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This is a poem about love and loss. It is centred on the death of a loved one (or of an imaginary loved
one) some 15 years previously. The poet says she is only just getting over the death, yet she has
convinced herself that she will never feel whole again without her loved one, cannot face the empty world
without him by her side.
A NOTE ON THE POET
Emily Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, in July 1818. She was the fourth daughter of six
children. In 1824, the family moved to the bleak village of Haworth, where Emily's father was appointed
rector of the local church.
Upon the death of her mother, Emily was sent for a time to the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge,
a place that developed a reputation for abuse. She was removed from the school, however, when a
typhus epidemic broke out. Emily's sister, Elizabeth, would die of it -- although some commentaries
put it down to tuberculosis.
The remaining sisters and their brother Patrick Branwell Brontë would then be home-schooled by
their father and an aunt. The children created bizarre stories of adventure and fantasy for their own
amusement, and often acted them out. They also penned numerous poems.
While in her late teens, Emily was sent to the Roe Head girls' school but her life of isolation in Haworth
did not equip her to socialise. She was soon troubled by homesickness and, after only three months, she
returned to the seclusion of Haworth once more.
At the age of 20, Emily began work as a teacher in Halifax but the very long working hours -- sometimes
as much as 17 hours a day -- broke her health and she once again returned home. She now remained
with the family, while venturing out only occasionally.
In the meantime, the three sisters -- Charlotte, Emily and Anne -- had written numerous poetry. In 1847,
Emily was persuaded to publish hers as part of a volume of poetry called Poems by Currer, Ellis, and
Acton Bell.
The names "Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell" were nom de plumes in a world where only men
published. Emily chose "Ellis Bell" as her name.
Later that same year, Emily published her one and only novel, Wuthering Heights, a bleak tale
of doomed romance set in the dark and windswept moors of Yorkshire. The book would be condemned
because of the heated passion portrayed between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw.
The Brontë home was situated next to the town's graveyard and their drinking water was polluted
by the decaying bodies. It is possible that Emily's health declined steadily as a result.
She died in December 1848, although cause of death is usually given as tuberculosis. She was buried
in the family vault within the village graveyard. She was then just 30 years of age.
Have you looked at the questions in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer the following questions:
"Then did I check the tears of useless passion --
Weaned my young soul from yearning after thine;
Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten
Down to that tomb already more than mine."
- Why does the poet speak of "the tears of useless passion"? (4)
[Need help?]
"Passion" is an overbearing emotion. The word is also used in the context of violent love.
The poet's violent love, the passion of her heart, however, ended in an early death -- and death brings
tears.
These tears, nevertheless, produce no help for her. They are therefore "useless". The pain
remains despite the tears.
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- The poet says she has "weaned" her young soul from "yearning" after him. What does
she mean when she uses the image "wean"? (2)
[Need help?]
Weaning means getting a baby to stop drinking from its mother's breast. In other words, she has grown
up and has started behaving in a more adult way.
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- Is it true that she has grown up? (2)
[Need help?]
One could argue that the poet has NOT grown up. She is still mourning for her dead friend even though
15 years have now elapsed.
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"And, even yet, I dare not let it languish,
Dare not indulge in memory's rapturous pain;
Once drinking deep of that divinest anguish,
How could I seek the empty world again?"
[Need help?]
An OXYMORON occurs when two contradictory words have been placed side-by-side, e.g. bitter-sweet.
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- Why is "divinest anguish" an example of an OXYMORON? (2)
[Need help?]
"Divine" means "absolute happiness" whereas "anguish" means "absolute
suffering" or "absolute sadness".
The two words are therefore opposite in meaning and, when placed side-by-side, become an
OXYMORON.
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- Can you find another example of an OXYMORON in this stanza? (1)
[Need help?]
What about "rapturous pain"?
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- The poet, in this final stanza, appears to be languishing in her melancholy. Would you
agree? (4)
[Need help?]
This stanza is indeed one of deepest melancholy. The poet refuses to let go of the sadness of loss, even
though 15 years have now passed. Count up the number of sad words that are used in this stanza and
you will prove your point.
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