CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LOUIS MACNEICE'S "THE SUNLIGHT ON THE GARDEN" The sunlight on the garden Hardens and grows cold, We cannot cage the minute Within its nets of gold; When all is told We cannot beg for pardon. Our freedom as free lances Advances towards its end; The earth compels, upon it Sonnets and birds descend; And soon, my friend, We shall have no time for dances. The sky was good for flying Defying the church bells And every evil iron Siren and what it tells: The earth compels, We are dying, Egypt, dying And not expecting pardon, Hardened in heart anew, But glad to have sat under Thunder and rain with you, And grateful too For sunlight on the garden.In this essay, I will try to analyze Louis Macneice's "The sunlight on the garden". This poem consists of four stanzas, and each stanza contains six poetic lines. Therefore, I will analyze each stanza and clarify sense imagery, figures of speech, rhyme and the musical tools used in it. First, the title of the poem "The sunlight on the garden" shows that the poem will talk about the beauty of nature, but the repetition of the title at the beginning and at the end of the poem gives me an impression that the poet may have something else to convey to us behind this title. Anyway, as I continue analyzing the poem, the title will demonstrate its significance. In the first stanza "The sunlight on the garden/ Hardens and grows cold,/ We

cannot cage the minute/ Within its nets of gold;/ When all is told/We cannot beg for pardon. "The second line casts the first doubt on the true meaning of the title; because the first line, as the title, shows a beautiful natural view; the sun spreads its rays and light on the garden. So this line is pleasant, but the second line "Hardens and grows cold" comes to decrease the beauty of this landscape, as the poet expresses that this sunlight is dim; it is not strong enough to spread warmth. So I think the poet wants to show that this sunlight is in its last stage before the night will come soon. So he uses "hardens" and"grows cold"to demonstrate that the sun is about to hide;i.e, the day light is about to vanish and the night will come soon.In fact, this line shows the poet's desperate mode,contrary to the superficial meaning of the first line.Here comes the question: why does the poet feel despair?Maybe as the poem proceeds, I can know the reason for the poet's despair.The poem continues to show his down mode in lines 3 and 4"We cannot cage the minute/Within its nets of gold;".In fact, I notice two things in these two lines:first,the plural pronoun "we";and second, the verb"cage".In the first stanza, there is only one character, the poet, who is speaking, so why does the poet use the pronoun"we"?Moreover, the pronoun"we"is also used in line 5 "We cannot beg for pardon."I think the poet uses the pronoun"we"to refer to a fact;we all sdmit that we can not restrict a unit of time;i.e, the minute. The poet's use of the verb"cage"is so accurate;as it reflects his desperate mode .In addition,the verb"cage"reflects the poet's suffering and inability.Hence I can detect that the poet is afraid of time.He gives an impression that he is restricted by time, and the verb"cage"and the word"nets"increase this impression.The negative in line six "cannot beg for pardon"shows the poet's inability as if he is enslaved.So maybe the poet is a prisoner , or at least something restricts him and makes him feel despair and sadness.The last two lines in the first stanza"When all is told/We cannot beg for pardon."also strengthen the poet's fear from time.He is afraid he cannot say all he wants in this short period of time before the sunlight vanishes, as if his life is related to the sunlight.The verb"beg"shows that the poet is restricted and maybe imprisoned, so he asks for pardon, but he cannot because the time is about to end.The last line in the first stanza gives an impression that the poet is about to die or even he is dying now.This suggestion maybe increases or decreases as the poem continues. To conclude the first stanza, I think we have a poet who sees a landscape of the sunlight on the garden, but this sunlight is not permenant.It is in his last stage before the night will come.The poet gives an impression that the night is an allusion of the end of his life.Therefore, the poets regrets that he cannot keep this light for a long time to tell us what he wants to convey to us"When all is told".In addition, the present simple tense which dominates the first stanza shows that the poet speaks now, as he still has the desire to tell us about many things, but his fear comes from the lack of time.Hence, the poet feels a desperate mode well expressed by the use of"Hardens" and"cold"in the second line.But another question appears that the poet asks for pardon, why? Maybe he wants to have enough time to tell all he wants to convey to us. Besides, I want to focus on the poet's use of comma and semicolon in the first stanza.He uses a comma at the end of line 2 and a semicolon at the end of line 4.I

