'The Forsaken Merman' by Matthew Arnold
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Come, dear children, let us away;
Down and away below!
Now my brothers call from the bay,
Now the great winds shoreward blow,
Now the salt tides seaward flow;
Now the wild white horses play,
Champ and chafe and toss in the spray.
Children dear, let us away!
This way, this way!
Call her once before you go—
Call once yet!
In a voice that she will know:
'Margaret! Margaret!'
Children's voices should be dear
(Call once more) to a mother's ear;
Children's voices, wild with pain—
Surely she will come again!
Call her once and come away;
This way, this way!
'Mother dear, we cannot stay!
The wild white horses foam and fret.'
Margaret! Margaret!
Come, dear children, come away down;
Call no more!
One last look at the white-walled town,
And the little grey church on the windy shore;
Then come down!
She will not come though you call all day;
Come away, come away!
Children dear, was it yesterday
We heard the sweet bells over the bay?
In the caverns where we lay,
Through the surf and through the swell,
The far-off sound of a silver bell?
Sand-strewn caverns, cool and deep,
Where the winds are all asleep;
Where the spent lights quiver and gleam,
Where the salt weed sways in the stream,
Where the sea-beasts, ranged all round,
Feed in the ooze of their pasture-ground;
Where the sea-snakes coil and twine,
Dry their mail and bask in the brine;
Where great whales come sailing by,
Sail and sail, with unshut eye,
Round the world for ever and aye?
When did music come this way?
Children dear, was it yesterday?
Children dear, was it yesterday
(Call yet once) that she went away?
Once she sate with you and me,
On a red gold throne in the heart of the sea,
And the youngest sate on her knee.
She combed its bright hair, and she tended it well,
When down swung the sound of a far-off bell.
She sighed, she looked up through the clear green sea;
She said: 'I must go, for my kinsfolk pray
In the little grey church on the shore today.
'Twill be Easter-time in the world—ah me!
And I lose my poor soul, Merman! here with thee.'
I said: 'Go up, dear heart, through the waves;
Say thy prayer, and come back to the kind sea-caves!'
She smiled, she went up through the surf in the bay.
Children dear, was it yesterday?
Children dear, were we long alone?
'The sea grows stormy, the little ones moan;
Long prayers,' I said, 'in the world they say;
Come,' I said; and we rose through the surf in the bay.
We went up the beach, by the sandy down
Where the sea-stocks bloom, to the white-walled town;
Through the narrow paved streets, where all was still,
To the little grey church on the windy hill.
From the church came a murmur of folk at their prayers,
But we stood without in the cold blowing airs.
We climbed on the graves, on the stones worn with rains,
And we gazed up the aisle through the small leaded panes.
She sate by the pillar; we saw her clear:
'Margaret, hist! come quick, we are here!
Dear heart,' I said, 'we are long alone;
The sea grows stormy, the little ones moan.'
But, ah, she gave me never a look,
For her eyes we sealed to the holy book!
Loud prays the priest; shut stands the door.
Come away, children, call no more!
Come away, come down, call no more!
Down, down, down!
Down to the depths of the sea!
She sits at her wheel in the humming town,
Singing most joyfully.
Hark, what she sings: 'O joy, O joy,
For the humming street, and the child with its toy!
For the priest, and the bell, and the holy well;
For the wheel where I spun,
And the blessed light of the sun!'
And so she sings her fill,
Singing most joyfully,
Till the shuttle drops from her hand,
And the whizzing wheel stands still.
She steals to the window, and looks at the sand,
And over the sand at the sea;
And her eyes are set in a stare;
And anon there breaks a sigh,
And anon there drops a tear,
From a sorrow-clouded eye,
And a heart sorrow-laden,
A long, long sigh;
For the cold strange eyes of a little Mermaiden,
And the gleam of her golden hair.
Come away, away children;
Come children, come down!
The hoarse wind blows coldly;
Lights shine in the town.
She will start from her slumber
When gusts shake the door;
She will hear the winds howling,
Will hear the waves roar.
We shall see, while above us
The waves roar and whirl,
A ceiling of amber,
A pavement of pearl,
Singing: 'Here came a mortal,
But faithless was she!
And alone dwell for ever
The kings of the sea.'
But, children, at midnight,
When soft the winds blow,
When clear fall the moonlight,
When spring-tides are low;
When sweet airs come seaward
From heaths starred with broom,
And high rocks throw mildly
On the blanched sands a gloom;
Up the still, glistening beaches,
Up the creeks we will hie,
Over banks of bright seaweed
The ebb-tide leaves dry.
We will gaze, from the sand-hills,
At the white sleeping town;
At the church on the hillside—
And then come back down.
Singing: 'There dwells a loved one,
But cruel is she!
She left lonely for ever
The kings of the sea.'
Editor 1 Interpretation
The Forsaken Merman: A Masterpiece of Despair and Longing
Matthew Arnold's "The Forsaken Merman" is a haunting and moving poem that explores themes of loss, longing, and the power of love. First published in 1849, the poem tells the story of a merman who has been abandoned by his human wife and left to raise his children alone. Through vivid imagery and emotionally charged language, Arnold creates a powerful meditation on the nature of love and the pain of separation.
