to make everything slightly easier i have summarized all the information from the other posts into one condensed summary post which will also work as a sort of conclusion.
the main things that you need to know to understand this poem are:
- it was written by a woman after WW1
- she lost her fiance during the war
- it was written 9 years later
- each stanza represents a particular season which symbolizes the passing of time
- WW1 went from 1914-18
i hope you found this blog useful for whatever assessment you may need it for :D
Perhaps by Vera Brittain
“There seemed to be nothing left in the world, for I felt that Roland had taken with him all my future and Edward all my past.” - Vera Brittain
READINGS
there are three types of readings: resistant, alternative and dominant. below i have explored these readings for both now and then and of men and women.
the resistant reading of women in those days might've also been disgust. disgusted at the fact that they are dependent, like a shocking realization. they might've disagreed with the way the poem is written, believing that Vera should've just moved on and not sat in sorrow for all the years she did.
the resistant reading of men now might be shame. shame to think that that might be how women feel about them and how they think. shame to think that its what they did, its how it might always be, even if it isn't now that's how it was.
the resistant reading of women now might be that Vera was just being dramatic and that she should've gotten over him sooner instead of wallowing in self pity for 19 years.
Resistant then vs now:
the resistant reading of men in those days might've been disgust. disgust at the fact that women were so needy and dependent on men to keep them alive and well. disgusted that they couldn't do anything themselves and that they had to rely on people to do it for them.the resistant reading of women in those days might've also been disgust. disgusted at the fact that they are dependent, like a shocking realization. they might've disagreed with the way the poem is written, believing that Vera should've just moved on and not sat in sorrow for all the years she did.
the resistant reading of men now might be shame. shame to think that that might be how women feel about them and how they think. shame to think that its what they did, its how it might always be, even if it isn't now that's how it was.
the resistant reading of women now might be that Vera was just being dramatic and that she should've gotten over him sooner instead of wallowing in self pity for 19 years.
Alternative then vs now:
the alternative reading of men in those days might've been that they were saddened by the thought that women depended on them so much, it might have made them want to treasure the women more and respect them better.
the alternative reading of women in those days might've been that Vera was just being dramatic and that she should've gotten over him sooner instead of wallowing in self pity for 19 years.
the alternative reading of men now might be that they see women as weak beings and needing to be protected by men. it might make them feel empowered.
the alternative reading of women now might be from someone who doesn't know or understand the context of it. it could easily be mistaken as just a sad love story that ended badly. even if the context is known it can still be seen as a sad love story.
the alternative reading of women in those days might've been that Vera was just being dramatic and that she should've gotten over him sooner instead of wallowing in self pity for 19 years.
the alternative reading of men now might be that they see women as weak beings and needing to be protected by men. it might make them feel empowered.
the alternative reading of women now might be from someone who doesn't know or understand the context of it. it could easily be mistaken as just a sad love story that ended badly. even if the context is known it can still be seen as a sad love story.
Dominant then vs now:
the dominant reading of men in those days might've been that they saw it as being sappy and weak. The men were the ones who truly believed in the power of war and of the praise that the fallen should be receiving, not the feeble romantic poetry Vera wrote about how she felt, all the sadness she felt. The men probably believed that the poetry should've been written about the bravery of the men and how admired they should feel knowing that their loved ones fought for them. Men naturally value their masculinity, especially in those days when war was such a huge issue and they would've been asked to fight. If they had read this poem, they might have felt happy about it, as if that's how women must feel after losing them, it might have made them feel loved. (taken from the 'ISSUES OVER TIME' post)
the dominant reading of women in those days who had lost loved ones might've been able to relate to the poem. they might've understood the pain that Vera went through over the years. it might've brought back painful memories for them and saddened them.
the dominant reading of men and women now might be sadness. sadness over the way its written and just overall emotional over it all. the poem is a about a girl who lost her love in war. everyone thinks of war as a tragic event where thousands of people died but it sometimes goes unrecognized all the widowed families.
the dominant reading of women in those days who had lost loved ones might've been able to relate to the poem. they might've understood the pain that Vera went through over the years. it might've brought back painful memories for them and saddened them.
the dominant reading of men and women now might be sadness. sadness over the way its written and just overall emotional over it all. the poem is a about a girl who lost her love in war. everyone thinks of war as a tragic event where thousands of people died but it sometimes goes unrecognized all the widowed families.
IDEAS OVER TIME
the ideas presented in the poem Perhaps are that, when a loved one dies the world slowly dies with them and nothing ever seems the same again.
THEN:
back in those days, men and women would've been required to find one person, they wouldn't have had much time to fool around in their younger years as we do today. they wouldn't have had to go through too many breakups and they wouldn't have had to worry so much of their loved one dying from anything other than old age or disease. when the war came along they would've been so proud of their men to go off and fight for their country. when they heard news of their loved ones dying it would've ruined them. women depended on men for survival considering they wouldn't have received much pay if any at all if they could get a job, they would've relied on men for income to feed them and the rest of their family. women in those days, having relied on men so much, probably broke when they lost them. they were left widowed (if they had children it would've been harder) and they had to try to recover which would've been a lot harder if you'd loved the same person for so many years.
