Echo (final) Flashcards
(19 cards)
what is echo and interpretation of
The poem is a Pre-Raphaelite interpretation of the Roman Myth by John William Waterhouse ‘Echo and Narcicuss’.
what is the myth of echo and narcissus
greek myth where echo was condemned to partial silence when she betrayed hera by having an affair with zeus
echo falls in love with narcissus but cannot communicate it as she can only echo the last words of his own speech, he falls in love with his won reflection
(story of unrequited love)
anaphora of ‘come’
symbolic of myth of echo’s fate, shows supressed passion in speaker just like mythological figure echo
(echo was condemned to partial silence when she betrayed hera by having an affair with zeus- echo falls in love with narcissus but can’t communicate as she can only echo last words of his own speech, narcissus falls in love with his own reflection, story of unrequited love)
‘silence’ ‘speaking silence’
SIBILANCE INTRODUCED HUSHED AND REFLECTIVE TONE, echo trying to ehisper out suppressed emotion?
‘speaking silence’
oxymoron alludes to thin line between life and death
soft rounded cheeks
allusion to heaven- reinforces this state between life and death
‘sunlight on a stream’
reference to how narcissus falls in love with his own reflection , shows danger of self indulgence
‘Oh dream how sweet’
disappointment of reality/ escapsim through fantasy
idealising the relationship with her and her lover/ god
‘bitter sweet’
oxymoron suggests thin line between love and hate / reality and fantasy
(echo’s oxymoron in the first stanza, refers to echo)
‘whose awakening should have been in Paradise’
capatalisation of Paradise, refers to heaven
suggests willingness to die due to pain of reality/ desire to be in heaven or closer to god
“Where souls brimful of love abide and meet;”
The phrase “brimful of love” suggests an overflowing, perfect love that contrasts with the fleeting joys of the physical world. suggests heavens superiority to earthly love
‘slow door’
diameter followed by tetrameter mimics door of heaven opening and closing, rushinh to a loved one/ god in heaven
‘my very life again tho’ cold in death: come back to me in dreams’
refers to the immortality of memory despite the transcience of life- idea that heaven gives immortal life
‘Pulse for pulse, breath for breath’
plosive sounds disrupt gentle tone- enforces urgency of reality
imagrey of pulse and breath signifies a sudden focus on life and reality OR refers to desire for close physical contact and vunerability with a lover/ to be close to god
what is the rhyming opposite
‘death’ ‘breath’ , justaposition of opposites refers to instability of boundaries between life and death
“That opening, letting in, lets out no more.”
Once the door to the afterlife opens, it will never close again, implying that the souls who pass through it are permanently united. This idea reinforces the speaker’s longing for eternal togetherness.
enjambment
he continuation of phrases across lines, flowing,ethereal rhythm. Mirroring memories, flowing leads on from life to dream, two states intertwined
structure
he poem’s use of sestets (six-line stanzas) lends a sense of completeness to each stanza, while the repetition of this form creates a cyclical and reflective feeling, appropriate for a poem dealing with themes of memory, longing, and return. This structure emphasizes the speaker’s desire for a lost love to return, which is central to the idea of an “echo”—something that repeats but is never fully restored.
