Poem #3: The Broken Heart by William Barnes

The Poem: The Broken Heart

News o' grief had overteaken
Dark-eyed Fanny, now vorseaken;
There she zot, wi' breast a-heaven,
While vrom zide to zide, wi' grieven,
Vell her head, wi' tears a-creepen
Down her cheaks, in bitter weepen.
There wer still the ribbon-bow
She tied avore her hour ov woe,
An' there wer still the hans that tied it
Hangen white,
Or wringen tight,
In ceare that drowned all ceare bezide it.

When a man, wi' heartless slighten,
Mid become a maiden's blighten,
He mid cearelessly vorseake her,
But must answer to her Meaker;
He mid slight, wi' selfish blindness,
All her deeds o' loven-kindness,
God wull waigh 'em wi' the slighten
That mid be her love's requiten;
He do look on each deceiver,
He do know
What weight o' woe
Do break the heart ov ev'ry griever.


About the author:William Barnes was born on February 22, 1801 at Rushay in the parish of Bagber, Dorset, the son of a farmer and died on October 7, 1886. He was an English writer, poet, minister, and a philohist and wrote more than 800 poems and quote from more than 70 different languages. He avoided using foreign words in his poetry. Barnes often used a repetition of consonantal sounds.


Personal Response:
             “The Broken Heart” by William Barnes is quite confusing because of how the poet used his words. To me, I think he used old English when he wrote the poem. This poem gives two different perspective of a heartbroken person of a male perspective and to a girl’s perspective.
             A girl will weep and feel miserable about her broken heart. The man will feel the same when he realizes he did the same for his love one and that breaks his heart with every action. However, in the end God will make what’s best for them both, as they are destined.
             Everyone will receive a broken heart in their lives. It doesn’t always have to be about love but can be about different type of relationship such as friendship breakup. This poem reminds me of the book Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare because this book is also about love, which in the end didn’t turn out as well as they wanted to. I like how the poet described about the man’s feelings in the end. A personal connection I can make is when I was in 8^th grade, I had a broken heart due to a girlfriend going away to Korea and never coming back. The world has many broken hearts due to selfishness and because of players that play with a heart of a person. I suggest that few of those people that tries to play with people’s heart should read this poem and realize that they are doing the wrong thing.


TP-CASTT:
TITLE: The title of this poem tells me that this poem is about a broken heart of a person. He or she will be crying and mourning for the person he/she loved. All alone will be the only feeling the person will be feeling.


PARAPHRASE:
grim news has overtaken
a devious person, now overseeing;
there she is, with beautiful looks,
while she goes from side to side, with grief,
on her head, the tears does fall
dripping down her cheek, as she cries.
there she has a ribbon in a bow
she put it there before she was weeping,
and there still is the hands that tied it
hanging white,
or wrangled tight,
in care that drowned all care beside it.

when a guy, without slight heart,
goes to be a Madden's husband,
he must neglect oversee her,
but he must agree her father;
he might runaway her, with selfish thoughts,
while everything she has done was with love and compassion,
God will weigh them with the actions
with her loving actions toward him;
he does see every action,
he knows, 
those actions are also his
that breaks his heart with every action.


CONNOTATION: (Formal Analysis)
1. Structure - 2 stanzas, Rhythm Scheme (AABBCCDDEEFFGG....), Meter - IAMB, Tetramter, Punctuation - periods, commas, semicolons. Parallel Structure.
2. Speaker - God, Audience - broken heart of the man and woman
3. Figurative language - Metaphor. Compares the man and the woman's reaction.
4. Imagery - sight (white)
5. Repetition - None


ATTITUDE: Writer’s tone
His tone seems sad, miserable, regrets. Think complexity: The tone shifts as the narrator compares his hatred against his friend and foe.

The lines 4-6 has a sad and miserable tone. The last 3 lines show the tone of regret.


SHIFTS:
1^st Stanza - The speaker talks about how the woman reacts with tears and grief
2^nd Stanza - The speaker talks about how the man reacts with regrets and sorrow and that God will decide their fate.


The first stanza tells how miserable the woman is from breaking up with the man whom she truly loved. The last stanza tells how regretful the man is for breaking up and how he also is miserable. Also that God will weigh the choices and decide.


TITLE: When I read the poem twice, I realized that the poem is about a lady with a broken heart and the lady's boyfriend's broken heart. However, God will weigh those actions both made.


THEME:
1. True love cannot be forced or bough; it must be given freely.
2. God will choose the right person for you.3. Do what you think is right.
4. Your choice can hurt yourself and others.
5. Love can bring both happiness and sadness.

References (APA-6): Barnes, W. (2010). The Broken Heart. Website. Retrieved from               http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/william_barnes/poems/20551