He never learned her, quite. Year after year
That territory, without seasons, shifted
under his eye. An hour he could be lost
in the walled anger of her quarried hurt
on turning, see cool water laughing where
the day before there were stones in her voice.
He charted. She made wilderness again.
Roads disappeared. The map was never true.
Wind brought him rain sometimes, tasting of sea -
and suddenly she would change the shape of shores
faultlessly calm. All, all was each day new;
the shadows of her love shortened or grew
like trees seen from an unexpected hill,
new country at each jaunty helpless journey.
So he accepted that geography, constantly strange.
Wondered. Stayed home increasingly to find
his way among the landscapes of her mind.
Story
The speaker of this person is
an anonymous third person, but it is about the relationship between a man and a
woman, and how it changes and develops over time as they go through life, get
to know each other better, and yet still find the other one strange and
mysterious.
Tone
This has a varied tone, but
overall it is reflective. It gradually becomes more excited and lively as it
goes on, reflecting their relationship becoming both more interesting and more
tempestuous over time. The last three lines are much quieter and more
conclusive, however, and give a sense of resolution.
Deeper Meanings
The poet is showing how love
is like a journey, and is getting the idea across that love is full of ups and
downs, not always perfect, and not necessarily leading to people understanding
each other. However, this changing and this mysterious element to it make it
exciting, as well as dangerous. It suggests that ultimately the most exciting
adventures people have are those that take place in the heart, not in the wild
outside world.
Structure and Form
The poet has structured the poem to get across the idea of surprises
and changes, which is shown by the placement of punctuation in the middle of
lines, enjambment, very short sentences, and the shift between regular meter/
rhythm, and irregular/more jumpy meter and rhythm.
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Prominent Words
learned her’ – the idea that he is studying her, she is complex
‘accepted’ – by the end of the poem he has found some resolution
‘constantly strange’ – always difficult to understand/ unfamiliar
‘on turning’/ ‘suddenly’ – how quickly their relationship changes
‘cool
water’ – her voice is refreshing, almost thirst quenching for him
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Imagery & Symbolism
Journeys and exploration: the centre metaphor in this poem is the idea
that love is like a journey through wilderness: this highlights how love is
dangerous, exciting, unknown, everchanging etc.
Mapping: ‘territory’, ‘charted’, ‘map’
How people try to understand and categorise their feelings
Nature/ time: the sea, days, wind, hours, years: these are images which
show love to be powerful but ever changing.
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Sound
The iambic pentameter creates
a certain liveliness in the poem, to reflect the excitement of the ‘journey’ he
describes. There is little alliteration or rhyme, perhaps reflecting the ever
changing and unpredictable nature of the relationship being described. There is
some subtle sibilance, however, for example ‘suddenly she would change the
shape of shores’, which adds a calmness to the atmosphere of the poem.