"To the Poor"

Barbauld’s poem “To the Poor” clearly sends the message of how the poor are treated by the rich Lords and aristocrats during the Romantic Period. “To the Poor” demonstrates how the wealthy view the poor and that the rich are in control simply because of their money. It seems that individuals are punished, and forced to serve the rich, for simply being born to a poorer family. I believe that Barbauld seems to be sarcastic in this poem when insinuating that the poor should endure suffering and contempt from the wealthy and simply “bend thy meek neck beneath the foot of power!” (line 12). The rich view the poor as lower class citizens and believe that the poor should submit to them. The treatment of rich individuals compared to the poor is not equal and is proven when the narrator states, “Child of distress, who meet’st the bitter scorn/ Of fellow men to happier prospects born”; therefore, the poor are being treated badly by the rich simply because they are not as wealthy (1-2).

Furthermore, the narrator seems worried that the poor individuals fear that God and heaven will be like what they are experiencing on Earth. The narrator seems to comfort their worries because God will be nothing like those Lords and aristocrats portrayed on Earth, and the poor should not “deem the Lord above, like the Lords below” (18). The wealthier men believe themselves to be God-like due to their wealth and statuses and believe they rule the lower classes; however, God does not rule this way. The poor should not fear God to be like the selfish and demanding Lords that surround them because God will not punish someone and treat them badly simply for their lack of riches. Lastly, the narrator states, “Prepare to meet a father undismayed,/ Nor fear the God whom priests and kings have made”; therefore, the poor should be cautious of what they have been told regarding heaven and God (21-22). There are particular men who have created a certain type of God for their own purposes, and the poor should be wary of what information they are receiving.

While reading “To the Poor,” I kept wondering who this poem was truly written for. I partially wonder if this poem was actually written for the Lords and the wealthier society since they were reading more poetry compared to the poorer classes. Did Barbauld write this poem to demonstrate to the rich how inhumanly they treat the poor? On the other hand was this poem written to comfort the poor?

"Life"

Barbauld’s poem “Life” is extremely powerful yet inspirational because the reader gains an uplifting perspective on life. The narrator is having a discussion with life and the complete process of life which includes contemplating on life as a whole and death.

The narrator’s approach to death is quite refreshing because they know that the full circle of life includes both birth and death. Life must always come to an end because death is inevitable and the narrator has accepted this philosophy when they state: “Life! I know not what thou art, / But know that thou and I must part” (lines 1-2). It is interesting because many individuals are terrified of death; however, the narrator is not scared of death and seems to confront life that their time together will end soon. The narrator may possibly be embracing death because the narrator and life have “been long together” (23). When an individual has experienced a long life they are more open-minded to death. Everyone knows that life must end at some point but each individual assumes their life will end when they are of old age. I believe when you reach a certain point in your life you know that death is approaching soon and you must embrace the full process of life. The narrator has no grudges towards life and accepts everything that has happened within their life because they know that life is never always easy and enjoyable and is full of rough sections. To experience life fully one must go “through pleasant and through cloudy weather” (24). One must embrace that life is full of hardships but that is the full process of life, one must experience bad times to know the value of a wonderful time.

The full process of life also includes not knowing when life will leave. Life is extremely unpredictable; therefore, when life decides to come to an end is a mystery as well. It seems that one cannot control life and life has a mind of its own because it will “then steal away, give little warning,/ Choose thine own time” (27-28). Even though we are living our own lives and each have individual control over our lives we never truly have complete power over life. It is a pretty powerful concept for our lives to end at any moment without our control.

“To a Little Invisible Being Who Is Expected Soon to Become Visible”

Anna Laetitia Barbauld’s “To a Little Invisible Being Who Is Expected Soon to Become Visible” is a poem that is uplifting and brings a sense of peace and hope to the reader. The poem is about a child waiting to be born and the excitement, hope and love that surrounds the birth.

The setting of the poem seems to be in spring time since the “fresh younglings shoot, and opening roses glow!/ Swarms of new life exulting fill the air” (lines 10-11). Spring is a wonderful and heartening time because it is full of life, birth and growth. Spring encompasses fresh new starts with new beginnings of life and promising visions of the future.

There is always so much excitement and anticipation with the process of birth because a new born child is full of potential. No one knows what to expect with this new little stranger and what they are capable of, what they will accomplish and how they will live their life. Everyone wonders what will the child be like and “what powers lie folded in thy curious frame” (5). A new born child is like a blank slate that has the capability to achieve anything within their life; therefore, they should take charge of their life and “launch on the living world, and spring to light!/ Nature fir thee displays her various stores,/ Opens her thousand inlets of delight” (30-32). I especially enjoy the lines when the narrator states: “Haste, little captive, burst thy prison doors” (29) and compares a womb to a “living tomb” (20) because the language is humorous yet empowering towards life. A child does not have the choice to remain locked up within a womb for approximately nine months; however, once the child is released they have the opportunity to do anything with their life since it is a new beginning.

