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Friday, April 26, 2013

A critical analysis of Sir Walter Ralegh's *What is our life


 A critical analysis of Sir Walter Ralegh's *What is our life



The play of passion is a medieval play. It was performed in the church. It represents the life of Jesus Christ from his birth to his crucifixion. This shows the element of suffering.
"What is our life" is Raleigh’s comment on the transience of life, similar to Shakespeare's sentiment that we are all merely players on a stage for a brief time, a metaphor repeated by Raleigh when he says that our life is "a play of passion," an allusion to medieval passion plays about the sufferings of Christ before his crucifixion.  Raleigh’s tone is, of course, much more light-hearted than that of a passion play, but there is a tenuous connection.
Raleigh uses a mother's womb as a metaphor for our preparation for life--"where we are dressed"--which, unfortunately, is "this short comedy."  The concept of life as comedy is not meant to suggest that all ends happily but refers to Raleigh’s belief that our lives are essentially meaningless, and certainly short, and are therefore not meant to be taken too seriously.
While we live, "Heaven," a metaphor for God, looks on and renders judgment on our behavior, particularly on those who "doth act amiss," but Raleigh has nothing meaningful to say about how we conduct our lives because he immediately moves us to the graveyard and our graves.  With some graveyard humor, Raleigh points out that graves have a useful purpose: to save us from sunburn.
The metaphor of life as drama (or comedy) is carried through the last three lines in which graves become the curtains on a stage that come down when the play is over.  All that is left for us, the players in this brief comedy, is to die "in earnest," that is, really die, not just "die" on the stage exhibiting some poor acting.
Even though Raleigh uses a common metaphor for life, a play, his tone is humorous and light throughout, which befits a comedy, and we are meant to understand that life is like a play, a diversion, that is very short and relatively insignificant.



Sound Devices:
 The poet uses a regular rhyme scheme. It follows this pattern aa bb cc dd ee. This rhyme creates a natural easy flow of sound. It reflects the monotony of life. This regularity of the rhyme scheme shows the inevitability of death. Death represents the normal course of nature. The rhyme is smooth. It shows that life is short and monotonous. He uses a lot of sound devices. This is one of the characteristics of the Petrarchan school. There is an alliteration in "A play of Passion" due to the repetition of the /p/ sound. It intensifies the musical effect and creates unity among words. It draws the reader's attention to the central image of the poem. The poet compares man's life to a short comedy. This shows that he belittles man's life and existence. There is alliteration in "mirth" and "music" due to the repetition of the /m/ sound. It shows that man's happiness is short and disturbed by long periods of suffering.

Intentions:
 The poet, here, deals with a universal issue. He is objective. He draws the reader's attention to a significant issue which shows the brevity of earthly life. He belittles life and shows its unworthiness. He compares man's life to a short comedy. He means that life has all elements of acting. Human beings are seen like actors who perform certain roles. This shows that he looks down upon earthly life. The only difference between play acting and life is death. Death is the only inevitable fact. Thus, he shows that man's life is transient because every human being is destined to die one day.

Tone:
 The tone of this poem is serious. The poet expresses his sense of bitterness. He shows how short and unworthy man's life is. He draws the reader's attention to the fact of death and the brevity of life. He confirms that death is inevitable. Moreover, man's life is considered to be short period of suffering and pain. Furthermore, the poet undermines and belittles man's life because it is short and transient



Diction:
 In his poem, Walter Raleigh uses rhetorical language. He opens his poem with a rhetorical question. It shows   a sense of wondering. The poet wonders about the nature of man's life. This rhetorical question involves the reader into the subject and draws his attention to the poet's idea. The poet wants to show the meaning of life. He sheds light on the fact of death and the brevity of our life. The rhetorical question shows that the poet belittles man's life because it is short and transient. The word "division" shows that man's happiness is short and temporary. The word "short" shows the brevity of the earthly life. Man's life is transient because every human being is destined to die. The word "judicious" and "sharp" show God's justice and good sense. He confirms that God is restrict and accurate. He does not interfere in man's action and deeds. He only watches the human beings and records their deeds. There is inversion in "sharp spectator is". The adjective precedes verb to be. The poet uses this inversion for the sake of the rhyme scheme. It also draws the reader's attention to God's justice and accuracy. The word "only" draws the reader's attention to the difference between the play acting and the real life. The poet shows that death is an inevitable fact. Death is the only difference between real life and play acting. The phrase "latest rest" symbolizes death. Death is considered man's eternal and ultimate rest.


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