Literature in English (0475) | George Szirtes, ‘Song’

Comprehensive Study Notes: George Szirtes, ‘Song’

Hello, Future Literature Experts! Welcome to the study notes for George Szirtes’ poem, ‘Song’. This poem is part of your Songs of Ourselves Volume 2 collection. Don't worry if this short poem seems simple at first glance—it packs a huge emotional punch! Our goal is to understand how Szirtes uses everyday objects and simple language to explore deep feelings of loss and memory. By the end of these notes, you'll be ready to analyze the poem's structure, themes, and methods (AO1, AO2, AO3, AO4).

1. Background and Context (AO2)

Who is George Szirtes?

• Szirtes (born 1948) is a Hungarian-born British poet. His family fled Hungary after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
• This background often informs his work, which frequently deals with themes of memory, migration, absence, and the complexity of finding a fixed identity or home.
• His style often combines formal structure with powerful, evocative imagery.

What about the Title ‘Song’?

The title ‘Song’ is deliberately simple, but it contrasts sharply with the mood of the poem itself. Typically, a 'song' might suggest happiness, rhythm, or a lighthearted tune. Here, the 'song' is melancholic—it’s a quiet, sustained note of grief or longing. It suggests that the act of writing the poem is an attempt to memorialize or 'sing' about what has been lost.

Quick Key Takeaway: Szirtes uses a plain title to introduce a deeply emotional meditation on absence within a familiar, domestic setting.

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2. Summary and Themes (AO2)

The Main Idea

‘Song’ is a poem about remembering a lost loved one, not through direct description of the person, but through the detailed observation of the domestic space they left behind. The speaker interacts with a room filled with ordinary objects, each of which acts as a painful reminder of the absence.

Core Themes to Explore

1. Absence and Loss: The central emotional experience. The loved one is gone, but their presence lingers in the inanimate objects.
2. Memory and Time: The poem explores how memory functions—it is fragile and fleeting, constantly battling against the present moment and the passage of time.
3. Domesticity and Comfort: The setting (a room with a clock, a bowl, a window) should be a place of comfort, but the absence transforms it into a location of deep sorrow.

Analogy Aid: Think of the poem like walking into your grandparents’ empty house. All the objects are still there, but because the person isn't, those objects feel heavier and sadder. They are silent witnesses to the person’s absence.

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3. Detailed Analysis: Structure and Form (AO3)

Szirtes employs a very controlled and precise structure, which is crucial to understanding the poem’s effect.

A. Structure: The Quatrain (Four-Line Stanza)

• The poem is composed of four four-line stanzas (quatrains).
• This regularity and uniformity reflect the speaker's attempt to impose order on the chaos of grief, or perhaps the fixed routine of daily life continuing despite the emotional upheaval.

B. Metre and Rhythm

The lines often adhere to a traditional, rhythmic structure (usually an iambic metre, though flexible). The consistent beat creates a quiet, almost lullaby-like quality—fitting for a 'song'—but this steady rhythm makes the underlying sadness even more unsettling.

C. Rhyme Scheme

The poem uses a clear rhyme scheme (often ABCB or AABB in places), making the language flow smoothly and feel contained. The strict adherence to form suggests discipline and restraint, hinting that the speaker is holding back powerful emotions.

Did you know? When a poet uses a very strict, traditional form (like this controlled rhyme and rhythm) to discuss a modern or painful subject, it often heightens the tension, as if the poem is a fragile glass container holding something heavy and volatile.

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4. Exploring Key Imagery and Language (AO1 & AO3)

The poem focuses on simple, concrete nouns, giving them symbolic weight.

Stanza 1: The Witnesses

The clock ticks over in the room,
The bowl is empty on the shelf,
The dust is settling in the gloom
And wishes itself something else.

• "The clock ticks over...": The clock represents indifferent time. Time moves on, regardless of human sorrow. This contrast emphasizes the speaker’s fixed sorrow versus time's movement.
• "The bowl is empty...": The bowl symbolizes sustenance and shared life. Its emptiness is a literal and emotional void.
• "The dust is settling in the gloom / And wishes itself something else.": This is a gentle use of personification. The dust—a symbol of decay and neglect—is given a human desire for change. This suggests the speaker feels stagnant and wants to escape the sadness, projecting this feeling onto the dust.

Stanza 2: Sounds and Absence

The air is heavy, the air is dull,
And nothing stirs except the heat
The street is busy, the street is full
Of footsteps passing down the street.

