Poet's Corner
Explanation: "Home -- Thoughts from Abroad"
Lines 1-2
"Home-Thoughts From Abroad" opens with an urgent "Oh," which
immediately suggest a state of excitement. The words "to be" seem to imply
that the speaker is far away from home. Here, the speaker appears to be
closing his or her eyes and remembering what England is like in the early
spring. This memory quickly turns into longing for the pleasures of an
English springtime. The implication appears to be that the simple memory
of a specific time ("April") in a specific place ("England" / "there")
holds great significance for the speaker.
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Lines 3-4
The speaker is now addressing an "unspecified you" – the "whoever" of
line 3 may be the speaker musing to himself or herself or the speaker may
be addressing the reader directly. Regardless of who is being spoken to
here, the poem begins to shift into a justification for the speaker's
intense emotional longing. The word "unaware" may be viewed as a
criticism. Anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to wake to an English
spring morning, the speaker appears to be explaining, probably does not
suspect the majestic power of renewal going on just outside the bedroom
window.
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Lines 5-9
This passage refers to the buds ("the tiny leaf") that are beginning to
grow on bushes surrounding the trunk of the elm-tree. The buds represent a
state of beginning. The speaker may be pointing to the idea that April in
England is a transforming experience. The elm – a tree noted for its tough
wood – may be a metaphor for the homeland's enduring strength. The
"boughs," "sheaf" (stalks) and "tiny leaf" are all growing around the
tree. These words may be metaphors for individuals who renew themselves
through contact with England. The reader may assume that the speaker is
also, if only in memory, renewed by his or her contact with the homeland.
Even the "chaffinch" – a bird known for its cheerful song – is singing the
praises of England ("...England – now!").
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Lines 9-10
These lines shift the meaning of the poem still further. The "buds" of
renewal described in the first stanza are now in a state of full flower.
This time the bird ("whitethroat") seems to be building in its own
emotional intensity. The images associated with the words "whitethroat"
and "swallows" offer several impressions: a) "white" suggests purity; b)
"swallows," while suggesting additional birds, also seems to point to the
action of swallowing, especially when it is viewed next to the word
"throat." Perhaps the speaker is saying purity can be found in nature as
well as in one's homeland. Furthermore, this purity is something that must
be taken into one's very being – that is, "swallowed." In addition, the
speaker may be saying purity is like food, something necessary for one's
survival.
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Lines 11-13
Similar to line 1's urgent "Oh," here the speaker uses an impassioned
"hark" as a way of directing attention to the flowering pear-tree. Note
how the buds of the first stanza have now turned into blossoms in the
second stanza. The speaker, for the first time in the poem, uses the word
"my." This word seems to indicate that the speaker is remembering a
specific tree, probably one that grows near his or her home. In other
words, the speaker is laying claim to the power inherent in his or her
homeland as well as the power associated with nature as a restoring force.
Moreover, the tree is in full blossom; it is literally bursting with
nature's transforming power as it scatters its blooms on the clover. This
may be the speaker's real hope – England and springtime are vigorous,
rejuvenating forces. And perhaps, the speaker believes that, by simply
thinking of them, one can not help but be affected by them in a meaningful
way.
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Lines 14-16
This passage gives the human quality of wisdom to yet another bird, the
"thrush." This bird also sings the joys of season and homeland. However,
the speaker appears to caution the "you" of this section in the poem:
don't dare think the feelings associated with spring and England can never
be realized, even if one is far from home. In addition, the "first fine
careless rapture" of line 16 may be a reference to childhood. Remembering
one's home, the speaker seems to be saying, recalls the energy and delight
of one's youth.
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Lines 17-20
Here the speaker begins to make a final claim to the restoring powers
of one's home. Line 17, with its reference to "hoary" – that is, gray or
white with age, is a metaphor for old age. The "field" of one's life may
look "rough" because of age but everything will once again be new. In
fact, the speaker seems to say, the "children's dower" – that is, their
interest in the land – will be "far brighter" than any sad feelings the
speaker may presently have. Note how the sounds of "melon flower" seem to
replicate the sounds in the word melancholy.
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Source: Exploring Poetry, Gale, 1997.