Along with the feelings of hope and enthusiasm regarding birth comes the feelings of anxiousness due to the process of preparing and waiting for the child to be born. The mother within the poem is earnestly awaiting the arrival of a new individual and dreaming about the pleasure that the child will bring her. The mother experiences numerous emotions of complete love towards her unborn child yet also bits of hesitation because “she longs to fold to her maternal breast/ Part of herself, yet to herself unknown;/ To see and to salute the stranger guest” (21-23). Even though the mother has carried the child within her, and the child is a part of her there is still the feeling of uncertainty because a new born child is in a sense a stranger that the mother is in the process of getting to know.

This poem is inspiring for me not only because it shows the joys that a child can bring but also the poem brings hope for my own future. The poem does not contain a message for new born children but for individuals at any age. We should all be in the mindset that I have the ability to accomplish anything I set my mind to.

"On the Death of the Princess Charlotte"

Barbauld’s poem “On the Death of the Princess Charlotte” describes the tragedy of Princess Charlotte dying at such a young age, and the devastation and overflows of emotions that struck Britain but not her own father.

The first ten lines of the poem is describing the reaction that “Britain mourns” to the news of Princess Charlotte’s death and this reminds me of society’s reaction to the death of Princess Diana (line 1). Both Princesses have many similarities because they were well-liked and popular yet both lives were ended too soon. While reading that even stranger’s hearts were experiencing anguish and Charlotte’s “youth population melts/ In grief spontaneous, and hard hearts are moved” reminds me of watching the television and seeing the images in the newspaper of the enormous amount of distraught people mourning Diana (3-4).

It is interesting that individuals “and rough unpolished natures” (5) who were strangers to Charlotte show sympathy and compassion towards Charlotte and her family and “learn to feel/ For those they envied” (5-6).  I am assuming that the “rough unpolished natures” are the everyday citizens of Britain who envied and possibly hated the royal family for their wealth and power, yet it is remarkable that in a time of need and devastation individuals and strangers unite together to support one another. It is quite appalling that while strangers are showing compassion towards Charlotte and her family, Charlotte’s own father shows no emotion towards his dead daughter. It is my belief that even though the father may not have had the best relationship with Charlotte it is inexcusable for him to not have gone to her funeral. A funeral is not a time for anger and hate but a moment of sympathy and strength in order to show love and support towards the individual and their family. It seems that Charlotte’s husband took the death extremely hard and her father could have helped to comfort the “deep-felt anguish of a husband’s heart” (16).

Even though the father’s actions are simply unnecessary and disgusting it seems that the narrator wants us to have sympathy for him. Everyone is mourning his daughter Charlotte; however, it is he the public should mourn and “think of him, and breathe one prayer” (32) since he is incapable of showing compassion.

"The Caterpillar"

Barbauld’s “The Caterpillar” evokes an array of emotions because the poem touches upon many different themes. A caterpillar is a small creature within our world yet the poem describes what a significant creature a caterpillar truly is. First, Barbauld uses wonderful imagery to describe the physical beauty of the caterpillar, such as “the silver line that streaks thy back” (line 4); however, there are other simple descriptions that makes one realize the extraordinary creatures that surround us. Descriptions such as “houseless wanderer” set such a warm and tender tone because it makes the caterpillar seem so innocent and harmless (6). Barbauld uses a caterpillar to examine; however, individuals can pick any little creature in the environment to inspect and when an individual makes the effort to acknowledge the complexity of creatures, such as a caterpillar, and all that it encompasses, one can truly see the overall beauty.  

The poem includes many different themes and one issue is the use of pesticides and the unnecessary killing of creatures. The narrator acknowledges that they are not an innocent individual when it comes to the welfare of animals when stating “Where, folded in their silken webs they lay/ Thriving and happy; swept them from the tree/ and crushed whole families beneath my foot;/ Or, sudden, poured on their devoted heads/ The vials of destruction”; however, the narrator realizes the damage they are doing (18-22). Killing an innocent creature simply because they are pests is wrong, yet there is also the issue that everything in the natural world is interconnected. When killing creatures humans are tampering with nature’s natural cycle because every animal has a specific spot within the food chain. Furthermore, spraying does not simply eliminate or prevent a certain pest from attacking crops but also damages the animals that consume the pests. It is interesting that the narrator had no issue before with killing an entire family of caterpillars, yet now they cannot kill this one lonesome caterpillar by declaring “I cannot harm thee now” (1) and “I cannot kill thee” (13). I wonder if the narrator partly admires the caterpillar because “a single wretch, escaped the general doom” when the narrator attempted to destroy the entire family (24). Is it a moment of sympathy or of respect for not killing the caterpillar? Since the caterpillar avoids death the narrator has a moment of enlightenment by stating “making me feel and clearly recognise/ Thine individual existence, life” (25-26). Is it weakness because a caterpillar made the narrator realize the value of life?