Shut Out
by Christiana Rossetti
The door was shut. I looked between
Its iron bars; and saw it lie,
My garden, mine, beneath the sky,
Pied with all flowers bedewed and green:From bough to bough the song-birds crossed,
From flower to flower the moths and bees;
With all its nests and stately trees
It had been mine, and it was lost.A shadowless spirit kept the gate,
Blank and unchanging like the grave.
I peering through said: ‘Let me have
Some buds to cheer my outcast state.’He answered not. ‘Or give me, then,
But one small twig from shrub or tree;
And bid my home remember me
Until I come to it again.’The spirit was silent; but he took
Mortar and stone to build a wall;
He left no loophole great or small
Through which my straining eyes might look:So now I sit here quite alone
Blinded with tears; nor grieve for that,
For nought is left worth looking at
Since my delightful land is gone.A violet bed is budding near,
Wherein a lark has made her nest:
And good they are, but not the best;
And dear they are, but not so dear.
Meanings of Shut Out
Christiana Rossetti presents a first-person speaker in her poem “Shut Out” conversing with a spirit about her home and her condition but finding no answer though she has built her own place that is not dear to her. The poem presents the main ideas of a free spirit, loss of love and home, and nostalgia for the lost home.
Meanings of Stanza 1-2
The door was shut. I looked between
Its iron bars; and saw it lie,
My garden, mine, beneath the sky,
Pied with all flowers bedewed and green:From bough to bough the song-birds crossed,
From flower to flower the moths and bees;
With all its nests and stately trees
It had been mine, and it was lost.
The speaker is a woman who presents her current state, saying that she looks behind bars at the garden that used to be her but now it is full of flowers among green trees soaked in dew drops. She sees that the birds are singing on the trees and the flowers are full of bees and moths. However, she is sad that with all its nests, birds, beautiful trees, and flowers, she has lost it. It used to be her garden, but she has lost this garden. This shows her nostalgia for the lady over the loss of her garden, which could be her home.
Meanings of Stanza 3-4
A shadowless spirit kept the gate,
Blank and unchanging like the grave.
I peering through said: ‘Let me have
Some buds to cheer my outcast state.’He answered not. ‘Or give me, then,
But one small twig from shrub or tree;
And bid my home remember me
Until I come to it again.’
The woman speaker states that she sees a spirit at the gate of her garden, but its face is blank and as cold as a grave. The lady peers into her garden and seeks the permission of the spirit to have some buds to become happy and remove her “outcast state.” However, the spirit, implying it is male, does not answer her. She then asks him to give him permission to have something such as a twig, shrub, or tree. Then she asks the spirit to request her home, implying it is a living creature, that she would come back and remember her. The speaker is fed up with her state of mind and wants the freedom to recall her past. These two stanzas add to the main theme of nostalgia for home and memory.
Meanings of Stanza 5-6
The spirit was silent; but he took
Mortar and stone to build a wall;
He left no loophole great or small
Through which my straining eyes might look:So now I sit here quite alone
Blinded with tears; nor grieve for that,
For nought is left worth looking at
Since my delightful land is gone.
The spirit, the lady, thinks, is quite silent. He does not answer. However, instead of accepting her permission, the spirit takes mortar and stone and builds a wall. He has not even left a small hole for her to look into. The lady sees that she must strain her eyes to look at her house. Therefore, she sits alone, weeping over it until tears blind her eyes. However, she does not feel aggrieved as there is nothing to feel happy about. It is because there is nothing left to look at it. These stanzas show the main idea of love for home, nostalgia, and the transience of life.
Meanings of Stanza 7
A violet bed is budding near,
Wherein a lark has made her nest:
And good they are, but not the best;
And dear they are, but not so dear.
The speaker states that her violet bed is blooming like a flower. She sees that a lark has made its nest near her bed. All these things are very good for her, but they are not as good as her former garden or house. Yet, she loves them all. The speaker feels satisfied with what she has despite her former loss. However, it is not as exciting as the old one. This stanza completes the main idea of the loss, nostalgia of home, and memory.
Summary of Shut Out
- Popularity of “Shut Out”: Written by Christiana Rossetti, a popular American writer and poet, “Shut Out” is an emotive poem. It appeared first in 1862 in her poetry collection Goblin Market and Other Poems. The poem presents a young and unhappy lady lamenting the loss of her garden. It also highlights how the things we lost cast an endless impact on our life. The mention of this grave loss and description of this loss has made this poem a popular piece.
- “Shut Out” As a Representative of Grave Loss: This poem is about the losses we endure in life. It begins when the speaker peers between the iron bars of a beautiful garden gate. She feels delighted to see the garden full of colorful flowers. She observes insects moving from flower to flower and birds from tree to tree. She tells the readers that this garden once belonged to her. As the poem continues, she notices a shadow guarding this beautiful place. She addresses the mysterious figure and asks him to give her some flowers from the garden, but the spirit stays silent. Then, she requests him to provide her with just a tiny twig from one of the shrubs, but the spirit does not respond. Instead, he starts building a wall around the garden gate. Unfortunately, the wall blocks the speaker’s vision. Now, she can only praise the garden and cries alone. Although the speaker is sitting in a place full of natural beauty, yet nothing can replace her lost garden.
- Major Themes in “Shut Out”: Loss, praise, and sadness are the poem’s major themes. The poem depicts a sad lady trying to get her lost joy back. The beginning shows the speaker’s attachment to her lost garden. She tries to make a connection with her garden but fails to do so. The guardian of that beautiful place does not allow her to enjoy the enchanting view of her garden. The literal meaning of the poem is evident as the poem is written in simple and easy-to-understand language. However, if one tries to uncover the deeper meanings, he may comprehend that the garden may symbolize her lost joy. The speaker attempts to convey her feelings of being locked away from happiness. Using words like “iron bars” and “shadowless spirit kept the gate” creates the images of imprisonment and entrapment, the feeling of losing freedom. It is ironic that she can see her happiness but is not allowed to enjoy it.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Shut Out
literary devices are the writer’s tools that allow them to make their simple writings appealing and meaningful. Christiana Rossetti has also inserted some literary devices in the poem; the analysis is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “A shadow less spirit kept the gate” and the sound of /o/ in “From bough to bough the song-birds crossed.”
- Allusion: Allusion is a belief and an indirect reference of a person, place, thing, or idea of a historical, cultural, political, or literary significance. The garden alludes to the loss of happiness.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /n/ in “He answered not. ‘Or give me, then” and the sound of /r/ in “From bough to bough the song-birds crossed.”
- 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;
“With all its nests and stately trees
It had been mine, and it was lost.”
- 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 poem shows situational irony as the speaker of the poem is not allowed to even have a look at her own garden.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Christiana Rossetti has used imagery in this poem such as; “A violet bed is budding near”, “Blinded with tears; nor grieve for that” and “The spirit was silent; but he took.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet has used the loss as an extended metaphor in the poem to show how some losses mark the center of our lives.
- Symbolism: Symbolism uses symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal ones. The poem shows symbols such as imprisonment, sorrow, loss, and natural beauty.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Shut Out
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction having rhetorical devices, symbolism, and impressive images.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. William Blake used end rhyme in this poem, such as; “gate/state”, “trees/bees” and “wall/small.”
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are seven stanzas in this poem, with each comprising four lines.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful when talking about how one feels after enduring unbearable losses in life.
“So now I sit here quite alone
Blinded with tears; nor grieve for that,
For nought is left worth looking at
Since my delightful land is gone.”
