Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909)
From "The Triumph of Time" [1866]
It will grow not again, this fruit of my heart,
Smitten with sunbeams, ruined with rain.
The singing seasons divide and depart,
Winter and summer depart in twain.
It will grow not again, it is ruined at root,
The bloodlike blossom, the dull red fruit;
Though the heart yet sickens, the lips yet smart,
With sullen savour of poisonous pain.
I shall never be friends again with roses;
I shall loathe sweet tunes, where a note grown strong
Relents and recoils, and climbs and closes,
As a wave of the sea turned back by song.
There are sounds where the soul's delight takes fire,
Face to face with its own desire;
A delight that rebels, a desire that reposes;
I shall hate sweet music my whole life long.
The pulse of war and passion of wonder,
The heavens that murmur, the sounds that shine,
The stars that sing and the loves that thunder,
The music burning at heart like wine,
An armed archangel whose hands raise up
All senses mixed in the spirit's cup
Till flesh and spirit are molten in sunder —
These things are over, and no more mine.
Questions for Discussion
1. The words "Smitten with" (line 2) could be best replaced with
A) Touched by
B) Filtered through
C) In love with
D) Awed by
E) Struck by
2. The poet's attitude in this poem is A) resigned B) stung C) sullen D) inured E) imperious 3. Which of the following does NOT appear in the poem? A) elusive water B) an assortment of flora C) potent liquor D) evocative melody E) exotic reverie 4. Which of the following does the first stanza employ? A) religious iconography B) intentional alliteration C) melancholic preaching D) antipathetic musing E) character revelation 5. It is reasonable to assume that the author equates music with A) a mocking death B) sweet fruit C) his lost love D) original sin E) serpentine slyness 6. All of the following lines contain examples of personification EXCEPT A) line 3 B) line 7 C) line 18 D) line 19 E) line 20 7. The third stanza lists examples of A) anecdotal evidence B) unpleasant memories C) inclement weather D) fickle fate E) love's intensity 8. Which of the following could replace the last line of the poem? A) In love, it's said, one cannot blunder. B) Love like an army my heart did plunder. C) Neither day nor night can thus resign. D) I mourn their passing and decline. E) May head and heart now intertwine.
E
B
E
B
C
B
E
D