On the receipt of My Mother’s Picture out of Norfolk
by
William Cowper
(Summary
& Analysis)
William Cowper was the poet of ‘The age of Dr. Johnson’. The general
characteristics of this age are:
· Decline
of the party feud
· The
French revolution
· Renaissance
of learning
· The
new realism
· The
rise of middle class
· The
humanitarian spirit and
· An
age of transition
Cowper
shows the struggle between the romantic and the classical ideals. In a feeling
for nature and his lyrical gift he is an immediate forerunner of the romantics.
His poem ‘On the receipt of my mother’s
picture out of Norfolk’ shows the rise of romanticism in English poetry.
On the receipt of My Mother’s Picture
out of Norfolk is the poet’s homage to his mother.
This
long poem of 121 lines has no regular stanza but it could be divided into six
parts of unequal lengths. In the first part of the poem the poet describes the
picture of his mother. In the second part, he talks of the remembrances of his
mother. He further expresses his past grief of his mother’s death. In the
fourth part he describes the time when he used to spend his time with his
mother. William Cowper wishes that the time reverses his flight, so that the
time of his mother again appears. In the last part of the poem the poet compares
his miserable condition with the blissful condition of his parents. The last
two lines of the poem gives a note of hope “Time has but half succeeded in his
theft, thyself removed, thy power to soothe me is left”.
William
Cowper was a small child of 4 to 5 years of age when his mother had died. He
was of 58 years when he wrote this poem. The source of inspiration for this
poem was a picture of his mother which he got out of Norfolk. As soon as he saw
the picture, he remembered the time, which he had spent with his mother.
In
this poem the poet remembers the kisses, hugs, love and other gifts which he
used to receive from his mother. The poet is inspired by the feeling of love
and duty to write this poem as a memorial of his mother. The poet remembers the
day of the funeral of his mother; he says that on the day he wept bitterly. The
maidens also tried to console him by saying that his mother will come back
soon. He says that he had waited for his mother but she didn’t return. At last,
the poet had learned to submit himself before the lot. The poet says, that
though he remembers his mother occasionally but he never forgets her.
The poet further remembers the days of his childhood which was spent in the company of his mother. He remembers his going to school with the gardener Robin. He also remembers the night-visits of his mother to his room and also the constant flow of his mother’s love. William Cowper says that his mother never got angry with him and he will keep on remembering her to the last time of his life.
The
poet wishes to bring back his mother to the world of senses but then, he
cancels the idea of calling his mother back because his mother was a loving
creature and the world of today is such that he will not be able to repay the
unbound spirit for binding it back into the mortal body. The poet knows very
well that his mother is in heaven with his father. They are now in a happy
state. The poet wants to be in that happy state but this can happen only when
he leaves his body.
The
poet again imagines his parents in heaven and he compares his state with that
of his parents and finds that he is in a miserable state. The only joy he has
is the thought that both his father and his mother are in heaven.
In
the last two lines of the poem the poet gives a note of hope and says that
though his mother is dead but her power to soothe and comfort him is still
there with him.
The
poet has not followed any regular stanza form. He has used the rhyming
couplets. The lines of the poem are of ten syllables and of 3 to 4 metrical
feet. The poem is an affectionate tribute to the poet’s mother. It is
characterized by the sincerity and simplicity. The poem is indeed an artless
song. The poem has pathos and the personal note. It gives us the idea of the
poet and his mother relationship.
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