The conflict in the poem, “Farewell to barn, stack and tree’ is more emotional although it talks about a crime. The poet ultimately makes it an elegy. Do you agree with this statement ? Build up your arguments taking examples from the poem.
The poem, “Farewell to barn, stack and tree’ written by A. E. Housman talks about a conflict, a murder. It brings the vivid description of an environment of a rural farming community and the narrator is the person who is responsible for committing murder. He stabs his own brother to death on the farm possibly due to a dispute over a love affair. It is obvious that they both loved the same woman, and the ultimate result of the conflict is murdering one of them, Maurice by the other.
In the poem, the poet first emphasizes that it is a crime and the offender admits that he has committed the offence.
” By now, the blood is dried
And Maurice amongst the bay lies still ,
And my knife is in his side. ”
These lines bring the significance of the murder. They should have met at the stacks of hay and there the conflict breaks out. They should have had a heaty argument and finally as a result of instant provocation the narrator should have stabbed his brother down. He visualizes the scene that the dead still lies among the hay with the knife he used aside.
Apart from that, the narrator often mentions about his bloody hands so it also contributes to build up the idea of the murder.
The whole incident in the poem can be taken as an emotional confession. The narrator is addressing another person called Terrence who could be a close associate of him. He confesses what he has committed and he emphasizes that he is not in a position to stay further in the village so that he wants to leave everyone of them. In this confession, he collects the memories of his past how he associated the people in the village and how they used to live as a happy and contented family. These memories are essentially associated with his farming life so it is very interesting to see how the poet builds up the visual imagery of this environment.
” Farewell to barn and stack and tree
Farewell to Severn shore”
” And here’s a bloody hand to shake,
And, oh, man, here’s a goodbye. ”
In these lines, the narrator points out that he confesses mainly because he wants to leave them all, his kith and kin of the village.
Here, the most significant thing is his tone. The narrator’s character is presented as that of a murderer or a criminal. Nevertheless, does the poet emphasize the impression that he can be branded as a hard core criminal ? In the whole incident, one can easily pick out many instances how he is worrying or lamenting over what he has committed. It is really a lamentation. He does not utter a single word just promoting what he has done. Instead, he continuously reiterates that he cannot bear up his feelings that the ultimate outcome of the incident has paved him the way to get away from what he used to love. It is really impossible to get away from someone whom you loved enormously. It is the human nature. Doesn’t he show that he too is obviously reluctant to say good bye to everything and everyone which and whom he had been aligned with for a long time?
He first addresses his close associate, Terrence.
” Terrence, look your last at me,
For I come home no more.”
Isn’t it emotional ? The words, look your last at me and come home no more touch the reader’s heart that they lead to build up a strong rapport so that the reader is compelled to feel sympathy instead hatred.
The narrator does not want to hide anything from Terrence. He most honestly admits his guilt.
” And Maurice amongst the hay lies still
And my knife is in his side. ”
When he mentions about his mother and his family life too, he uses a sorrowful tone. He brings the flashback that mother was looked after by both of them. It was they who worked hard on the farm and fed their mother. But, now, because of this unexpected catastrophe, it was their mother who would be left alone and helpless. He mentions this fact with overflowing sorrow.
” She had two sons at rising day
To night she’ll be alone. ”
In the fifth stanza, the narrator seems to be addressing his love. As we understand the conflict broke out because of this love affair. It could be introduced as a triangular love in which both brothers have fallen in love with the same girl. But, now he has committed a murder and he often mentions about his ‘ bloody hands ‘. So, he uses his sorrowful tone to say goodbye to his love too.
” I wish you strength to bring you pride,
And a love to keep you clean ”
It would be impossible for her to be proud of her love because her lover has now become a criminal or a murderer. He admits that he should not seek her love any more. So he wishes her the strength to start a new life with a new love which would make her heart clean. Here, his tone promotes a sense of sacrifice.
‘ Lammastide ‘ can be defined either as the girl’s name or the festival they celebrate after collecting the harvests. If it is the festival, the narrator frankly wishes when she starts a new life, she would be able to enjoy the festival with her new partner.
” And I wish you luck, come Lammastide,
At racing on the green. ”
In all these examples, the narrator’s tone seems to be a very sorrowful one. One cannot easily brand him as a murderer’ because he shows that he is very sensitive and sensible although he had to involve with this murder.
On the other hand, isn’t it reasonable to say that the narrator has been fallen into a very pathetic situation as a result of this murder? The poet takes the word ‘farewell’ as the title of the poem because now the narrator is compelled to leave the village; he cannot stay there any longer; he cannot tell his mother what he has committed. He confesses Terrence and this confession is really a lamentation of his pathos. In the first stanza, he stresses that he would
not come home any longer so that he wants say farewell. Now, he has become deprived of his brother, so that he cannot look after his mother, and as he has done a crime, he cannot face the other villagers, the people whom he associated, and he has to get away from his farming life, so, the narrator has been fallen into a very miserable situation.
It is quite evident that he is reluctant to leave his village and the people. It is obvious that he has been in the farming life for a long time so that he is quite familiar with it. In his confession, he mentions about the experience of this life. Even the title of the poem suggests how he wants to bid farewell to the barn, stack and the tree. In the first stanza, he requests Terrence in a very sincere and affectionate way.
” Terrence, look your last at me,
For I come home no more. ”
In the fourth stanza, he once again makes the same request.
” And oh, man, here’s good bye ”
In the meanwhile, he expresses his growing reluctance to leave the farm and the farming life.
” We’ll sweat no more on scythe and rake
My bloody hands and I.”
Here, the poet very effectively uses the two words ‘scythe’ and ‘rake’ – two farming instruments – to illustrate how his whole life is firmly and steadily tied with the farming life. They work hard and sweat on the farm and it is how they spend their whole life. But now, he has to get rid of it with much reluctance. In the last stanza, he describes his feelings quite emotionally.
” Long for me the rick will wait,
And long will wait the fold ”
The ‘ rick ‘ and the ‘ fold ‘, if they are personified, are quite familiar to him as he has been with them for a long time. And, now, they will wait for him because his absence would create a big vacuum on the farm. That is how he thinks.
He is so reluctant to leave his home and the family background. First, in the third stanza, he brings the memory of his mother. He is immensely worried over the matter that she will be deserted at home being deprived of her both sons. In the last two lines of the poem, the narrator reiterates his feelings.
” And long will stand the empty plate
And dinner will be cold.”
His mother does not know anything about this catastrophe so she would be waiting for her sons. She would prepare the dinner for them but they would not come.
It is quite obvious that the narrator has become really deserted in the memories of his previous life. He idiomatically expresses his willingness to further stay with the barn, stack, hay,
trees, scythe, rake and the rick. All these memories of his past haunt him.
The poet mentions about the crime only in the second stanza and even there he does not mention anything about a grudge between him and his brother and he also does not express anything evoking hatred. Instead, in the whole incident, he makes a sorrowful confession and he indirectly tells Terrence that he does not want to leave the farm and his associates purposely but he is compelled to do it. Therefore, it is quite obvious that the whole poem can be taken as an elegy.