Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Dora Greenwell’s "A Valentine" is an introspective exploration of creativity, longing, and frustration. The speaker recalls a conversation with someone they love, who is tormented by an elusive, haunting melody that continually plays in their mind but refuses to be captured in words. This inability to express or articulate the melody becomes a metaphor for the broader challenge of reconciling emotion with language, and the poem ultimately reflects on the difficulty of turning feelings into lasting, harmonious expression.

The poem begins with a simple yet deeply emotional exchange: "I said to One I loved, ';Why art thou sad?';" The directness of this question underscores the closeness between the speaker and the one they address. However, rather than receiving a straightforward answer, the speaker is met with a reflection on the complex relationship between inner experience and outward expression. The one they love explains that a "tune" has been "long floating round [his] brain," a melody that brings both gladness and frustration. This internal music, which "morn, night, and noon" surrounds him, is a source of joy, yet it vexes him because he cannot find "Words sweet enough to set to it, and bind / Its music round about [his] heart for aye."

Here, Greenwell introduces the central conflict: the inability to translate an abstract, emotional experience (the melody) into concrete form (words). The speaker’s loved one longs to find words that are as beautiful and perfect as the melody itself, but this task proves impossible. The phrase "bind / Its music round about my heart for aye" suggests a desire for permanence and completeness—a wish to encapsulate the fleeting, intangible beauty of the melody in a way that will last forever. The tension between the beauty of the inner experience and the limitations of language creates a feeling of frustration and sorrow.

The loved one’s frustration continues as he recounts an episode of inspiration. While "musing late above an ancient book," with the window open and the "breezes fleet" gently lifting the pages, a "loose leaf, writ with song" falls to his feet. This image suggests a moment of serendipity or divine intervention, as if the answer to his problem has been delivered to him by chance. The "quaint words" on the leaf seem to hold the key to unlocking the elusive melody, and he believes that by "wedding" these words to the music, he will finally be able to "set [his] Life to music by their sound." This moment of hope reflects the deep human desire to find meaning and to express the ineffable in a way that brings coherence and harmony to life.

However, despite his efforts, the attempt to merge the words and the melody fails: "yet found they would not suit / Together, though so sweet!" The sweetness of both the words and the melody suggests that each is beautiful in its own right, but when combined, they result in "discords." The imagery of discord emphasizes the painful realization that not all things, no matter how lovely, can be brought together in harmony. This failure to reconcile the internal and external worlds leads to a deep sense of disillusionment for the loved one, who confesses that the "strain" of the melody "broke into discords."

In the final lines, the speaker’s loved one resigns himself to the ongoing torment of the unresolved melody: "still the strain goes on, / But only angers me, its meaning gone." The melody continues to play in his mind, but instead of bringing joy or inspiration, it now fills him with anger and frustration because its original meaning and beauty have been lost. The melody, once a source of potential creativity and fulfillment, has become an irritant, a constant reminder of his inability to capture and express it fully. The final, heart-wrenching declaration—"Nor will I ever seek to find it words again!"—reflects a complete surrender to this frustration. He resolves to give up the quest for articulation, abandoning the hope of ever finding the perfect words to match the melody.

At its core, "A Valentine" speaks to the universal struggle of artists, poets, and musicians who seek to translate their internal experiences into something tangible and lasting. The melody, which haunts the speaker’s loved one, represents the ephemeral beauty of inspiration—something that feels complete and profound in the mind but proves elusive when one tries to bring it into the material world. Greenwell’s poem also touches on the human desire to find perfect harmony between emotion and expression, and the inevitable frustration that arises when this harmony proves impossible to achieve.

The poem’s melancholy tone reflects the sadness that accompanies creative failure, but it also acknowledges the beauty of the struggle itself. The loved one’s desire to "set [his] Life to music" suggests that the pursuit of meaning and expression is a central part of the human experience, even if it often ends in discord. Greenwell’s use of imagery, particularly the falling leaf and the attempt to match the words to the melody, captures the fleeting, fragile nature of inspiration and the difficulty of making that inspiration last.

In "A Valentine," Greenwell offers a reflection on the challenges of creativity, the frustrations of self-expression, and the inevitable dissonance between internal experiences and external realities. The poem’s final lines, with their note of resignation, underscore the sadness that comes with this dissonance, but they also suggest a quiet acceptance of the limits of human expression. Through its delicate language and thoughtful imagery, the poem invites readers to consider the tension between the beauty we feel inside and the difficulty of sharing that beauty with the world.