NOW:
in todays society, young people go through break ups all the time and for a while they may feel as if the world is ending, but then they find someone else and move on. its normal for couples to break up nowadays, its more uncommon for someone to be with only one person for their whole life. the only people who would have to suffer the death of someone they dearly loved or were in a relationship with would be either old people who's loved one died of old age or illness, or someone who's loved one suffered from a severe injury or illness. its uncommon for people to die young unless theres been an injury or illness.
ANALYSIS
The poem, Perhaps by Vera Brittain is a moving piece of anti world war one poetry dedicated to Vera's late fiancé, Roland Leighton.
there is continuous repetition of the term 'Perhaps' at the start of each stanza. The word, perhaps is used to express uncertainty or possibility. in the poem, Vera Brittain is expressing the uncertainty yet possibility behind her ever feeling the way she did before.
Typically, when your in love, the world seems like a brighter, happier place. For Vera Brittain, that world died when Roland was shot.
each stanza seems to be associated with a season, as if the years are going by and she still hasn't managed to get over him. this is created through the use of visual imagery in each stanza. for example, stanza one talks about the sun and blue skies to symbolise the summer time, she then goes on in stanza two to address the "golden meadows" and "white may-blossoms", representing spring.Stanza three mentions the "autumn harvest fields" to obviously show the autumn/fall time passing. Stanza four talks about the "passing of year dying" and the listening to of Christmas carols which easily symbolise winter at the end of the year. here in Australia the seasons are arranged differently but this poem was written over in Europe. in the final stanza she states simply that her heart is too broken to be fixed and that her world will never be the same as it was before.
at the end of each stanza (aside from the final one) she mentions his absence. she talks in sorrow about how he is no longer there with her, how he is no longer able to listen to Christmas songs and that she feels as if she is missing a piece of her and she'll never get it back.
the poem creates a melancholy mood through the despondent tone and sense of hopelessness. the terminology throughout the poem fabricates the illusion of seasons passing while being ultimately buried in sorrow. this might have been the mood she was feeling at the time as well, considering the poem was actually published in 1934, 19 years after her fiance was killed. this means that for 19 years she was sad and alone, watching the years pass and the seasons flow, hence the seasons per stanza.
there is continuous repetition of the term 'Perhaps' at the start of each stanza. The word, perhaps is used to express uncertainty or possibility. in the poem, Vera Brittain is expressing the uncertainty yet possibility behind her ever feeling the way she did before.
Typically, when your in love, the world seems like a brighter, happier place. For Vera Brittain, that world died when Roland was shot.
each stanza seems to be associated with a season, as if the years are going by and she still hasn't managed to get over him. this is created through the use of visual imagery in each stanza. for example, stanza one talks about the sun and blue skies to symbolise the summer time, she then goes on in stanza two to address the "golden meadows" and "white may-blossoms", representing spring.Stanza three mentions the "autumn harvest fields" to obviously show the autumn/fall time passing. Stanza four talks about the "passing of year dying" and the listening to of Christmas carols which easily symbolise winter at the end of the year. here in Australia the seasons are arranged differently but this poem was written over in Europe. in the final stanza she states simply that her heart is too broken to be fixed and that her world will never be the same as it was before.
at the end of each stanza (aside from the final one) she mentions his absence. she talks in sorrow about how he is no longer there with her, how he is no longer able to listen to Christmas songs and that she feels as if she is missing a piece of her and she'll never get it back.
the poem creates a melancholy mood through the despondent tone and sense of hopelessness. the terminology throughout the poem fabricates the illusion of seasons passing while being ultimately buried in sorrow. this might have been the mood she was feeling at the time as well, considering the poem was actually published in 1934, 19 years after her fiance was killed. this means that for 19 years she was sad and alone, watching the years pass and the seasons flow, hence the seasons per stanza.
REPRESENTATION OVER TIME
THEN:
The poem Perhaps mostly represents the women who were left widowed as hopeless romantics who rely on a man to be happy and how they might have felt completely lost after they had lost someone they loved dearly. Women are portrayed as weak and defenseless, as frail and fragile beings. during the early 1900's the women's suffrage was still in progress and they hadn't had much success so the way that men viewed the representation in the poem would've been seen as accurate, that women were weak and dependent on men.NOW:
over time the representation of women hasn't changed all that much. women are still seen as weak and fragile, especially when they lose someone they love. women are seen as emotionally frail, some more than others. however the view on the opinion that women depend on men has diminished over the years. after the suffragettes success in earning women's rights they were seen as independent people who shouldn't have to depend on men. in fact, in some societies, women being dependent on men is frowned upon and viewed as weak.ISSUES INVOLVED OVER TIME
The main issue involved in this poem is war and how it separates loved ones.