think line 3 is the result of the first two lines, and line 6 is the result of the previous five lines. According to SENSE IMAGERY, the first line shows a visual image in "The sunlight" and "garden".The fourth line also appeals to our sense of sight by using a visual image in "nets of gold". The poet also appeals to our sense of touch(feelings) in line 2"Hardens" and"cold".These two images are tactile images.In fact these various types of imagery in the first stanza arouses our sensory perception. According to FIGURES OF SPEECH,the use of metaphor dominates the first stanza. In lines 1 and 2 "The sunlight on the garden/ Hardens and grows cold", the tenor is the sunlight, the vehicle is "Hardens", and the aspect of similarity is that the poet imagines the sunlight as a hard rock.In line 3"We cannot cage the minute", the poet portrays the minute as something concrete which we can cage and restrict.These metaphors aims at increasing the poetic effect. According to RHYME, the rhyme scheme in the first stanza is: ABCBBA. The poetic form of the poem is sestet which means that each stanza consists of six lines.There is a Linked Rhyme in "garden"and"Harden".There is also End_Rhyme in "cold","gold" and"told".In fact, besides its function as a pleasurably melodic device of great effect, rhyme participates in displaying the poem's tone, increasing the meanings of the lines, laying stress on the quality of the diction, and unifying the pattern of the stanza as well as the structure of the poem. In the second stanza, the poet tells us more about his thoughts. I think the analysis of this stanza will clarify the meaning of the first stanza and the purpose of the poem as a whole.The poet says,"Our freedom as free lances/ Advances towards its end;/ The earth compels , upon it/ Sonnets and birds descend;/And soon, my friend,/ We shall have no time for dances."The first line of the second stanza shows antithesis between"free"and "cage"in line 3 of the first stanza.I think the antithesis at the beginning of the second stanza has its own significance;as the first stanza reflects the poet's feeling of despair, restriction and even imprisonment.The poet increases this sense by the use of antithesis in line7"Our freedom as free lances".In addition, the poet emphasizes this sense in line 8"Advances towards its end".Again the poet hints at the idea of time and restriction.In fact, this line strengthens the poetic effect of the antithesis in the preceding line.The use of"Advances towards its end;"supports the idea of despair in line 3"We cannot cage the minute".Another paradox comes out in line9"The earth compels".This line is contrary to line 7"Our freedom as free lances".The use of antithesis and pardox in the second stanza shows that the poet really suffers from the loss of his freedom , as a result he feels despair and restriction.I notice here the word"lances"in line 7 which is defined by "Oxford Advances Learner's Dictionary of Current English" as "weapon with a long wooden shaft and appointed steel head used by a horseman ; similar instrument used for spearing fish." In fact, this word"lances" pays attention to the value of freedom in the poet's mind, as "lances" is a strong instrument that the soldier uses in fighting .Therefore the poet gives a clear importance for freedom, as it is his weapon. However, this weapon is about to be compelled by the earth. It is clear that the poet is influenced by the idea of death and lack of time. Line 10 "Sonnets and birds descend" has two meanings. On the first hand, this line is an allusion of pleasure, but on the other hand, the same line can be used to give an atmosphere of

sadness as a result of what the poet tells about his death and being compelled by the earth. Another idea pays my attention in the second stanza which is the plural possessive pronoun"our". This possessive pronoun is related to the plural pronoun" we" in the first stanza. First I think that the poet uses the pronoun "we" to tell us a common saying that we all admit we cannot cage or restrict the minute. But line 11 " And soon, my friend, " demonstrates a second important character in the poem who is "The poet's friend". In fact the events of the poem rotate around the poet's friend. Hence the poet's use of "we" and " our" is reasonably accepted. Moreover, line 12 " We shall have no time for dances." Asserts the poet's sorrow and his down mode; because the lack of time and his imminent death will prevent him from joining his friend. I think the poet's friend is feminine because the poet says ," We shall have no time for dances." The use of "soon" also shows that the poet is about to die, but it also gives an impression that the poet at the time of speaking does not join his friend. He is far away from his friend now. So this conclusion increases my suggestion that the poet is imprisoned. According to SENSE IMAGERY, the poet creates visual images in "Lances" , "earth" and "birds" to appeal to our sense of sight.The image in the second stanza is abstract as in line 7 "Our freedom as free lances."This kind of imagery sheds some light on the poet's psychological mode.The poet also creates a kinesthetic image in line 12 "We shall have no time for dances" to appeal to our sense of movement. According to FIGURES OF SPEECH, the simile in line 7 "Our freedom as free lances" has an important significance. The tenor is freedom, the vehicle is lances, the instrument is as , and the aspect of similarity is the strength of freedom.The use of simile shows the value of freedom in the poet's mind.Moreover, the metaphor in line 9 "The earth compels" also the significance of the simile in line 7 and shows desperate mode of the poet now after enjoying freedom in the past and losing it at present.The poet use apostrophe in line 11 "And soon, my friend, "he apostrophizes an absent person who is his old friend. According to RHYME, the rhyme scheme in the second stanza is: DEFEED.The poet uses End_Rhyme in "end", "descend", and " friend".The poet also uses alliteration in line 7 "Free" and "freedom".This is a musical tool which adds to the effect of the poetic form. It also reinforces the meaning and links related words and provides the tone. In the third stanza" The sky was good for flying / Defying the church bells /And every evil iron / Siren and what it tells: /The earth compels, /We are dying, Egypt, dying", the poet takes us to the past . In fact, the past tense in line 13 gives an illusion about the poet's condition in the past, of course with his friend. The poet in line 13 "The sky was good for flying" shows his pleasure. The verb "flying" refers to the birds and maybe the poet himself, as he wants to fly because of his happiness with his freedom as well as because of joining his friend. In line 14 "Defying the church bells", the poet describes his happiness which defies the"church bells" which usually refers to funerals and a sad atmosphere. So the poet makes a comparison between his mode in the past and at present. He tells us that his mode in the past was happy and strong , so his happiness is parallel to " Free lances" in line 7.In fact, the poet was happy in the past because he enjoyed his freedom and as a

