Whether thou smile or frown...

In this poem, the speaker talks about how much he loves his once significant other no matter what she does. Her actions are magical, and he remembers the times that she was his. Now, he just wants to let go and “bid the mutual soul depart.” In other words, he wants to say goodbye to their past connection which linked them together as one. Although he wants to get over her, he can’t stop thinking about her. To conclude his sonnet, he notes his upset over the fact that departed love crushes the joy in life. In other words, he suffers and expresses his dissatisfaction that one cannot find other joys after a heart break. In this poem, I was most drawn to the rhythm and the rhyme.

The poem mostly presents meter in iambic pentameter although a few variations in meter exist at points of drama. For example, one dramatic place of amplified feelings occurs in the sixth line which states, “Die on thy lips, and, as fierce raptures dart.” At this line in the poem, the speaker changes his attitude from his admiration of his once significant other to his desire to forget about everything he had with her. Charles Lloyd shows his amplified feelings in the last part of the line which includes two stressed syllables in a row followed by an unstressed then stressed syllable. The two stressed syllables, fierce raptures, also are the most intense words in the line, and by stressing these two syllables, Lloyd draws attention to the words and intense emotions.

Variations in the poem also present points of depression. For example, toward the end of the poem as Lloyd expresses his upset for joy’s dependency on love, the iambic pentameter is drastically broken. In the line, “love is departed, and in agony,” the meter has changed immensely. To me, there seems to be three “feet” or beats in the line where the stresses lie on love, the second syllable in departed, and the first syllable in agony. I think the break of iambic pentameter mirrors Lloyd’s “break” within himself. He is falling apart as the poem’s meter falls apart.

In terms of the rhyme scheme, the poem presents four layers of rhyme. The pattern is as follows: ABBAABBCDDCDC. The first pattern of rhyme, corresponding to A, marks lines which note Lloyd’s admiration of his past love. Specifically, the speaker notes the woman’s beautiful face, enchanting grace, lovely form, keen glances, and love. The poem begins with this rhyme scheme yet drops it after about half way into the poem since the poet’s attitude changes from admiring the woman to wanting the situation to be over. The second rhyme scheme, corresponding to B, mostly marks lines which support the speaker’s change in attitude; however, I feel that the third line in the poem does not relate to the other lines of this rhyme scheme. I am not sure why this line rhymes with the other three which, as stated above, mark his transformation in attitude. The third group of rhymed lines, corresponding to C, mark the poet’s upset and suffering. This rhyme scheme actually ends the poem to note the speaker’s loss of a resolution to his pain. The last layer of rhyme, corresponding to layer D, marks lines which make it clear that the relationship is over. He was prone to loving her, yet she is no longer his. “The infatuated spirit must deplore.” I believe the reason the poet mixes up the lines with different rhyme schemes to tine certain lines together yet also to represent his jumbled thoughts. As the meter represents his “breaking apart,” the rhyme too represents this loss of organized feelings and coherent thought which stem from his sadness.