O fly not, Pleasure

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt's O fly not, Pleasure

Introduction

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt's poem "O fly not, Pleasure" is a masterful exploration of the intricate relationship between pleasure and sorrow in the context of love. This 15-line poem, with its intricate structure and rich imagery, offers a profound meditation on the transient nature of human emotions and the inevitable passage of time. Through a careful analysis of its form, language, and thematic content, we can uncover the layers of meaning embedded within this deceptively simple lyric.

Form and Structure

The poem's structure is immediately striking, consisting of three five-line stanzas, each following a unique rhyme scheme (AABBA). This form, reminiscent of the limerick but employed for a serious subject matter, creates a musical quality that echoes the poem's title, "O fly not, Pleasure." The regular meter, predominantly iambic, with variations in line length, contributes to the poem's rhythmic fluidity, mirroring the ebb and flow of emotions it describes.

The repetition of key phrases at the beginning of each stanza ("O fly not," "Fold me thy wings," "For my heart") creates a sense of urgency and pleading, emphasizing the speaker's desperate attempt to hold onto fleeting moments and emotions. This repetition also serves to unify the poem, binding together the seemingly contradictory desires expressed throughout.

Imagery and Personification

Blunt's use of personification is central to the poem's impact. Pleasure, Sorrow, and Pity are not merely abstract concepts but are given life and agency. Pleasure is "pleasant-hearted" with wings that can enfold the speaker, while Sorrow is "tender-hearted" with "gray-eyed" mourning. This anthropomorphization of emotions allows the reader to engage with them as tangible entities, heightening the poem's emotional resonance.

The imagery associated with these personified emotions is particularly evocative. Pleasure is linked with garlands and treasures, suggesting joy and celebration. In contrast, Sorrow is connected to "sad weeds," a term that ingeniously combines the idea of mourning clothes with unwanted plants, implying that sorrow, while necessary, is ultimately undesirable.

Thematic Analysis

At its core, "O fly not, Pleasure" is a nuanced exploration of the duality of human emotion, particularly in the context of love. The speaker's paradoxical desire to experience both pleasure and sorrow reflects a deep understanding of love's complex nature. This duality is further emphasized by the temporal shift between "to-day" in the first stanza and "yesterday" in the second, suggesting that love encompasses both present joy and past pain.

The poem's treatment of time is particularly sophisticated. The speaker's attempt to hold onto Pleasure "to-day" and borrow Sorrow's weeds for "to-morrow" to mourn "yesterday" creates a temporal conflation that speaks to the timeless nature of love and loss. This manipulation of time culminates in the final line's poignant phrase "for ever and a day," which simultaneously conveys the finality of loss and the eternal nature of true love.

Language and Diction

Blunt's choice of language is deliberately archaic, with words like "prithee" and constructions like "I fain would borrow" evoking a sense of timelessness and linking the poem to older poetic traditions. This archaism serves multiple purposes: it distances the speaker's emotions, allowing for a more controlled expression of intense feelings, and it connects the individual experience of love and loss to a broader, universal human condition.

The diction is rich in connotation and ambiguity. The use of "treasure" in the first stanza, for instance, not only refers to material wealth but also suggests the preciousness of love and the value of emotional experiences. Similarly, the "mourning" in the second stanza plays on the dual meaning of morning/mourning, subtly linking the passage of time with the experience of grief.

Symbolism and Allegory

The poem can be read as an allegory for the human experience of love and loss. Pleasure and Sorrow represent the two sides of love – its joys and its pains – while Pity embodies the compassionate understanding that comes with time and reflection. The city from which the speaker departs in the final stanza might symbolize the realm of ordinary human experience, with the speaker's departure representing a transcendence of mundane emotions into a higher, more poetic understanding of love.

The "garland" mentioned in the first stanza is a potent symbol, traditionally associated with victory and celebration. Here, it becomes a metaphor for the speaker's desire to honor and preserve love. The inability to "buy" this garland suggests both the pricelessness of true love and the futility of trying to hold onto it through material means.

Philosophical Underpinnings

Blunt's poem engages with profound philosophical questions about the nature of emotion, time, and human experience. The speaker's attempt to hold onto both pleasure and sorrow reflects a recognition of the Heraclitean concept of flux – the idea that all things are in constant change. By trying to freeze these moments, the speaker inadvertently acknowledges their transience.

Moreover, the poem touches on existential themes, particularly the human struggle to find meaning in the face of loss and the passage of time. The final stanza's movement away from the city towards a more introspective space suggests a turn towards philosophical contemplation, with poetry ("my ditty") becoming a means of processing and transcending personal experience.

Literary Context

"O fly not, Pleasure" can be situated within the late Victorian poetic tradition, displaying influences of both Romanticism in its emotional intensity and focus on individual experience, and the emerging Modernist sensibility in its complex treatment of time and consciousness. The poem's exploration of duality and its use of personification recall William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Experience," while its musicality and emotional depth evoke comparisons with Christina Rossetti's love lyrics.

Blunt's work also prefigures early 20th-century poetry in its psychological complexity and its subtle subversion of traditional forms. The tension between the poem's seemingly simple structure and its profound emotional and philosophical content anticipates the work of poets like Thomas Hardy and A.E. Housman.

Conclusion

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt's "O fly not, Pleasure" is a tour de force of lyric poetry, combining formal mastery with emotional depth and philosophical insight. Through its intricate interplay of form and content, the poem offers a profound meditation on the nature of love, the passage of time, and the duality of human emotion. Its enduring power lies in its ability to capture the universal experience of love and loss while maintaining a deeply personal and emotionally resonant core.

The poem's significance extends beyond its immediate context, touching on timeless themes that continue to resonate with readers. Its exploration of the interplay between joy and sorrow in love, the attempt to reconcile past and present, and the role of art in processing human experience all contribute to its lasting relevance. In its brevity and intensity, "O fly not, Pleasure" encapsulates the essence of lyric poetry – the distillation of complex emotional and philosophical ideas into a concentrated, musically satisfying form. As such, it stands as a testament to Blunt's poetic skill and as a significant contribution to the canon of English love poetry.

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