The Thorn Analysis

Analysis of the thorn

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  • Created by: lauren
  • Created on: 05-06-09 10:04

The Thorn- Analysis

  • "There is a thorn, it looks so sad". Typical Wordsworth structure, he presents a natural image at the beginning of the poem, to symbolize what he is going to talk about in the rest of the poem. Lines...seat in a yew tree- "This lonely yew tree stands" Female Vagrant- "By Derwents side my fathers cottage stood" and old man travelling- "The little hedgerow birds". This is typical of Wordsworth, he always presents nature first before showing the negative images of the modern world.
  • The Thorn in the poem, symbolizes the woman in the poem. "A mass of knotted joints".
  • The poem is also typical because it starts of by giving you clues about what happens in the poem, the structure works backwards. "Not higher than a two years child". "With Lychens to the very top" "Tis three feet long and two feet wide". All the above quotes show the clues which Wordsworth gives the reader about what has happened to the women (the thorn) in the story.
  • "There she sits in her scarlet cloak". Colour plays an important role in the poem. Also, the colours used on the mossy heap. The cloak can symbolise- Love or it could symbolise Hate, Blood, anger and Violence.
    Society always talk about the women in the poem, and speculate about her, but they do not help her or talk to her, she is abandoned by society. "Some say she drowned it"
  • "That she should be to public justice brought....beauteous hill of moss before there eyes began to stir". This shows that nature is trying to stop the un-natural act of shutting somebody away from happening. Coleridge describes the negative effects of imprisoning somebody in 'The Dungeon'. Nature is trying to stop this from happening to the lady in the poem. Rousseau's philosophy also.
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The Thorn Analysis 2

  • The word "Hung" is used when describing the thorn, it is a heavy suggestion, it suggests that the women in the poem has somthing heavy weighing on her mind, again this is another clue to the story.
  • "To drag it to the ground". The Lychans are wanting to drag the thorn to the ground. This could be seen as nature punishing the women for somthing that she has done, but the Lychnas could be seen as people around the women wanting to punish her and bring her down for hat she has done. This is more realistic if fitted with this next quote. "All had joined in one endeavor, To bury this poor thorn forever".
  • When describing the "Mossy Heap" there are "Lovely colours" described around the heap, as if to display that somebody has died, people usually leave flowers, here nature is doing it.
  • The women has been abandoned by society and by her fiance. "It dried her body like a cinder....turnd her brain to tinder". This is Wordsworth describing how the human spirit can be destroyed by another human, mans cruel act on man, showing people in a bad light and nature in a good light.
  • "Wrought about its mothers heart, and brought her senses back again". The power of the child
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Context in The Thorn.

  • Mans cruel act on man
  • "Lychans wanting to drag the thorn down". The Lychans represent the people aroung the old woman who want to drag her down and ounish her.
  • "It dried her body like a cinder....turned her brain to tinder" This shows that when people are horrible to a person, it can destroy there soals and they can lose there spirit.
  • The power of the Child
  • "Wrought about its mothers heart....senses back again".
  • The power of nature
  • "Mossy heap" were there are "lovely colours" the lovely colours represent the flowers which people would usually lay down on a grave. Here people do not know about the grave, but nature is decorating the grave for itself. "That she should be to public justice brought". This shows the power of nature, nature does not want the women to go jail and be locked away from the powers of nature. Colerdige shows the devasting effects of being locked away from nature and its powers.
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Key Quotes in The Thorn

  • "There is a thorn, it looks so sad"
  • The thorn describes the woman "A mass of knotted joints"
  • "Hung"
  • "With Lychens to the very top"
  • "Not higher than a two years child"
  • "To drag it to the ground"
  • "All had joined in one endevour, to bury this poor thorn forever"
  • "That she should be to public justice brought"
  • "Wrought at its mothers heart....senses back again"
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