Remembrance
by Emily Brontë
Cold in the earth—and the deep snow piled above thee,
Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave!
Have I forgotten, my only Love, to love thee,
Severed at last by Time’s all severing wave?Now, when alone, do my thoughts no longer hover
Over the mountains, on that northern shore,
Resting their wings where heath and fern‑leaves cover
Thy noble heart forever, ever more?Cold in the earth—and fifteen wild Decembers,
From those brown hills, have melted into spring:
Faithful, indeed, is the spirit that remembers
After such years of change and suffering!Sweet Love of youth, forgive, if I forget thee,
While the world’s tide is bearing me along;
Other desires and other hopes beset me,
Hopes which obscure, but cannot do thee wrong!No later light has lightened up my heaven,
No second morn has ever shone for me;
All my life’s bliss from thy dear life was given,
All my life’s bliss is in the grave with thee.But, when the days of golden dreams had perished,
And even Despair was powerless to destroy,
Then did I learn how existence could be cherished,
Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy.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.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?
Unlocking the Heart of “Remembrance”: A Journey Through Emily Brontë’s Enduring Poem
Welcome, fellow explorers of literature, to a profound journey into Emily Brontë’s magnificent poem, “Remembrance.” This is a piece that speaks to the very core of human experience, delving into the depths of love, loss, and the incredible strength of the human spirit. Prepare to discover how Brontë masterfully weaves words to create a tapestry of emotion that resonates across time. This guide will illuminate the poem’s powerful themes, intricate literary devices, and its lasting message, offering a comprehensive understanding for anyone seeking to appreciate its profound beauty.
“Remembrance” Explained: A Concise Summary
At its heart, “Remembrance” is an elegy, a poem of mourning for a beloved person who has passed away. The speaker reflects on a love lost many years ago, grappling with the complex emotions of grief, memory, and the passage of time. The poem is not a simple expression of sorrow; instead, it traces the speaker’s emotional evolution, from the initial agony of separation and the fear of forgetting, to a hard-won acceptance of life’s ongoing demands. The central idea revolves around the struggle to honor a profound past love while simultaneously navigating the present and finding a way to continue living. It explores whether true remembrance means being consumed by sorrow or finding a path to resilience that integrates both cherished memories and the necessity of moving forward.
Why This Poem Captivates Readers
“Remembrance” holds a special place in literature due to its raw emotional honesty and its universal themes. It captures the often contradictory nature of grief, where love and pain are intertwined, and the human capacity to endure. Its eloquent language and deep psychological insight make it a powerful exploration of how memory shapes our identity and how we learn to live with absence.
Exploring the Core Ideas: Key Themes in “Remembrance”
- The Enduring Power of Memory: The poem consistently highlights how the speaker’s memory of the beloved remains vivid and cherished, even after many years. It questions the possibility of forgetting and ultimately affirms the indelible mark of true love.
- The Complex Journey of Grief and Acceptance: “Remembrance” portrays grief not as a linear process, but as a multifaceted emotional landscape. It shows the initial despair, the struggle to move on, and the eventual, often painful, acceptance of a life forever changed.
- The Tension Between Past Love and Present Life: A significant theme is the speaker’s internal conflict between the overwhelming joy and sorrow associated with past love and the practical necessities and new experiences of present existence.
- Resilience and Self-Preservation: The poem ultimately reveals the speaker’s remarkable strength in learning to live without the direct joy her beloved once brought. It illustrates a profound act of self-preservation, where the spirit finds ways to be nourished and strengthened despite enduring sorrow.
A Detailed Look: Unpacking the Poem’s Layers
Let us now delve deeper into each section of this remarkable poem, stanza by stanza, to uncover its rich meaning.
Opening Stanza: Establishing the Tone of Profound Loss
The poem immediately immerses the reader in a world of stark coldness and irreversible separation. The powerful opening lines,
Cold in the earth—and the deep snow piled above thee,
Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave!
create a desolate and chilling landscape. This imagery is not merely a physical description; it powerfully reflects the emotional chill and emptiness that has settled upon the speaker’s heart. The poignant question,
Have I forgotten, my only Love, to love thee,
Severed at last by Time’s all severing wave?
reveals a deep anxiety. It is not a literal fear of forgetting, but rather an expression of the speaker’s profound struggle to reconcile the passage of time with the intensity of her enduring love. The phrase “Time’s all severing wave” serves as a potent metaphor, illustrating the relentless, powerful, and irreversible nature of death and the passage of time.
The Second Stanza: Memory as a Soaring Thought
The second stanza shifts from the physical reality of the grave to the inner landscape of the speaker’s mind and memories. The lines,
Now, when alone, do my thoughts no longer hover
Over the mountains, on that northern shore,
introduce the beautiful image of the speaker’s thoughts as birds, freely soaring over a cherished landscape that once held shared experiences. This “northern shore” likely represents a place of deep personal significance. The subsequent lines,
Resting their wings where heath and fern‑leaves cover
Thy noble heart forever, ever more?
suggest a return to nature, a peaceful and enduring resting place for the beloved’s spirit. The repetition of “forever, ever more” underscores the lasting impact of their love and the speaker’s persistent connection to these memories.
The Third Stanza: The Passage of Years, The Steadfastness of Memory
This stanza marks the significant passage of time since the beloved’s death. The lines,
Cold in the earth—and fifteen wild Decembers,
From those brown hills, have melted into spring:
highlight that fifteen years, symbolized by harsh, cold Decembers, have passed. Yet, the natural cycle continues, bringing the renewal of spring. This cyclical imagery subtly suggests the speaker’s own resilience; while grief lingers, life itself persists. The stanza culminates in a powerful assertion of memory’s enduring strength:
Faithful, indeed, is the spirit that remembers
After such years of change and suffering!
