Blog Entry Week 11 - Poetic Revisioning~

 

❤ An analysis on “Sonnet: To The River Otter” By Samuel Taylor Coleridge ❤

    Welcome back dear readers! I have decided to do a short analysis on a poem this week, and it is non other than the famous Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He reigned as a romantic poet during the Romantic period, after the age of Enlightenment, and is known for his autobiographical epics of adventure that involve a lot of imagery and intellectual stimulation. His most famous work would have to be "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and if you search it up, you'll know exactly why I'm not going to attempt to analyse that.  I hope you enjoy my understanding of the poem~

 

Sonnet: To The River Otter
Dear native brook! wild streamlet of the West!
How many various-fated years have passed,
What happy and what mournful hours, since last
I skimmed the smooth thin stone along thy breast,
Numbering its light leaps! Yet so deep impressed
Sink the sweet scenes of childhood, that mine eyes
I never shut amid the sunny ray,
But straight with all their tints thy waters rise,
Thy crossing plank, thy marge with willows grey,
And bedded sand that, veined with various dyes,
Gleamed through thy bright transparence! On my way,
Visions of childhood! oft have ye beguiled
Lone manhood's cares, yet waking fondest sigh.

 

--- Analysis ---

The poem of my choice would be “Sonnet: To The River Otter” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This poem was written by Coleridge in memory of his home by the River Otter in Ottery St. Mary. Therefore, the theme of the entire poem is of memory, youth and childhood, while its subject matter would be the river and its beauty. The tone is somewhat nostalgic, as the speaker is remembering his past and his joys of childhood. As for the mood of the entire poem, it would be wistful, as the speaker is unable to live through his youth once more, and bask in its innocence.

 

          At first glance, the poem may beguile readers into thinking it is about an otter, but with Coleridge’s play of words, readers soon know it is indeed about a river, further accentuating his love for nature and its impact on his youth and childhood. The river is personified and anthropomorphised as it is said to have a “breast” which is clearly the surface of the water. The diction used by Coleridge makes the river come alive, bubbling with water. When the speaker mentions “I skimmed the smooth thin stone along thy breast” the visual and auditory imagery comes into play as it further shows the intimacy between the speaker and nature.

 

          The poem itself is almost a bittersweet recollection by the speaker, by saying “What happy and what mournful hours”. The repetition in this sentence is both figurative and literal in meaning, as the speaker is talking about his memory of innocent childhood joy as well as lamenting the woes of adulthood. This argument is further strengthened as the speaker also mentions “various-fated years” which may be referring to his experiences as an adult which are so different and unimaginable when compared to him as a child, running about without a care in the world (“that mine eyes I never shut amid the sunny ray”). The alliterations in the poem such as “skimmed the smooth thin stone” as well as “Sink the sweet scenes” with the smooth ‘s’ sounds brings the river to life, as well as paints the auditory and visual imagery of the very scene happening right in front of the reader, even though it may just well be a recollection of the speaker’s happiest moments, playing by the river.

 

          The diction used in “Gleamed through thy bright transparence!” convinces me that the entirety of the poem is indeed an ode to the speaker’s younger days, and the joy that he felt being young. Being young, free, and without care is to be “bright” and transparent. It is as if the river played with the speaker as well, but the difference is the speaker has aged and is now filled with nostalgia of childhood memories, while the river remains as it has always been, a playful being, a symbol of bubbling joy and youth.

 

          In conclusion, the poem “Sonnet: To The River Otter” is a symbol of the universal joy, us as people, may experience when we are young and free, and to have a tie to nature that doesn’t seem to age, that constantly evokes the nostalgia within. Some lessons learned from this poem would be to always take life one step at a time, and enjoy the time spent with nature and loved ones, be it young or old.

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          And there you have it, my very own understanding of the poem using my rusty Form 6 critical literary skills to analyse the poem. Stay tuned for more content and see you again next week~ 💝