Emily Bronte: Poems Essay Questions

Describe the tone of “No Coward Soul Is Mine.”

The tone of "No Coward Soul Is Mine" is dramatic and definitive. The poem opens with the speaker declaring, “No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere / I see Heaven's glories shine / And Faith shines equal arming me from Fear.” The speaker is stating that her faith in a higher power effectively shields her from fear. She believes in the omnipotence of this divinity and as a result believes that she is connected to a force far beyond earthly concerns. The tone of the poem, as fits with this idea, is steadfast and unwavering, fully committed to the faith it claims.

How does Brontë use natural imagery in her poems?

Brontë frequently uses images from nature to underscore the emotional content of her poems. In "Remembrance," the winter snow on the grave of the speaker's deceased lover effectively highlights the emptiness she feels in the wake of that loss. In "A Day Dream," Brontë makes use of the otherwise cheerful and bright setting to play up the reason the speaker is unhappy: the inevitable end of summer. By showing the contrast between the speaker's internal state and the setting around her, Brontë is better able to illustrate the central ideas of the poem.

What function does the rhyme scheme serve in Brontë's poetry?

Almost all of Brontë's poems feature an ABAB rhyme scheme and are written in quatrains. As such, her stanzas divide neatly into four-line units which serve as singular, unified thoughts. An example of this can be found in "Hope," as the speaker describes her lowest moment: "False she was, and unrelenting; / When my last joys strewed the ground, / Even Sorrow saw, repenting, / Those sad relics scattered round." The rhyme effectively ties together the images and ideas in a way that completes the scene. This subtle technique recurs throughout almost all of her work.

How does Brontë write about the passage of time?

Brontë often portrays time as a force of dramatic and unstoppable change. In "Long Neglect Has Worn Away," the speaker laments the main character's loss of happiness and physical allure: "Time has turned the bloom to gray; / Mold and damp the face defile." This sharp image frames the effects of time as destructive, dramatically altering the "bloom" of her beauty. Time is shown as corrosive and relentless, able to rob the protagonist of the things she cherishes. Brontë's poems investigate the way in which time irrevocably alters the fabric of people's lives.

How does Brontë make her ideas more accessible?

Brontë makes the ideas in her work more readily accessible by linking them to concrete imagery. In "Hope," the speaker frames her relationship with the emotion of hope as an unstable friendship. In "A Day Dream," the speaker places her dread about the end of summer in the context of an internal monologue following the imagined marriage of May and June. By personifying these ideas Brontë gives the reader a more immediate understanding of them. The emotional narrative of these poems, and others, creates a stronger thematic backdrop.