For my Introduction to Poetry class I took my first semester of college, our final essay had to connect themes from the poems we read in class to modern works. Naturally, I knew I had to find a way to connect the two poems I chose to the Avett Brothers. And I did. I love seeing all the different connections and incorporating Avett into practically anything, especially if it's for an assignment in which I am able to choose my subjects. I also think it's interesting how closely the lines of the poetry related to the lyrics of the songs. This four-page paper received an A (95%), so I hope it's enjoyable!
I decided not to insert the poems (one is kind of long) because, since I have quoted or paraphrased the lines within my essay, it's not necessary for you to read them. But of course, you can read them on your own if you choose. I did, however, include the songs below because Avett is always necessary. Obviously.
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MODERN CONNECTIONS TO VICTORIAN POETRY [11.27.15]
The themes of pure love and devotion in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese, 43, Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s Mariana, and the Avett Brothers’ songs The Greatest Sum and I Love You Still demonstrate that these popular Victorian themes are still very relevant in modern society.
In Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese, 43, she expresses her pure and undying love and devotion for her husband. The same is done for the subject of the Avett Brothers’ song, The Greatest Sum. Browning states that she loves her husband “by sun and by candle-light”, meaning that she loves him all the time, day or night (Browning 6). In The Greatest Sum, the artist expresses his love for a girl by telling her that nothing can keep him away from her, “not even the sun” (Avett 13). This means that he will continue to love her throughout each day and night, just as Browning will love her husband all the time.
The idea of the past is brought up in both pieces as well. “In [her] old griefs, and with [her] childhood’s faith”, the speaker will remember and always count on her loved one (Browning 10). Browning having the faith of a child also implies that her love is pure, genuine, and innocent. Avett mentions that "not even the past” can get in between him and his lover and that who he used to be doesn’t “matter much at all” to him anymore, now that he has her in his life (Avett 1-2, 6). Both are trying to highlight the strong attraction that they feel towards their significant other—an attraction so strong that nothing else around them matters, including who they were before being in love with one another.
Browning also demonstrates how pure her love is when she says that she loves freely, “as men strive for right” and that she loves purely, “as [men] turn from praise” (Browning 7-8). In comparison, the speaker of the song says “nothing that this world could bring / or anything someone could do” and “no count of gold placed in [his] hand” could hold him back from his lover (Avett 15-18). These lines explain that the speakers’ love is true and that everything and everyone else around them and their loved one will have no effect on the relationship. In other words, their only focus in life is to be true to their loved one, without letting anything or anyone else get in the way.
Spiritual themes are present in both Sonnets from the Portuguese, 43 and The Greatest Sum as well, further connecting the Victorian period to the modern era and revealing the strong romantic bond between a couple. Browning mentions that she loves her husband “to the depth and breadth and height [her] soul can reach” (Browning 2-3). Avett says that even though the devil is always with him, it’s no match for when he thinks of his girlfriend and her trust for him (Avett 9-12). He believes that she is one of the most pure things in his life and that his bond with her is stronger than any evil. Both Browning and Avett are confident in their faithfulness to their significant others as well as their significant others’ faithfulness to them. They love each other with all their hearts and souls, dismissing the hindrances of the devil and other worldly obstacles.
Another comparison one can make between the Victorian sonnet and modern song is that both speakers, while they undermine material or worldly objects and concepts to express their true love, they take it a step further by bringing God into it. Browning says, “if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death”, meaning that she loves Robert Browning so much that there is almost no room left for God (Browning 13-14). A similar statement is made in Avett’s song when he says, “not even the hands of God could hold me back from you”, also meaning that he loves his partner so much that even the power of God could not separate him from her (Avett 7-8).
Mariana, a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and the Avett Brothers’ song I Love You Still also burst with the same themes of love and devotion, however, the outcomes are much different from one another. Tennyson writes that Mariana is waiting for her lover to come back home. It’s the middle of the night and she gets lonely, saying “the night is dreary, he cometh not” (Tennyson 21-22). This shows that her lover was the one that left her alone and while she’s beginning to become lonely, she still expects him to show up at any moment. In I Love You Still, the speaker is the one that left his “Jenny” and says that “leaving [her] arms feels like a sin” (Avett 3). The speaker is out either walking or driving around at two o’clock in the morning reflecting on his relationship with Jenny and how he left her. He then asks a question directed at Jenny: “Have I changed your life?” and says that he still loves her and always will (Avett 5-6). Even as the rooster crows and Mariana hears oxen, she waits for her lover to return, “without hope of change” (Tennyson 29). Avett sings, “4AM, the night is over soon” (Avett 7). Both Mariana and Avett have been up all night thinking about their lost loves and nothing has changed; Mariana’s lover has still not returned and Avett himself has not returned to Jenny.
