By day I shall be well again!
for so the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.
Come, as thou cam'st thousand times,
A messenger from radiant climes,
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| Matthew's Cottage area in Surrey |
As kind to other as to me!
Or, as though never cam'st in sooth,
Come now, and let me dream it truth,
And part my hair, and kiss my brow,
And say, my love why sufferest thou?
Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again!
for so the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.
"Un-confuse" it:
“Longing” is one of Matthew Arnold’s most
popular works. The poem itself is written in the perspective of a man. The name
of the poem is “Longing”. Longing refers to that of a yearning desire for
something that is generally distant from it. This man constantly wishes to see
a particular woman in his dreams. He dreams of her at night, such that he could
be together with her till the next morning. Possibly, he dreams of her at night
to make the wait to see her again the next day, less painful. She could be very
far away from him, and he really is longing to see her. Thus, the name of the
poem. This woman has appeared in the man’s
dreams a thousand times before. In fact, she is very kind to him. The man wants
the lady to be as kind as she is to him, to others. This woman is not real, as
the man can only see her in his dreams. This is evident as the man states in
the third stanza that he wants the lady to “Part his hair, and kiss his brow”
and he says that he wants her to “Come and let me dream it truth”. This
suggests that he wants a physical relationship as such, with this lady, to come
true. It shows that he has only been dreaming about it. The last stanza is actually a repeat of
the first stanza. This could represent a vicious cycle that symbolizes the man
dreaming of the lady: It happens every night. It is very repetitive. The stanza begins with: “Come to me in my dreams, and then By day I shall be well again!” This shows that the man is sick and the
lady’s presence, even in that of his dreams, is the only cure. Perhaps, he is
lovesick. Aside from that of his dreams, the man is unable to see the Lady very
often. Thus, he could be lovesick and longs to see the Lady more. Lastly, the structure of the poem. The poem
uses a very distinct Iambic Pentameter. Each sentence contains exactly eight
syllables. There is also a very prominent rhyme scheme of “aabb”. I believe
this poem applies to anybody, in love. They can also relate to dreaming of
their lover, and longing to see them, the very next day.
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