Analysis of Parting Words
Vinod Siwlal
English 165W
4/13/2011
“Living Life to the Fullest” in
“Parting Words” Every time we open our eyes we should be thankful that God has granted us another day to live. We shall enjoy the endless pleasures of life that is offer to us and live each day like it is our last. Death is part of our lives and it is something that we must face when the time comes. It is something that we prepare for everyday we live and when it comes we have to be strong and accepted it. In the poem “Parting Words” by Rabindranath Tagore we have some who express their feelings of death and how the person has prepared for when his or her parting time comes. The poem “Parting Words” conveys the themes of living life to the fullest and when death comes, let it come which shows a sense of stoicism. In the poem we have a repetition of the “I” which shows that the poem is written in the first-person. This is lyric poetry because throughout the poem the person has expressed his feelings of death which is fearless. Tagore in his last stanza states portrays the characteristics of fearlessness when he says “and if the end comes here, let it come” (13), the end which he is talking about is death.
This leads me to believe that my interpretation of the tone of this poem is experienced. Tagore shows that he has experienced a lot in his life when he says “I have tasted of the hidden honey of this lotus” (4). In the line we have the repetition of the letter “h” in the beginning of the words hidden honey which is alliteration. I plan to highlight the “h” sound in my recitation because this I believe is a crucial part in the poem. This line explains that Tagore has experienced all the pleasures of life. The words “hidden honey” is the representation of pleasures and the word “lotus” meanings life. A lotus is a flower and flowers are usually representations of a new beginning and life. The representation of the “h” sound continues in the poem which I also plan to highlight in my
English 165W
4/13/2011
“Living Life to the Fullest” in
“Parting Words” Every time we open our eyes we should be thankful that God has granted us another day to live. We shall enjoy the endless pleasures of life that is offer to us and live each day like it is our last. Death is part of our lives and it is something that we must face when the time comes. It is something that we prepare for everyday we live and when it comes we have to be strong and accepted it. In the poem “Parting Words” by Rabindranath Tagore we have some who express their feelings of death and how the person has prepared for when his or her parting time comes. The poem “Parting Words” conveys the themes of living life to the fullest and when death comes, let it come which shows a sense of stoicism. In the poem we have a repetition of the “I” which shows that the poem is written in the first-person. This is lyric poetry because throughout the poem the person has expressed his feelings of death which is fearless. Tagore in his last stanza states portrays the characteristics of fearlessness when he says “and if the end comes here, let it come” (13), the end which he is talking about is death.
This leads me to believe that my interpretation of the tone of this poem is experienced. Tagore shows that he has experienced a lot in his life when he says “I have tasted of the hidden honey of this lotus” (4). In the line we have the repetition of the letter “h” in the beginning of the words hidden honey which is alliteration. I plan to highlight the “h” sound in my recitation because this I believe is a crucial part in the poem. This line explains that Tagore has experienced all the pleasures of life. The words “hidden honey” is the representation of pleasures and the word “lotus” meanings life. A lotus is a flower and flowers are usually representations of a new beginning and life. The representation of the “h” sound continues in the poem which I also plan to highlight in my
Cited: Tagore, Rabindranath. "Parting Words." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/parting-words/>.