Quarantine  

Quarantine

 By Eavan Boland

In the worst hour of the worst season
of the worst year of a whole people
a man set out from the workhouse with his wife.
He was walking—they were both walking—north.

She was sick with famine fever and could not keep up.
He lifted her and put her on his back.
He walked like that west and west and north.
Until at nightfall under freezing stars they arrived.

In the morning they were both found dead.
Of cold. Of hunger. Of the toxins of a whole history.
But her feet were held against his breastbone.
The last heat of his flesh was his last gift to her.

Let no love poem ever come to this threshold.
There is no place here for the inexact
praise of the easy graces and sensuality of the body.
There is only time for this merciless inventory:

Their death together in the winter of 1847.
Also what they suffered. How they lived.
And what there is between a man and woman.
And in which darkness it can best be proved.

Summary of Quarantine

• Popularity of “Quarantine”: The poem ‘Quarantine’ written by Eavan Boland, an Irish academic, author, and poet. It is an excellent poem which was first published in New Collected Poems in 2008. The poet’s expertise lies in their ability to evoke past events, connect imaginary love stories, and make them relevant to the present, as seen in this work. The poet’s mastery in this rendition is evident through her incorporation of powerful nationalistic emotions, focusing particularly on the love story amidst the famine. Thus guaranteeing that the loving couple will forever remain unforgettable in the minds of the readers.
• “Quarantine” As a Representative of Love during Disasters: The poet opens the poem, showing how an entire nation faced the worst time of the worst history during its worst year. Even though times were tough, couples managed to display not just grit and resilience but also an incredible amount of love and intimacy. The poet presents an unconventional love story of a couple showing that the wife was unable to tolerate hunger and cold when her husband was unable to provide her with food and warmth. He tried to save her by walking to the west and the north until both of them died of freezing cold and hunger. The circumstances of their deaths showed their everlasting love, as the man was discovered providing her with warmth to prolong her life. The poet’s intention is to incorporate a past event from 1847 into the collective consciousness of the Irish people, fostering resilience and love amidst challenges. He also claims that no love poem comprising sensual language and gross affections matches the gracefulness of the poem showing this couple, as it is proof how they did it. The majority of love poems are unverifiable and lack factual basis.
• Major Themes in “Quarantine”: Selfless love, historical realities, and permanence of facts are three major themes of this poem. The poem opens when the poet refers to the famine of 1847 that is also called the Potato Famine. That famine was the worst year in the history of the Irish nation when the people started dying of hunger and cold. During this food crisis, people showed historical realities of facing it with loving minds and resilience. The men and women tried to save lies and several untold stories of such struggle, efforts and love emerged later through different studies. The poet also shows that such stories could be proved through historical research. Therefore, such poetic renditions are better than sensual poetry that does not hold ground against such factual poetic pieces.

 Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Quarantine

literary devices are essential for beautiful poetic rendition. The analysis of these devices in the poem are as follows.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /uh/ in “In the worst hour of the worst season”, the sound of /i/ in “She was sick with famine fever and could not keep up” and the sound of /i/ in “The last heat of his flesh was his last gift to her”.
2. Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words, such as the sound of /w/ in “a man set out from the workhouse with his wife” and the sound of /f/ in “She was sick with famine fever and could not keep up”.
3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /d/ in “She was sick with famine fever and could not keep up”, the sound of /th/ in “He was walking—they were both walking—north”.
4. 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;

Let no love poem ever come to this threshold.
There is no place here for the inexact
praise of the easy graces and sensuality of the body.

5. Epistrophe: The poem shows the use of the repetition of the second part of the sentence, such as “the worst…” in first two verses.
6. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “a man set out from the workhouse with his wife”, “He lifted her and put her on his back” and “He walked like that west and west and north”.
7. Juxtaposition: The poem shows the juxtaposition of opposite ideas in the last stanza as the death does not put together; rather, it separates the people.
8. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphors as nightfall, history, and flesh.
9. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of time, famine, and inventory.
10. Simile: The poem shows the use of similes such as “He walked like the west”.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Quarantine

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.

1. Diction: The poem shows dry use of figurative language with a lugubrious tone.
2. Free Verse: The poem does not follow any rhyme scheme. Therefore, it is a free verse.
3. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are five stanzas in this poem, with each having four verses.

Quotes to be Used

These lines from “Quarantine” are relevant to use when teaching conjugal love and counseling about the importance of conjugal love.

In the morning they were both found dead.
Of cold. Of hunger. Of the toxins of a whole history.
But her feet were held against his breastbone.
The last heat of his flesh was his last gift to her