Help!!! To perceive "Youth and Age"

[white camellia]

I got trapped in bonds of comprehension to one poem from Lord Byron. Merely a vague lineament did I see, so hard for me to translate it...Can you please give me your understanding of it, especially for the first two stanzas! Here it is:

Youth and Age

There’s not a joy the world can give like that it takes away,
When the glow of early thought declines in feeling’s dull decay;
‘Tis not on youth’s smooth cheek the blush alone which fades so fast,
But the tender bloom of heart is gone, ere youth itself be past.

Then the few whose spirits float above the wreck of happiness
Are driven o’er the shoals of guilt or ocean of excess:
The Magnet of their course is gone, or only points in vain
The shore to which their shiver’d sail shall never stretch again.

Then the mortal coldness of the soul like death itself comes down;
It cannot feel for others’ woes, it dare not dream its own;
That heavy chill has frozen o’er the fountain of our tear,
And though the eye may sparkle still, ‘tis where the ice appears.

Though wit may flash from fluent lips, and mirth distract the breast,
Through midnight hours that yield no more their former hope of rest;
‘Tis but as ivy leaves around the ruin’d turret wreathe,
All green and wildly fresh without, but worn and grey beneath.

O could I feel as I have felt, or be what I have been,
Or weep as I could once have wept o’er many a vanish’d scene,---
As springs in deserts found seem sweet, all brackish though they be,
So midst the wither’d waste of life, those tears would flow to me!

--George G. Byron (1788-1824)

[Dailen]

Being Quite fond of Lord Byron....I could offer my thoughts on this.
But, I am not fluent of the art of Poetical decypering. :)

What the words mean to me could be entirely different, than what the
Experts would have to say.

Poetry is subjective,
we all view it with
eyes, hearts, and minds
that come from different views.
And no two views of the same story
can be seen in the exactly same way.

[white camellia]

I agree with you that poetry can be quite personal...Touchstone does not exist in perceiving it...But I still wonder...your singular thoughts about this... :p

[Dailen]

I type at a decent speed, but I'll need time to pay proper thought to the response.
(in a coffeeless fog) at the moment.
I will put my two cents in monday.
Are you playing with "Georgie Porgie" ;), for school or personal indulgement?

[white camellia]

Well, I am looking forward to the output after your "proper thought"... :)
And this is for school...But, then, a self-indulgence... :p

[Dailen]

*As for Proper thought, when it comes to me
anything beyond...Fire bad, tree pretty..
Is "Proper" enough. :p
I have a couple books of Lord Byrons poetry,
But I've never seen this one.Thank you for posting it.

Hopefully my rudimentary conveyance is understandable.
This has never been attempted by me.
(might need a nerve calming cigarette, when its posted)
Now... I'm just being shy. :D
It's that whole "open your mouth and remove all doubt" thing.

Youth and Age

There’s not a joy the world can give like that it takes away,
True joy, most often goes unappreciated, until it is gone.
Thats when the truth of it's power is realized.
(were something constant, it would be taken for granted,
It is the Fleeting joys, that once taken away are seen for what it was)
When the glow of early thought declines in feeling’s dull decay;
In first discovery..Amazement! over time it fades.
(The newness of a relationship, Euphoria is felt, and relished.
But, it fades and the once, bubbly love becomes diminished)
‘Tis not on youth’s smooth cheek the blush alone which fades so fast,
Not just the aging of the body.....the visible.
(from pink skin to grey, from lively to tired)
But the tender bloom of heart is gone, ere youth itself be past.
The Heart has also lost it's luster
(From the once strong beat of a passionate heart, to the slowed rhythm
of repose.)

Then the few whose spirits float above the wreck of happiness
The wounded, after the realization of the "Joy" being gone (breakup)
Are driven o’er the shoals of guilt or ocean of excess:
The pains of the heart often drive people to do, what they would
(under normal daily life circumstances)... Never consider.
The Magnet of their course is gone, or only points in vain
What once drove them foward, nolonger exists...
and goals that once involved the "object of joy" are now... irrelevant.
The shore to which their shiver’d sail shall never stretch again.
What is lost....is lost.- You can not go back (No U-Turn)

Stopping here, as, I'm not sure.. if this is the sort of thing your looking for.

I love how this man thinks, or perhaps,
I just love what he makes me think.

He kissed this girl, and make her cry.
Dailen

[white camellia]

Thank you so much, Dailen! ;)
You think calmly and write ardently the thoughts he made you think. Your perceiving is well-governed by logic, and not in the least akin, compared with ours on class. It exhibites the underlying truth whereas the Chinese version adheres to the letter, playing with the words. Evidently, the comprehension of the first line accounts for this best. The exploration of the second line puts much in the interest of novelty, the intention of the poet stunningly probed. Of the second line in the following stanza, you considers one's pain from the loss of happiness as the impetus that drives them to continue their course, and "guilt""excess" as things of necessity done "under normal daily life circumstances", which is of a proper interpretation of the metaphors.
What I'm still confused about is concerning the last line: Is it that the "shore" shall never stretch again or just the "shiver", or what exactly does the word "stretch" here mean, a peculiar meaning?

[Dailen]

What I'm still confused about is concerning the last line: Is it that the "shore" shall never stretch again or just the "shiver", or what exactly does the word "stretch" here mean, a peculiar meaning?