Mariana thinks of only her lover “all day within the dreamy house”, even when she starts to hear other voices calling out to her (Tennyson 61). She worries about whether he will ever come home to her all hours of the day, ignoring anything that could take her mind off of him. Likewise, even as Avett is away from Jenny, he insists “I think of no one but you / I sing my song for you and you alone” (Avett 18-19). Both Mariana and Avett continue to contemplate their relationships with their lovers even as they are separate from them and have almost no hope of ever seeing them again.
Tennyson’s poem and Avett’s song also both have some repeated lines that demonstrate how the speakers feel about and react to the situation they are in. Mariana repeats that everything is “dreary” and that her husband “cometh not”, implying that she feels lonely and lost without him and that he hasn’t yet come home. However, by the end of the poem, Mariana changes her repeated phrase to “I am very dreary, he will not come” and even wishes she was dead (Tennyson 69-72). Mariana is so distraught that her lover has not come home yet that she decides he never will and feels better off dead because she knows she can’t keep living the way she is, with him always on her lonely mind.
In contrast, I Love You Still ends on a more sanguine and optimistic note, as the struggling speaker comes to realize that Jenny has changed his life in a good way, even if they won’t be staying together. He repeats the lines “Have I changed your life?”, “I hope I’ve changed your life”, and “I love you still”. In the last stanza, however, he says “And I’m glad you’ve changed my life” and repeats “I love you still” three more times to end the song (Avett 20-23). Instead of continuing to wonder if he had any impact on Jenny’s life, Avett realizes and comes to accept that it was actually her who changed his life, and he is grateful for that.
He doesn’t want to end his life like Mariana, but instead believes that while he may be heartbroken and still think about Jenny for a long time, he can continue to live without her in his life. He can live knowing that even if he doesn’t ever see Jenny again, his future relationships will be even better because of the memories he has. Mariana, on the other hand, can’t see herself having a better future without her lost lover in it. Both Avett and Mariana express their love and devotion but think of their futures in different ways.
In conclusion, many of the themes in past literature such as Victorian poetry can still be found in many modern works. This reminds us that life wasn't as different back then as we always tend to assume. We still experience the same love, loss, devotion, and heartache throughout our own lives.
In Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese, 43, she expresses her pure and undying love and devotion for her husband. The same is done for the subject of the Avett Brothers’ song, The Greatest Sum. Browning states that she loves her husband “by sun and by candle-light”, meaning that she loves him all the time, day or night (Browning 6). In The Greatest Sum, the artist expresses his love for a girl by telling her that nothing can keep him away from her, “not even the sun” (Avett 13). This means that he will continue to love her throughout each day and night, just as Browning will love her husband all the time.
The idea of the past is brought up in both pieces as well. “In [her] old griefs, and with [her] childhood’s faith”, the speaker will remember and always count on her loved one (Browning 10). Browning having the faith of a child also implies that her love is pure, genuine, and innocent. Avett mentions that "not even the past” can get in between him and his lover and that who he used to be doesn’t “matter much at all” to him anymore, now that he has her in his life (Avett 1-2, 6). Both are trying to highlight the strong attraction that they feel towards their significant other—an attraction so strong that nothing else around them matters, including who they were before being in love with one another.
Browning also demonstrates how pure her love is when she says that she loves freely, “as men strive for right” and that she loves purely, “as [men] turn from praise” (Browning 7-8). In comparison, the speaker of the song says “nothing that this world could bring / or anything someone could do” and “no count of gold placed in [his] hand” could hold him back from his lover (Avett 15-18). These lines explain that the speakers’ love is true and that everything and everyone else around them and their loved one will have no effect on the relationship. In other words, their only focus in life is to be true to their loved one, without letting anything or anyone else get in the way.