Summary of the Poem
The poem opens with the merman, who is described as "lonely" and "sorrowful," lamenting the loss of his human wife. He remembers the days when they were together, swimming together in the sea and sharing their love. But now she has left him and returned to the human world, and he is left to care for their children alone.
The merman's children, who are half-human and half-fish, long to go to the human world and be with their mother. Their father, however, warns them that it is a dangerous place and that they should stay in the safety of their underwater home. But the children are persistent, and eventually, the merman relents and allows them to go.
As the children leave, the merman is overcome with grief and despair. He sings a mournful song, calling out to his wife and begging her to come back to him. But she does not come, and he is left alone once again.
Analysis and Interpretation
At its core, "The Forsaken Merman" is a poem about loss and the pain of separation. The merman is deeply in love with his human wife, and the loss of her has left him devastated. His children, too, long for their mother and the human world, and their departure only amplifies his grief.
But the poem is more than just a lament for lost love. It is also a meditation on the power of love and the lengths that people will go to in order to be with the ones they love. The merman's wife may have left him, but he still loves her deeply and longs for her to return. His children, too, are willing to risk everything to be with their mother, even if it means leaving the safety of their underwater home.
Arnold uses vivid and striking imagery to convey the emotions of the poem. The merman is described as "lonely" and "sorrowful," and his grief is palpable. The image of the half-human, half-fish children is both eerie and poignant, highlighting the alienation that they feel from both the human and mermaid worlds. The sea, too, is a powerful symbol throughout the poem, representing both the dangers and the beauty of the natural world.
One of the most powerful aspects of the poem is the way in which it blurs the boundaries between the human and natural worlds. The merman and his children are not fully human, but they are not fully mermaids either. They exist in a liminal space, caught between two worlds and belonging to neither. This creates a sense of dislocation and alienation that is deeply moving.
Another important theme of the poem is the idea of sacrifice. The merman sacrifices his own desires and fears to allow his children to pursue their own dreams. He knows that the human world is dangerous, but he also knows that his children long to be there. In allowing them to leave, he is sacrificing his own happiness for theirs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, "The Forsaken Merman" is a powerful and moving poem that explores themes of loss, longing, and the power of love. Through vivid imagery and emotionally charged language, Arnold creates a haunting meditation on the nature of human emotion and the pain of separation. The poem is a masterpiece of despair and longing, and it is no wonder that it has remained a classic of English literature for over a century and a half.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Forsaken Merman: A Poem of Love, Loss, and Longing
Matthew Arnold’s The Forsaken Merman is a classic poem that has captured the hearts of readers for generations. Written in 1849, the poem tells the story of a merman who has been abandoned by his human wife and left to raise their children alone. The poem is a powerful exploration of love, loss, and longing, and it is a testament to Arnold’s skill as a poet that it continues to resonate with readers today.
The poem is divided into three parts, each of which explores a different aspect of the merman’s experience. In the first part, we are introduced to the merman and his family. We learn that his wife, a human woman, has left him and returned to the land, leaving him to care for their children. The merman is heartbroken and lonely, and he longs for his wife to return to him. He sings a mournful song to her, begging her to come back to him and their children:
“Come back to your little ones, mother, oh come! For we feel so lonely without you, at home; We are weary of playing, we are weary of fun, We are all of us tired of everything, but we none Of us care for playtime, if you will not come!”
The merman’s song is filled with longing and sadness, and it is clear that he is deeply in love with his wife and misses her terribly.
In the second part of the poem, we see the merman’s children playing on the shore. They are happy and carefree, but they are also aware of their father’s sadness. They long for their mother to return, but they also understand that she may never come back. The merman’s daughter, in particular, is deeply affected by her mother’s absence. She sings a haunting song about her mother, in which she imagines her as a beautiful, otherworldly creature:
“She is neither white nor brown, But as the heavens fair; There is none hath a name for the color, But it is hair.”
The daughter’s song is a poignant reminder of the merman’s loss, and it is a testament to Arnold’s skill as a poet that he is able to capture the depth of the merman’s pain through the eyes of his children.
In the final part of the poem, the merman returns to the sea, leaving his children behind. He is unable to bear the pain of his wife’s absence any longer, and he longs to be reunited with her. He sings a final, mournful song to his children, in which he bids them farewell and expresses his hope that they will one day be reunited:
“Farewell, my children, farewell, adieu! We saddest of all the sea-worn few, Who meet to-day, and must part to-night, In the waning moon’s pale light.”
The merman’s final song is a powerful expression of his love for his children, and his hope for a future in which they will be reunited with their mother.
The Forsaken Merman is a poem that is filled with powerful imagery and emotion. Arnold’s use of language is masterful, and he is able to capture the merman’s pain and longing in a way that is both beautiful and heartbreaking. The poem is also a powerful exploration of the themes of love, loss, and longing, and it is a testament to Arnold’s skill as a poet that he is able to explore these themes in such a powerful and moving way.
In conclusion, The Forsaken Merman is a classic poem that continues to resonate with readers today. It is a powerful exploration of love, loss, and longing, and it is a testament to Arnold’s skill as a poet that he is able to capture the merman’s pain and longing in such a beautiful and heartbreaking way. The poem is a reminder of the power of language to capture the depth of human emotion, and it is a testament to the enduring power of poetry to move and inspire us.
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