• "The air is heavy, the air is dull": Repetition and sensory detail create a feeling of oppression and stagnation. The room is lifeless.
• "The street is busy, the street is full / Of footsteps passing down the street.": The outside world is vibrant and full of movement (life), but the speaker is isolated inside the dull room. This contrast emphasizes the depth of the speaker's internal separation from the world.
• The sound of the footsteps is a sensory reminder that life continues for others, but for the speaker, the memory is trapped inside.

Stanza 3: Light and Reflection

The window pane is bright and thin
A lamp is lit against the blue,
The light is pouring out and in
And wants to be divided too.

• "The window pane is bright and thin": The pane is the barrier between the speaker and the outside world. It is fragile, suggesting the speaker’s mental state.
• "A lamp is lit against the blue": The lamp represents a small, hopeful light against the 'blue' (sadness/dusk), but it is a self-made light—not true comfort.
• "The light is pouring out and in / And wants to be divided too.": Another example of personification. The light seems to struggle to exist in both places at once, reflecting the speaker’s desire to share their burden ("divided too"), or to see the lost person return and share the light.

Stanza 4: The Ephemeral Song

The air is breathing in the dust,
The song is falling to the floor
And turns to silence, as it must
And wants to be restored once more.

• "The air is breathing in the dust": Reversal of imagery. The 'air' is now inhaling the dust—the memory/loss is internalized.
• "The song is falling to the floor / And turns to silence, as it must": This is a powerful metaphor for the poem itself, or the fragile nature of memory. The 'song' (the attempt to remember/grieve) cannot last forever; it must end in silence. This resignation is deeply sad.
• "And wants to be restored once more.": The final, poignant line emphasizes the cycle of grief. Even though the memory fades (the song falls), the speaker's profound yearning (the song's desire to be restored) remains.

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5. Writer’s Methods and Effects (AO3)

Understanding these methods will help you score highly by showing appreciation for *how* the writer creates meaning.

1. The Power of Simple Diction (Word Choice)

• The vocabulary is extremely simple (clock, bowl, dust, air, street, lamp).
• Effect: This simplicity gives the poem an accessible, universal quality. It suggests that this kind of domestic grief is felt by everyone and doesn't require grand language.

2. Use of Definite Articles ('The')

Notice how often Szirtes uses 'the' (e.g., "The clock," "The bowl," "The street").

• Effect: The use of 'the' suggests these objects are highly specific and known to the speaker, making the scene feel intensely personal and familiar. It roots the loss in a precise, physical reality.

3. Personification (Giving objects human qualities)

The dust, the light, and the song are all given human desires ('wishes itself something else,' 'wants to be divided too,' 'wants to be restored').

• Effect: By projecting human emotions onto objects, Szirtes conveys the intensity of the speaker’s own feelings, suggesting that the sorrow is so great it spills out and affects the entire environment. It also shows the speaker seeking companionship in the inanimate.

4. Contrast (Inside vs. Outside)

• Inside: Heavy, dull air, silence, gloom, settling dust. (Represents stagnation and grief).
• Outside: Busy street, footsteps, bright light. (Represents ongoing, indifferent life).
• Effect: This sharp contrast highlights the speaker's emotional isolation. The world moves on, but the speaker is trapped in a paused state of memory.

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6. Developing a Personal Response (AO4)

When preparing for the exam, you must offer an informed personal response. This means reflecting on Szirtes's intentions and the emotional impact of the work.

Question Prompts to Consider:

How effective is Szirtes’s focus on inanimate objects?

The poem is highly effective because it avoids sentimentality (overt emotional display). By focusing on things like the clock and the bowl, Szirtes creates a subtle, more relatable kind of grief. The absence is defined by the emptiness of these familiar markers, making the loss feel profound without being melodramatic.

What is the significance of the final stanza?

The ending, where the 'song' turns to silence but "wants to be restored," encapsulates the human experience of grieving. Szirtes suggests that while memory and poetry (the 'song') offer temporary relief, silence and loss are inevitable. Yet, the persistent human need to re-engage with that memory—to restore the song—shows the enduring power of love and remembrance.

A final thought for your essay: You could argue that Szirtes uses the tightly controlled structure (the form) to suggest that the speaker is trying desperately to maintain control and composure, but the quiet despair, symbolized by the personified objects, keeps breaking through.