Death and Birth by Algernon Charles Swinburne
Death and birth should dwell not near together:
Wealth keeps house not, even for shame, with dearth:
Fate doth ill to link in one brief tether
Death and birth.
Harsh the yoke that binds them, strange the girth
Seems that girds them each with each: yet whether
Death be best, who knows, or life on earth?
Ill the rose-red and the sable feather
Blend in one crown's plume, as grief with mirth:
Ill met still are warm and wintry weather,
Death and birth.
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-As much as this older English throws me off, this poet makes his image very clear. With birth comes death, but the span between should be a long, happy life.
ReplyDeletethe language is really hard to understand but what i get from this poem is that death and life go hand in hand but its how we go about dealing with both that seperates the two
ReplyDeleteLife and death are on different sides of the spectrum. Yet, they are two sides to the same coin. Although they are related like chevar said, it's how we deal with them that matters.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this I think: what is life without death and what is death without life?
Like most people commenting, this old english thing going on is really grinding my gears but the thing I think i get out of this poem is that life and death are different like opposites of each other. However like Gilbert said "its how we deal with them that matters."
ReplyDeleteDeath and life are one, although they should be seperate. Humans strive to separate the two but the inevitable will occur. ?
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting the linking of birth and death. as the author points out most people seem to link this two ideas together but he says "Death and birth should dwell not near together". I think he says this because death brings down birth and for that reason we should not link death to beautiful birth.
ReplyDeleteI like how the poem includes both death AND birth and i agree that although the language makes it very difficult for me to comprehend it does add some meaning to it. I like when it says wealth keeps house not, meaning that money cant buy happiness and certainly cannot keep you from dying, an you cant take it with you. I like the connection it makes between death and birth but the clear distinction it points out betwen them.
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