Analysis

Stanza 1:

I believe that the main idea of the first stanza is that feelings do not last for long, and eventually, they will no longer matter. The first and second lines of this poem are “They are not long, the weeping and the laughter. Love and desire and hate.” I think that these lines are pretty direct, showing that emotions, including happiness and sadness, and opinions, including desire,love and hate, do not last for too long. The next two lines also form the following sentence: “I think they have no portion in us after we pass the gate.” The first half of the sentence is straightforward, containing no symbolism or hidden meaning. The second half of the sentence,however, contains symbolism, in the form of the phrase “the gate.” I think that “the gate” symbolizes the gates of heaven. Thus, I beleive that “after we pass the gate” means after death. In all, this sentence means that feeling and emotion no longer affect us after we die.

 

Stanza 2:

I beleive that the main idea of the second stanza is that indulgence and luxury do not last either, and sometimes, we take advantage of what we have, and do not realize until it disappears. The first line in the stanza is: “They are not long, the days of wine and roses.” I believe that the wine and roses symbolize luxurious items, since both wine and roses are not necessary to life, but may make it nicer. I beleive that the next phrase, “Out of a misty dream,” means that these luxuries are dream-like, and once they are gone, it is hard to remember them (thus the use of the word “misty”). I beleive that the next phrase “Our path emerges for w while, then closes within a dream.” I beleive that the path that is emerging represents the future, as well as the road to the future. The fact that it “closes within a dream,” means that it will soon disappear. I beleive that since dreams end abruptly, that may symbolize that our path will disappear quickly.  

 

Figurative Language:

Personification: Our path emerges for a while, then closes within a dream. 

I think that this is an example of personification becuase it gives the human-like quality of moving (emerging) to something non-human that cannot move (a path in life). I think that this example of personification means that our path is visible for a while, but soon disapears. 

 

Tone:

I think that the tone of this poem is positive. This is becuase the main idea of the poem is that emotions do not last long, especially unhappiness. This gives the poem a positive tone. There are also many quotes from the text that prove this, including ""They are not long, the weeping and the laughter," "Love and desire and hate" and "They are not long, the days of wine and roses."

 

Mood: 

I think that the mood of this poem is positive as well. This is because when I first read this poem, I felt positive because I relaized how short-lived unhappiness really is. I think that this is that way that the author intended readers to feel after reading his poem. There are also several quotes in the text that prove my claim, including ""They are not long, the weeping and the laughter," "Love and desire and hate" and "They are not long, the days of wine and roses."