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.