This declaration celebrates the steadfastness of the speaker’s spirit, which has remained loyal to the memory of her love despite the profound changes and hardships endured over a decade and a half.
The Fourth Stanza: Acknowledging Life’s Flow and the Need for Forgiveness
The fourth stanza presents a complex and deeply poignant moment of self-reflection. The speaker utters,
Sweet Love of youth, forgive, if I forget thee,
While the world’s tide is bearing me along;
This is not a literal expectation of forgiveness from the deceased, but rather an internal acknowledgement of the natural, often irresistible, pull of life and the necessity of adapting to a world without the beloved. The “world’s tide” is a powerful metaphor for the relentless flow of time, experiences, and the demands of living, which carry the speaker along. The admission of “Other desires and other hopes beset me” demonstrates the speaker’s capacity for growth and renewal, recognizing that new aspects of life inevitably emerge. Crucially, she clarifies that these new hopes and desires “obscure, but cannot do thee wrong,” affirming that while they may momentarily overshadow, they do not diminish the profound memory of her lost love.
The Fifth Stanza: A Life Defined by Profound Loss
This stanza offers a stark and unwavering declaration of the profound impact of the beloved’s absence. The speaker asserts,
No later light has lightened up my heaven,
No second morn has ever shone for me;
These lines convey that no new love or joy has been able to illuminate her life or replace the happiness she once knew. Her entire sense of bliss and fulfillment was intrinsically linked to the beloved, as expressed in the lines,
All my life’s bliss from thy dear life was given,
All my life’s bliss is in the grave with thee.
This emphasizes the completeness of her love and the depth of her grief, suggesting that a part of her joy died with the beloved.
The Concluding Stanzas: The Path to Acceptance and Resilience
The final three stanzas mark a significant turning point in the speaker’s emotional journey, moving towards a form of acceptance and self-preservation. The speaker learns a crucial lesson:
Then did I learn how existence could be cherished,
Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy.
This reveals a profound realization: life can still hold value and be sustained even in the absence of overwhelming happiness. This is not a dismissal of her grief, but a deliberate act of resilience. She actively suppresses her “tears of useless passion” and “Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten / Down to that tomb already more than mine.” This shows a conscious effort to prevent herself from being consumed by sorrow and to resist the desire to join her beloved in death. The poem concludes with a powerful statement about the ongoing struggle with memory:
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?
The speaker acknowledges the intoxicating, almost addictive, nature of profound grief. She understands that to fully indulge in the “divinest anguish” of memory would make it impossible to engage with the “empty world” of the present. This final reluctance to “let it languish” or indulge in the pain suggests that while she will never forget her beloved, she must actively choose to live fully in the present, maintaining a sense of self and finding meaning in a world that will forever bear the mark of her loss.
Literary and Poetic Devices in “Remembrance”
Emily Brontë’s poetic skill shines through her masterful use of various literary and poetic devices, which enrich the poem’s meaning and emotional impact.
- Imagery: Brontë employs vivid sensory details to create powerful mental pictures. Examples include “deep snow piled above thee” and “heath and fern‑leaves cover,” which evoke a sense of coldness, desolation, and natural beauty. These images help readers visualize the setting and feel the speaker’s emotional state.
- Metaphor: The poem uses metaphors to draw comparisons between dissimilar things, adding depth to its themes. “Time’s all severing wave” is a striking metaphor for death and the passage of time, likening it to an unstoppable, destructive force. Similarly, the “world’s tide” metaphorically represents the relentless flow of life and its experiences.
- Repetition: The strategic use of repetition emphasizes key ideas and emotions. The phrase “Cold in the earth” is repeated, reinforcing the central theme of loss and the beloved’s physical absence. The repetition of “forever, ever more” in the second stanza underscores the enduring nature of the speaker’s memory.
- Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds, known as alliteration, adds a musical quality and draws attention to specific phrases. Examples include “sweet Love of youth” and “severing severing wave,” which enhance the poem’s rhythm and memorability.
- Rhyme Scheme: “Remembrance” consistently follows an ABAB rhyme scheme throughout its eight quatrains (four-line stanzas). For example, in the first stanza, “thee” rhymes with “thee,” and “grave” rhymes with “wave.” This regular pattern creates a sense of order, harmony, and musicality, which can both soothe and underscore the poem’s emotional intensity.
- Meter: The poem primarily employs iambic pentameter, a rhythmic pattern where each line typically consists of ten syllables, alternating unstressed and stressed beats (da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM). This meter creates a natural, flowing rhythm that mimics conversational speech, making the profound emotions feel more immediate and accessible to the reader.
The Enduring Significance of “Remembrance”
“Remembrance” stands as a timeless exploration of love, loss, and the incredible resilience of the human spirit. Its profound honesty and vulnerability resonate deeply with readers from all walks of life. The poem serves as a powerful reminder that grief is a complex, often contradictory emotion, and that it is indeed possible to find strength and a renewed sense of purpose even in the face of profound sorrow. It is a testament to the human capacity to adapt, to cherish memories, and to continue living fully, even when a part of our hearts remains forever intertwined with the past. This poem teaches us that remembering is not merely looking back, but an active process of integrating loss into the fabric of life itself.
A Line to Carry With You
“Faithful, indeed, is the spirit that remembers
After such years of change and suffering!”
This line encapsulates the core message of the poem: the remarkable endurance of memory and the steadfastness of the human spirit. It is a powerful affirmation that even after countless changes and hardships, the cherished memories of those we have loved continue to reside within us, shaping who we are.