A Boat Beneath the Sunny Sky
By Lewis Carroll
A BOAT beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July —
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear —
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.
Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream —
Lingering in the golden gleam —
Life, what is it but a dream?
alliteration
end rhyme
metaphor
personification
allusion
repition
A Boat Beneath A Sunny Sky is a seemingly lighthearted and whimsical poem about the boatride that Charles Dodgson went on with Alice Liddell and her two sisters. It was on this boat ride that Dodgson told the three girls the story of Wonderland, which served as his rough draft version of the Alice books. This poem begins as a remembrance of this specific ride. The tone of this first stanza seems happy and alluring, as it is summer time and the group is on a leisurely boat ride on the river. The tone changes suddenly in the third stanza; words like "die," "fade," and "slain" show that something negative has occurred. I believe this specific stanza to relates to Alice's growing up, and the falling out between the Liddell's and Dodgson. Alice's change has saddened Charles, as he was in love with her childhood self, and the imagination and innocence it entailed. He goes on to talk about how Alice "haunts" him, which further reiterates that she has grown up, but the younger version still is on his mind, constantly reminding him of his obsession.
The fifth stanza lightens the mood a bit, because it talks of new youngsters- "children yet"- that will hear and carry on with them the tale of Wonderland. Carroll finally alludes to the tales of Alice in Wonderland in the first line of the fifth stanza, but combines it with the suggestion of the passage of time. It's depressing how this stanza shows hope for the eternity of childhood, but then proceeds to admit that these children will too grow up and forget their youth by saying "dreaming as the days go by...summers die."
The very last stanza reverts attention back to the actual setting of the boat ride, where Carroll uses a metaphor to relate the boat to life, and then calls life "a dream." I think this is Carroll's way of saying that in reality life is just the way it is, people grow old, memories are forgetten, and there's not much to do about it. In the last line he gives the solution to this fact by claiming life to be a dream, and since it's no longer reality, Carroll makes the point that nothing matters because it's all just make-believe anyway, which is extremely characteristic of Carroll.
The basis for this poem is the loss of Carroll's loved one. Alice grew up and forgot her childhood, which was everything he loved about her. This poem is Carroll's reflection of the sad truth that everyone grows up, leaving behind all the great things about being young and naive, and that no matter how hard you try, nothing stays the same. In a broader sense, the message Dodgson was trying to get across was to enjoy the times of youth, because that in itself is more beneficial than anything else.
ASHLEY
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteThat was superbly interpreted. Even Lewis Carroll himself would have liked your rendition.
Can i get the meaning of all the lines today
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, Carroll uses very vivid and clear imagery and the story that he is describing is very clear. The first stanza describes a boat on a sunny day, in the middle of summer. The boat is somewhere on the countryside and he is in the boat. The way he uses his words, gives the impression that it is a warm day:
DeleteA BOAT beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July —
In the second stanza, he describes three children who are in the boat with him. They want Carroll to tell them a story:
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear —
Carroll describes how the sunny and warm days are fading away and the weather is turning cold. Summer is turning into autumn:
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.
In the fourth stanza, the she, who he is referring to in the first line, is Alice from the second line. Lewis Carroll is famous for writing about Alice Liddell (the girl who was the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland), and this is the same Alice. It is no longer summer, and he is describing how she and the other children have left the countryside and have gone back to the city for the autumn. When Carroll writes, Still she haunts me, he is expressing that only the memories of her remain. Also, when he writes Never seen by waking eyes, Carroll is saying that the only time he sees her is when he is asleep:
Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Carroll is now writing about the children's' situation. How they are no longer with him, yet they haven't forgotten him. They still want to hear more of his stories and can't wait to see him again:
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In the sixth stanza, he describes how the children are living in a dreamworld. They waste away the days, fantasizing and dreaming about the summer. The children don't go back to the countryside ever again:
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
In the final stanza, he goes back to the boat, describing how even though he will never see the children again, he will always remember drifting down the stream and the time spent with them. He will always have those memories. The final line is a question: Life, what is it but a dream? He is asking the reader if all there really is to life is one's memories:
Ever drifting down the stream —
Lingering in the golden gleam —
Life, what is it but a dream?
If any body reads it so if you know the meaning of lines then please publish
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, Carroll uses very vivid and clear imagery and the story that he is describing is very clear. The first stanza describes a boat on a sunny day, in the middle of summer. The boat is somewhere on the countryside and he is in the boat. The way he uses his words, gives the impression that it is a warm day:
DeleteA BOAT beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July —
In the second stanza, he describes three children who are in the boat with him. They want Carroll to tell them a story:
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear —
Carroll describes how the sunny and warm days are fading away and the weather is turning cold. Summer is turning into autumn:
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.
In the fourth stanza, the she, who he is referring to in the first line, is Alice from the second line. Lewis Carroll is famous for writing about Alice Liddell (the girl who was the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland), and this is the same Alice. It is no longer summer, and he is describing how she and the other children have left the countryside and have gone back to the city for the autumn. When Carroll writes, Still she haunts me, he is expressing that only the memories of her remain. Also, when he writes Never seen by waking eyes, Carroll is saying that the only time he sees her is when he is asleep:
Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Carroll is now writing about the children's' situation. How they are no longer with him, yet they haven't forgotten him. They still want to hear more of his stories and can't wait to see him again:
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In the sixth stanza, he describes how the children are living in a dreamworld. They waste away the days, fantasizing and dreaming about the summer. The children don't go back to the countryside ever again:
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
In the final stanza, he goes back to the boat, describing how even though he will never see the children again, he will always remember drifting down the stream and the time spent with them. He will always have those memories. The final line is a question: Life, what is it but a dream? He is asking the reader if all there really is to life is one's memories:
Ever drifting down the stream —
Lingering in the golden gleam —
Life, what is it but a dream?
LOL
ReplyDeleteLOL
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