Spiritual themes are present in both Sonnets from the Portuguese, 43 and The Greatest Sum as well, further connecting the Victorian period to the modern era and revealing the strong romantic bond between a couple. Browning mentions that she loves her husband “to the depth and breadth and height [her] soul can reach” (Browning 2-3). Avett says that even though the devil is always with him, it’s no match for when he thinks of his girlfriend and her trust for him (Avett 9-12). He believes that she is one of the most pure things in his life and that his bond with her is stronger than any evil. Both Browning and Avett are confident in their faithfulness to their significant others as well as their significant others’ faithfulness to them. They love each other with all their hearts and souls, dismissing the hindrances of the devil and other worldly obstacles.
Another comparison one can make between the Victorian sonnet and modern song is that both speakers, while they undermine material or worldly objects and concepts to express their true love, they take it a step further by bringing God into it. Browning says, “if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death”, meaning that she loves Robert Browning so much that there is almost no room left for God (Browning 13-14). A similar statement is made in Avett’s song when he says, “not even the hands of God could hold me back from you”, also meaning that he loves his partner so much that even the power of God could not separate him from her (Avett 7-8).
Mariana, a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and the Avett Brothers’ song I Love You Still also burst with the same themes of love and devotion, however, the outcomes are much different from one another. Tennyson writes that Mariana is waiting for her lover to come back home. It’s the middle of the night and she gets lonely, saying “the night is dreary, he cometh not” (Tennyson 21-22). This shows that her lover was the one that left her alone and while she’s beginning to become lonely, she still expects him to show up at any moment. In I Love You Still, the speaker is the one that left his “Jenny” and says that “leaving [her] arms feels like a sin” (Avett 3). The speaker is out either walking or driving around at two o’clock in the morning reflecting on his relationship with Jenny and how he left her. He then asks a question directed at Jenny: “Have I changed your life?” and says that he still loves her and always will (Avett 5-6). Even as the rooster crows and Mariana hears oxen, she waits for her lover to return, “without hope of change” (Tennyson 29). Avett sings, “4AM, the night is over soon” (Avett 7). Both Mariana and Avett have been up all night thinking about their lost loves and nothing has changed; Mariana’s lover has still not returned and Avett himself has not returned to Jenny.
Mariana thinks of only her lover “all day within the dreamy house”, even when she starts to hear other voices calling out to her (Tennyson 61). She worries about whether he will ever come home to her all hours of the day, ignoring anything that could take her mind off of him. Likewise, even as Avett is away from Jenny, he insists “I think of no one but you / I sing my song for you and you alone” (Avett 18-19). Both Mariana and Avett continue to contemplate their relationships with their lovers even as they are separate from them and have almost no hope of ever seeing them again.
Tennyson’s poem and Avett’s song also both have some repeated lines that demonstrate how the speakers feel about and react to the situation they are in. Mariana repeats that everything is “dreary” and that her husband “cometh not”, implying that she feels lonely and lost without him and that he hasn’t yet come home. However, by the end of the poem, Mariana changes her repeated phrase to “I am very dreary, he will not come” and even wishes she was dead (Tennyson 69-72). Mariana is so distraught that her lover has not come home yet that she decides he never will and feels better off dead because she knows she can’t keep living the way she is, with him always on her lonely mind.
In contrast, I Love You Still ends on a more sanguine and optimistic note, as the struggling speaker comes to realize that Jenny has changed his life in a good way, even if they won’t be staying together. He repeats the lines “Have I changed your life?”, “I hope I’ve changed your life”, and “I love you still”. In the last stanza, however, he says “And I’m glad you’ve changed my life” and repeats “I love you still” three more times to end the song (Avett 20-23). Instead of continuing to wonder if he had any impact on Jenny’s life, Avett realizes and comes to accept that it was actually her who changed his life, and he is grateful for that.
He doesn’t want to end his life like Mariana, but instead believes that while he may be heartbroken and still think about Jenny for a long time, he can continue to live without her in his life. He can live knowing that even if he doesn’t ever see Jenny again, his future relationships will be even better because of the memories he has. Mariana, on the other hand, can’t see herself having a better future without her lost lover in it. Both Avett and Mariana express their love and devotion but think of their futures in different ways.
In conclusion, many of the themes in past literature such as Victorian poetry can still be found in many modern works. This reminds us that life wasn't as different back then as we always tend to assume. We still experience the same love, loss, devotion, and heartache throughout our own lives.
I hope you enjoyed this long read and I also hope it wasn't too boring. Also, I feel some poetry coming in the near future maybe!
As always, thank you so much for reading and check back soon for more cool additions to my site!
~Stay fly, say love ;)
As always, thank you so much for reading and check back soon for more cool additions to my site!
~Stay fly, say love ;)