The Sound of the Echo

The Sound of the Echo

AMY: SEE COMMENTS IN TEXT AS WELL. A TOUGH POEM SINCE YOUR TASK IS NOT JUST TO SHOW HOW THE LANGUAGE RELATES TO THE MEANING BUT HOW THE LANGUAGE RELATES TO THE MYTHOLOGICAL STORY AND HOW THIS RELATIONSHIP RELATES TO THE MEANING. FOR REVISION, CLARIFY YOUR THESIS. UNDERLINED STATEMENTS IN YOUR CONCLUSION AND INTRO. IDENTIFY THE OVERALL MEANING OF THE POEM BUT ARE THEY SAYING THE SAME THING? IF NOT, WHICH ONE IS THE ‘RIGHT’ INTERPRETATION? ONCE YOUR HAVE CLARIFIED YOUR THESIS, IN EACH BODY PARAGRAPH, DETERMINE YOUR MAIN IDEA AND HOW IT RELATES BACK TO THE THESIS. YOU HAVE FOCUSED ON KEY ELEMENTS OF THE TEXT THAT ALLOW UNDERSTANDING, SEE IF YOU CAN CLARIFY FOR THE AUDIENCE.

Amy Ude

Mr. Jennings

Honors A.P. English 4

January 30, 2012

The Sound of the Echo

Have you ever heard an echo and wondered where it came from? To find the answer you can look to Christina Rossetti’s poem, “Echo.” “Echo” is more than the story about where echoes come from, it is a poetic account of how a love was once alive, but is no longer(THESIS?); C (comma vs. semicolon) and how that love will always remain in memory. Questions may arise as to why the title of the poem is “Echo” if the real focus is on love. The title and true meaning of the poem can be directly related to the mythical story of Echo and Narcissus. To find meaning in the poem, examination of imagery, diction, and allusions found throughout the poem, must be looked at.

The whole poem is packed full of imagery. As soon as the first line is read, a picture of the words comes up(AVOID REFERENCE TO READER RESPONSE IN FORMALISM) ; and does not stop until the last line. The third line: “Come with soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright / As sunlight on a stream” (3-4). SF These two lines paint a scene of a person with eyes that shine like the reflection of the sun. This can show the admiration and love between two people. EXPLAIN HOW Moving on to the second stanza, when the poem states:

Whose wakening should have been in Paradise,

Where souls brimfull of love abide and meet;

Where thirsting longing eyes

Watch the slow door

That opening, letting in, lets out no more. (8-12) SF

The poem creates this visual image of “Paradise,” which means a place that is positive, harmonious, and timeless; just like Heaven. Heaven and Paradise are places where loved ones are reunited, but taken away from loved ones on Earth. The loved ones, on Earth, wait for the “door” to open so the loved one can return (11).

Taking a closer look at the words, which make the poem everything it is; the reference of lost love between two people can be clearly seen. The poem continuously brings up a “dream” this choice of diction shows the love shared was in the past, essentially one that was lost (2, 13, 15). Also when the poem states: “O memory, hope, love of finished years” (6) this relates that “love of finished years” (6) to a past love, and when the poem says “memory” (6) it can relate to how the memory of the love is still present even though the love was finished years ago. The fifth line: “Come back in tears,” can symbolize that the love and the person is gone and the other wants them to return even if in tears. The diction used in the third stanza is seen as hopeful. The second stanza ends with the door to Paradise that “lets out no more” (12) then turns to “Yet come to me in dreams” (13) in the third stanza that creates an optimistic diction. The hopefulness can be seen by that even though the door will never open again, if you still come to him or her in dreams, he or she will be able to continue on with their life. The love is shown as in the past with the last line in the poem: “As long ago, my love, how long ago” (18). The diction in the poem can also relate to the many allusions presented. MAIN IDEA ABOUT WHAT SPECIFIC CHOICE OF DICTION IS DOING TO CREATE THE OVERALL MEANING?

The allusions in “Echo” to the mythological account of Echo and Narcissus can truly establish the true significance of this poem. The story of Echo and Narcissus is as follows, Echo was punished by Hera, Zeus’ wife, to only ‘echo’ what others say. Echo ended up falling in love with vain Narcissus, who had been predestined by Teiresias, an oracle, that his life would be extensive as long as he never knew himself. Upon Echo and Narcissus’ first meeting, he broke her heart because all she could do was echo whatever he said. Narcissus continued to be vain and break the hearts of many. Ameinius, Narcissus’ admirer, was heartbroken and killed himself to show his love, but not before he made sure the gods punished Narcissus. Narcissus was subject to fall in love, but a love that could not be fulfilled. Narcissus ended up seeing his reflection in the stream and falling in love with himself. He was unable to stand not being able to fulfill his love, so he killed himself. Echo was then cursed by a jealous god and killed by the god’s shepherds; and her pieces were given to Mother Earth, who spread them over the earth so Echo would always be there to mimic every sound or voice. The whole story of Echo and Narcissus can be seen in this poem. The poem is relating love to echoes and how much Echo loved Narcissus. The first two lines: “Come to me in the silence of the night; / Come in the speaking silence of a dream;” shows how love is like an echo; that no matter if the love is gone or has passed, there will always be a presence of it; like an echo in the night (1-2). An echo is never expected, but it is always there. When the poem states: “Come with soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright/ As sunlight on a stream;” the allusion to the story of Echo and Narcissus can be seen (3-4). This statement alludes to when Narcissus sees his reflection in the stream and falls in love with himself; because Narcissus’ eyes were as dazzling as the sun on a stream. In stanza two when Rossetti references “Paradise” it alludes to heaven (8). This allusion can be seen when the poem states: “Watch the slow door / That opening, letting in, lets out no more” (11-12). The ticket to Heaven is nonrefundable. Heaven is a place where pasted ones reside, just as the poem describes “Paradise” (8). The poem also alludes to Echo when it says: “Pulse for pulse, breath for breath:” (16). This alludes to Echo because it repeats the words, just like Echo would if someone had talked to her.

Christina Rossetti’s poem “Echo” may be confusing at first, but (when the decipherment actually happens), it can be easily understood. “Echo” is a poem about love that is never forgotten and how love is like an echo. The sound of an echo will always relate and come back to the mythical story of Echo and Narcissus. No matter if the loved ones are together or not, the love that was shared may not be seen, but will always be in existence. (THESIS?)Just as an echo is, an echo is a symbol of the love shared between two individuals.

Work Cited

Rossetti, Christina. “Echo.” PoetryOutLoud.org. Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, 2011. Web. 26 Jan 2012.