Poverty
by Jane Taylor
I saw an old cottage of clay,
And only of mud was the floor;
It was all falling into decay,
And the snow drifted in at the door.Yet there a poor family dwelt,
In a hovel so dismal and rude;
And though gnawing hunger they felt,
They had not a morsel of food.The children were crying for bread,
And to their poor mother they’d run;
‘Oh, give us some breakfast,’ they said,
Alas! their poor mother had none.She viewed them with looks of despair,
She said (and I’m sure it was true),
‘’Tis not for myself that I care,
But, my poor little children, for you.’O then, let the wealthy and gay
But see such a hovel as this,
That in a poor cottage of clay
They may know what true misery is.
And what I may have to bestow
I never will squander away,
While many poor people I know
Around me are wretched as they.
Summary of Poverty
- Popularity of “Poverty”: Jane Taylor, a great British poet and novelist wrote Poverty. It is a thought-provoking narrative poem about misery and parenthood. It was first published in 1804 in her collection, Original Poems for Infant Minds. The poem describes the worrisome plight of a poor family in a disheveled home. It also illustrates how these people teach their children to adore the lot they have. The popularity of the poem, however, lies in the fact that it presents the notion of poverty and people’s reaction toward it.
- “Poverty” As a Representative of Misery and Pain: This poem is about poor people as it represents the intense image of how bitter poverty is and how people struggle to make ends meet. The poem begins with the description of an old cottage and its poor condition. Ironically, the unfit house was hope and shelter for a poor family who lacks even the basic facilities of life. She presents the heart-wrenching condition of the children of that family. They are asking for food, but their unfortunate parents are unable to feed them properly. However, the mother tries to console them with the little food she possesses and asks her children to count it as a blessing. These gruesome circumstances make the speaker think about the people living in the same pitiable state. The positive attitude of the poor family despite their plight and that they do not squander away anything is worth observed in this poem.
- Major Themes in “Poverty”: Poverty, misery, and motherhood are the major themes of the poem. This sad poem brilliantly presents a family facing eviction and destitution. They are living in an old shabby house on the edge of starvation. The subject becomes tenser when the speaker talks about hungry children and the way they ask for food from their mothers. Despite having less or no supply of food, she offers them a little amount she had. One thing that the poet brilliantly highlights is their attitude that even after living in this pathetic state these people do not complain. Rather, they are thankful for the slightest things they have.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Poverty”
literary devices are modes that represent the writer’s ideas, feelings, and emotions. It is through these devices the writers make their few words appealing to the readers. Jane Taylor has used some literary devices in this poem to make it appealing. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been listed below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /i/ in “And the snow drifted in at the door” and the sound of /e/ in “O then, let the wealthy and gay”.
- Alliteration: The poet has used alliteration as shown in the following examples. The sound of /p/ in “ While many poor people I know” and sound /s/ of “But see such a hovel as this.”
- Allegory: It is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. The speaker has used allegoric expressions at the beginning of the poem when he informs about the miserable condition of a family. For example,
“I saw an old cottage of clay,
And only of mud was the floor;
It was all falling into decay,
And the snow drifted in at the door.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
“O then, let the wealthy and gay
But see such a hovel as this,
That in a poor cottage of clay
They may know what true misery is.”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The poet has used this device in the last lines. For example, the speaker has many things to bestow upon them but he thinks it squandering to give to this poor family.
“And what I may have to bestow
I never will squander away.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “I saw an old cottage of clay/and only of mud was the floor”, “The children were crying for bread” and “She viewed them with looks of despair.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. “Clay cottage” and “muddy floor” symbolize the acute misery of the family.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Poverty”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- End Rhyme: End Rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. For example, “gay/clay”, “floor/door” and “bestow/know.”
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here, the first four stanzas are quatrains.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows ABAB rhyme Scheme and this pattern continues until the end.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are five stanzas in this poem having four quatrains and one octave.
Quotes to be Used
The lines stated are suitable to describe the sorrowful state of the people living in the area where they have an inadequate supply of food.
“The children were crying for bread,
And to their poor mother they’d run;
‘Oh, give us some breakfast,’ they said,
Alas! their poor mother had none.”