The shore to which their shiver’d sail shall never stretch again.

The shore, I think represents "the place once dwelt" -the relationship.

Their Shiver'd sail, ...Quivering, heavy Heart, as a sail drives a boat foward the heart drives a lover. (The wind being Love, the heart a ship.)

Shall never stretch again...The embrace is over. As a sail stretches full
when catching the wind, to drive the boat foward. The heart would
not stretch with the fullness of the love once known.
( Wounded Heart, Shiver'd sail.)

The lovers once parted, as a result of the dulling effects of time,
Would be unable to reclaim the lustfull zest of when they first met.
The heart will never again beat with the same passion.
*The Ship is denied Docking.*

If you go ahead and think with the two minds of a male,
the implications, (in a sexual way) are evident.

I would go into it,...
but I'm still a bit worried about some seemingly harmless
pretzel inuendos, on another thred, comming back to haunt me. :blush:

[white camellia]

My heart's a shiver'd sail at this moment, not faded, but thrilled at the bewitching wind a wondrous beautiful poem can send...There's just more room for one's own fancy...This must be a good trait of a masterpiece... :p
Your imagination alone is very appassionato despite the dulled love...and ingenuous...But...Who knows what Byron really thought about? ;)

[Dailen]

It is with humor that I ask, for this part....


Your imagination alone is very appassionato despite the dulled love

Could you Explain your Explanation?

[Basil]

Could you Explain your Explanation?
Dalien, did you do that on purpose? This is Lord Byron in the dedication to "Don Juan," speaking of Coleridge:

Explaining metaphysics to the nation-
I wish he would explain his Explanation.

If so, pretty clever. If not, interesting coinkydink . . .

[Dailen]

Thank you, but I've yet to get to Don Juan.

( I'm waiting for an empty house day, to curl up with that one.)

Interesting ....I'll have to sneek a peek.

_________________________________________
I snuck a peek...

Ok?....huh?....It just seemed to fit.
Just a Coinky Dink, No cleverness on my part. :)

[Basil]

You'll probably need an empty-house week; it's 17 cantos long!

You must have been channeling the spirit of Lord Byron--it is Halloween, after all!

[white camellia]

It is with humor that I ask, for this part....
Could you Explain your Explanation?

"The heart would not stretch with the fullness of the love once known."---dulled love

Yet despite the meaning of this poem, your imagination shines with blaze. ;)

I'll also go to view Don Juan which must be interesting...Joy worth the day... :p

[Dailen]

Basil:

You'll probably need an empty-house week; it's 17 cantos long!

You must have been channeling the spirit of Lord Byron--it is Halloween, after all!
Then a week, with him, it will be. :brow:

If I was channeling him, Don't tell my husband, He's Jealous as it is. :)


white camellia:

Yet despite the meaning of this poem, your imagination shines with blaze.
Thank You....Thats quite a compliment.
:D

[white camellia]

Dailen, My Husband is able to get jealous with my exclusively intensive reading too...But I exult in this, sort of... :D

Will you care to share your thoughts upon reading Don Juan thereafter with us here? :p

[Dailen]

I would like that.
What a mighty thread it would be.

If done, alternating our thoughts -stanza to stanza....
(Post a stanza....share....The next stanza falls to the next person.)
The converstion would be ...a long one, and quite benificial to students.

Before begining, we should try to find others, If your up for the "game"
-the more the Merrier.
Male points of view, would be nice.
(The Man himself would be nicer)

*If our husbands think they do not benifit, from our reading this,
then they are not paying attention. :)

[white camellia]

Bravo!
Oh...the blossom of thoughts commence...divine or not...it's the start... :blush:
"Kritische Gesamtausgabe der Werke."
Fr. Nietzsche

[sadeyedboy]

for those of uss who have been thrown onto hell, mysterious melodies and the torturing images of beauty will always bring us , in the midst of crime and folly,the echo of that harmonius insurrection which bears witness through the centuries, to the greatness of humanity....albert camus
I got trapped in bonds of comprehension to one poem from Lord Byron. Merely a vague lineament did I see, so hard for me to translate it...Can you please give me your understanding of it, especially for the first two stanzas! Here it is:

Youth and Age

There’s not a joy the world can give like that it takes away,
When the glow of early thought declines in feeling’s dull decay;
‘Tis not on youth’s smooth cheek the blush alone which fades so fast,
But the tender bloom of heart is gone, ere youth itself be past.

Then the few whose spirits float above the wreck of happiness
Are driven o’er the shoals of guilt or ocean of excess:
The Magnet of their course is gone, or only points in vain
The shore to which their shiver’d sail shall never stretch again.

Then the mortal coldness of the soul like death itself comes down;
It cannot feel for others’ woes, it dare not dream its own;
That heavy chill has frozen o’er the fountain of our tear,
And though the eye may sparkle still, ‘tis where the ice appears.

Though wit may flash from fluent lips, and mirth distract the breast,
Through midnight hours that yield no more their former hope of rest;
‘Tis but as ivy leaves around the ruin’d turret wreathe,
All green and wildly fresh without, but worn and grey beneath.

O could I feel as I have felt, or be what I have been,
Or weep as I could once have wept o’er many a vanish’d scene,---
As springs in deserts found seem sweet, all brackish though they be,
So midst the wither’d waste of life, those tears would flow to me!

--George G. Byron (1788-1824)