result he was able to meet his friend.The poet continues to show the strength of his mode when he says, "And every evil iron / Siren and what it tells". In fact, the dictionary defines the word "Siren" as " one of a number of winged women whose songs charmed sailors and caused their destruction. 2 ship's whistle for sending warnings and signals; device for producing a loud shrill noise( as a warning, etc). I think the first definition is not what the poet intends; simply because there is no reference in the poem related to Greek myths to accept this suggestion. I think that the second definition is appropriate ; the poet wants to convey that his freedom which leads to happiness challenging any sad mode presented by "The church bells" especially in funerals, or even the iron alarm of the prison. As I show in my analysis that the poet in the first and second stanza may be restricted or imprisoned , here this clue emphasizes this suggestion. The use of the word "evil" is very subtle because it shows how unfair the prison is ; as this prison or at least restriction now prevents the poet from his freedom, happiness with his friend, and soon his life itself.This idea is shown in lines 17 and 18 " The earth compels, / We are dying, Egypt, dying". The poet expresses that the end of his freedom and happiness is the earth; i.e, death. Here comes the question in line 18: Why does the poet mention Egypt ? I think maybe the events that the poet talks about took place in Egypt, or maybe the poet is imprisoned in Egypt, or the garden which witnessed these memories is in Egypt. In fact, there is no definite clue which can tell us why the oet mentions Egypt. According to SENSE IMAGERY, the poet in the third stanza depends on the visual image in " The sky", "church bells", "Siren" and "the earth" . The poet also creates auditory image in "bells" to appeal to our sense of hearing. According to RHYME, the rhyme scheme in the third stanza is: GHIHHG. As the previous two stanzas, the poet uses End_Rhyme in "bells" , "tells" and " compels". The poet also uses colliteration in "every" and "evil" in line 15. He also uses refrain in line 18 by repeating the word "dying". It is worthy of note to say that the poet uses refrain in lines 9 and 17 ; he repeats "The earth compels". I think refrain is used here as a reminder of the unity of the poem. In the last stanza " And not expecting pardon, / Hardened in heart anew, / But glad to have sat under/ Thunder and rain with you,/ For sunlight on the garden" The poet denies the idea of "pardon "in line 19 as in line 6. In fact , this repetition increases the poetic effect of the poem by emphasizing that the poet gives up or surrender to restriction and death. The poet do not expect pardon ; he is now restricted or imprisoned and dying, he is far away from his friend and his own freedom. To recall these memories , the poet feels more pain and suffering "Hardened in heart anew".However, the poet at the same time is glad to remember when he sat under "Thunder and rain" with his friend.Of course the pronoun "you" refers to his friend. Finally, the poet is happy to see "The sunlight on the garden" because it reminds him of good memories in the past, although the sunlight "Hardens and grows cold". I notice that the poet mentions his meeting with his close friend under "Thunder and rain". In fact, this weather refers to the winter, and the poet tells us that the "Sunlight grows cold"in line 2. Hence, i detect that the "Sunlight on the garden" is in winter, the same reason when the poet sat with his friend. So "The sunlight on the garden" functions as a reminder which reminds the

poet of all memories in the poem. According to SENSE IMAGERY, the poet depends on tactile images in "Hardened in heart" , "Thunder and rain " and "The sunlight on the garden".These images appeal to our sense of touch. The poet also uses visual image in "The garden". According to FIGURES OF SPEECH, the poet uses apostrophe in "But glad to sat under/ Thunder and rain with you". He apostrohizes his absent friend in an attempt to recall the good time they engoyed with each other under the thunder and rain. According to RHYME, the rhyme scheme in the fourth stanza is :AJKJJA. The poet uses End_Rhyme in "Pardon" and "garden", in addition to "anew" ,"you" and "too". The poet uses colliteration in "glad" and "sad". Finally, I attempted to show a critical analysis of Louis Macneice's " The sunlight on the garden". I alst tried to clarify the poet's desperate mode and how it is reflected on the whole poem. In fact, I imagine the situation of the poem as a man who looks out of a window of a prison cell to see the sunlight on the garden. This landscape reminds him of his freedom and happiness in the past. Moreover, it also makes him remember his female friend whom he was dancing with and sitting with in the winter. But at last all these memories will be soon compelled by the earth . This is coincident with the absence of "The sunlight on the garden".