Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Music" by William Bell Scott is a narrative poem that sketches a scene of women in a brightly lit room, waiting for their male companions to finish their wine and join them. The women's personalities and their state of minds are depicted with keen observation. The poem then shifts from this mundane scene to a contemplative exploration of mortality prompted by the unexpected playing of a funeral march.

The opening stanza of the poem introduces the ladies who appear to be bored and preoccupied with trivial matters. Madame Ions is interested in the cups or tray, Mistress Cox is preoccupied with her child's bedtime routine, Miss Jemima Applewhite is struggling to find a rhyme for 'scan', and Miss Temple is concerned about the little hound.

Suddenly, the mood of the poem changes when Bertha Stahl, described as "satiric" and "laughter-loving", unexpectedly plays the funeral march, "Dead March of Saul". The music seems to have a profound impact on the speaker, invoking feelings of deep sadness and a sense of mortality.

Scott effectively uses this abrupt shift in the poem to prompt a contemplation on death and the desire for a significant lament or tribute when a loved one dies. The playing of the funeral march, in stark contrast with the earlier trivial concerns, drives home the fleeting nature of life and the inescapability of death. The profound emotional response elicited by the funeral march underscores the power of music to transcend mundane realities and evoke deeper human emotions.

In the final lines, the poem turns back to the women in the room, illustrating how the deep, emotional resonance of the funeral march goes unnoticed or ignored by them. The speaker feels the need to turn away for fear of weeping, suggesting his deep emotional response to the music. Meanwhile, Jemima continues to struggle with her rhyme, and Madame Ions has fallen asleep, highlighting their obliviousness to the profound contemplation stirred by the music.

In conclusion, "Music" by William Bell Scott is a powerful exploration of life's trivialities, the inescapable reality of mortality, and the ability of music to invoke profound emotional responses. It serves as a commentary on the indifference or obliviousness of some people towards deeper, existential contemplations, even when they are presented in the form of powerful music.

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