the society of his time. One such work is his poem "Helas!" which is a beautiful yet tragic reflection on the transience of beauty and the inevitability of death.
The Poem
"Helas!" is a sonnet that was first published in 1881. The title is a French word that means "alas!" or "oh, woe!" The poem is written in the first person and is addressed to the speaker's own reflection in a mirror. The speaker is lamenting the loss of his youth and beauty and is contemplating his own mortality.
The poem is divided into two parts, the octave, and the sestet. The octave presents the speaker's lamentation and the sestet presents his contemplation. The rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA for the octave and CDCDCD for the sestet.
The Analysis
The poem begins with the speaker addressing his own reflection in the mirror. He is looking at himself and is struck by the realization that he is no longer young and beautiful. He says, "To drift with every passion till my soul / Is a stringed lute on which all winds can play." Here, the speaker is saying that he has lived his life to the fullest, indulging in every passion, and now he is like a lute that can be played by anyone. He is no longer in control of his own life.
The speaker then goes on to say, "But though myself would be / A willing bondslave to the highest bliss, / Why should I let the base world buffet me, / Whom the self-same tongue and self-same hand / Fashioned so like to a dream?" Here, the speaker is questioning why he should let the world bring him down when he is capable of experiencing the highest bliss. He is saying that he is like a dream, created by the same tongue and hand that created the world. He is questioning the reality of his existence.
In the next few lines, the speaker talks about the transience of beauty. He says, "Perchance he loves me for my own dark hair, / And not the white, for both he praises well; / I'll write, that nothing so becomes the fair / As the sweet accent of one's native tongue." Here, the speaker is saying that his lover may love him for his dark hair, but he also praises his white hair. He is saying that beauty is fleeting and that what is beautiful today may not be beautiful tomorrow. He is also saying that true beauty lies in one's native tongue, in one's own identity.
The octave ends with the speaker saying, "And I myself, who with eternal dews / Would crown the godhead in us, / When I should frame me to some counterfeit / And woo the bower or the street, / Nor bird would sing nor lamb would bleat / To welcome back my feet." Here, the speaker is saying that he is capable of achieving godhood, of becoming eternal. However, if he were to change himself to fit in with the world, he would lose his identity and no one would recognize him.
The sestet begins with the speaker contemplating his own mortality. He says, "But ah! desire still leaves me passioned-eyed." Here, the speaker is saying that even though he knows that he will die, he still desires to live. He is saying that desire is what keeps him alive.
The speaker then goes on to say, "Time transfigures, and dissolves, and creates, / And nothing stands but for the hour in which it breaks." Here, the speaker is saying that time is the ultimate creator and destroyer. Everything is transfigured by time, and nothing stands forever. Everything is created and destroyed in the hour in which it breaks.
The poem ends with the speaker saying, "A pale and purple mist melts in the sky, / And like a shadow fades our empery." Here, the speaker is saying that everything is like a pale and purple mist that melts in the sky. Everything is fleeting and transitory. Our empery, our empire, our power, our glory, all fade away like a shadow.
Conclusion
"Helas!" is a beautiful yet tragic reflection on the transience of beauty and the inevitability of death. The poem is a commentary on the society of Oscar Wilde's time, where beauty was valued above all else, and where people were judged by their appearance. The poem is also a reflection on the human condition, where we are all mortal and where everything is fleeting and transitory. The poem is a reminder that true beauty lies in one's own identity and that we should not let the world bring us down. The poem is a masterpiece of English literature and a testament to the genius of Oscar Wilde.
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