THEN:
Back during World War 1 many women would've been left widowed and many children would've been left fatherless. In those days war was seen as a joyous thing and dying for your country was righteous and was praised. The children who were left fatherless would've been told stories about how brave their father must have been and how he died in a grand way, how he fought for his country and his family. His children would be left only knowing that their dad was a hero. They wouldn't know the gruesome details of how he died, or if he had even fought at all. the widowed women also wouldn't know how their husbands fought or the details of how they died. Vera Brittain probably didn't know much about how her fiance died, only that he was shot by a German sniper. Her main focus at the time would've just been on the fact that her fiance was shot, that he was dead and that there would be no happy wedding, only tears and pain. She wrote the poem to express how she was feeling, it was probably the same as what all the other widowed women felt.
The men of the time, however probably saw it as being sappy and weak. The men were the ones who truly believed in the power of war and of the praise that the fallen should be receiving, not the feeble romantic poetry Vera wrote about how she felt, all the sadness she felt. The men probably believed that the poetry should've been written about the bravery of the men and how admired they should feel knowing that their loved ones fought for them. Men naturally value their masculinity, especially in those days when war was such a huge issue and they would've been asked to fight. If they had read this poem, they might have felt happy about it, as if that's how women must feel after losing them, it might have made them feel loved.
In these days there isn't a major war going on that is pulling couples apart so the issue doesn't apply well enough in today's society to be analysed as it was above. Sure enough, plenty of people experience breakups throughout their life and if they we're deep enough in love they can feel as though their world is ending.
NOW:
In these days there isn't a major war going on that is pulling couples apart so the issue doesn't apply well enough in today's society to be analysed as it was above. Sure enough, plenty of people experience breakups throughout their life and if they we're deep enough in love they can feel as though their world is ending.
CONTEXT
Knowing the context of a poem is important to understand the poem itself. here I've got a small collection of facts about Vera Brittain herself along with a few facts about the poem.
Vera Brittain
- born in December 1893
- awarded an exhibition to Somerville College,Oxford to study English Literature (1914)
- was in a relationship with her brothers friend, Roland Leighton (1914)
- became engaged while Roland was off at war (August 1915)
- began nursing at the Devonshire Hospital, Buxton (June 1915)
- was transferred to a military hospital in Camberwell
- found out about Rolands death while waiting for him to come home (26 December 1915)
- he was shot in France by a German sniper
- went on to write Perhaps (1934)
Perhaps
- released in 1934
- dedicated to Vera Brittain's dead fiance
- during WW2
- written by Vera Brittain
- dedicated to Vera Brittain's dead fiance
- during WW2
- written by Vera Brittain
WW1
- 1914 - 1918
- Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1914
- most of France had been taken over Germany
- French army collapsed in 1917
- French army collapsed in 1917
INTRODUCTION
Hello to anyone who may be reading this. I am a year 11 English ATAR student from Australia who is creating this blog to provide an freely accessible only resource for the poem 'Perhaps' by Vera Brittain.
This blog is going to include:
- the poem Perhaps by Vera Brittain
- an analysis on the poem
- a response to how the representations have changed over time
- a response to how the issues involved with the poem have changed over time
- a response to how the ideas of the poem have changed over time
- the context of the poem and the poet
i hope this is able to help many other English student and achieve its initial aim; to educate.
*all links and resources will be provided at the end of each post as well as a separate post of their own *
This blog is going to include:
- the poem Perhaps by Vera Brittain
- an analysis on the poem
- a response to how the representations have changed over time
- a response to how the issues involved with the poem have changed over time
- a response to how the ideas of the poem have changed over time
- the context of the poem and the poet
i hope this is able to help many other English student and achieve its initial aim; to educate.
*all links and resources will be provided at the end of each post as well as a separate post of their own *
THE POEM
PERHAPS
Perhaps some day the sun will shine again,
And i shall see that still the skies are blue,
And feel once more i do not live in vain,
Although bereft of You.
Perhaps the golden meadows at my feet
Will make the sunny hours of spring seem gay,
And i shall find the white May-blossoms sweet,
Though You have passed away.
Perhaps the summer woods will shimmer bright,
And crimson roses one again be fair,
And autumn harvest fields a rich delight
Although You are not there.
Perhaps some day i shall not shrink in pain
To see the passing of dying year,
And listen to Christmas songs again,
Although You cannot hear.
But though kind Time may many joys renew,
There is one greatest joy i shall not know
Again, because my heart for loss of You
Was broken, long ago.
by Vera Brittain
(dedicated to her fiance Roland Aubrey Leighton, who was killed at the age of 20 by a sniper in 1915, four months after she accepted his marriage proposal)
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