A Complaint edexcel 4-The-Poetry-Anthology

A Complaint

Each GCSE poetry anthology contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem – printed in full – and asked to compare this printed poem to another. The exam is closed-book which means you will not have access to the second poem. This does not mean you need to remember every line from memory, but you do need to understand and remember aspects of the poem. Understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:

• The meaning of the poem

• The ideas and messages of the poet 

• How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods

• How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology

Below is a guide to William Wordsworth’s poem ‘A Complaint’ from the Relationships anthology. It includes:

• Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations

• Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods

• Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes

• What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam

Overview

In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:

• The poem in a nutshell

• A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining William Wordsworth’s intention and message

‘A Complaint’ in a nutshell

A Complaint is a poem written by the Romantic poet William Wordsworth in 1807. The poem has been interpreted as a reflection on lost friendship but it can be seen as an exploration of lost love generally. 

‘A Complaint’ overview

Lines 1–2

“There is a change—and I am poor;

Your love hath been, nor long ago,”

Translation

• The poem begins describing a change in an individual’s circumstances: 

  • The connotations of “poor” suggest a less rich and happy life without love rather than a change in economic circumstances

• The speaker says “Your love hath been”, meaning the speaker’s love has gone away:

  • They add that it was not “long ago”

Poet’s intention

• Wordsworth’s poem immediately implies a lost love causes a damaging change in the speaker’s life

Lines 3–6

“A fountain at my fond heart’s door,

Whose only business was to flow;

And flow it did; not taking heed

Of its own bounty, or my need.”

Translation

• These lines describe the relationship as plentiful and generous

• The speaker compares the relationship to a “fountain” at their “heart’s door”, suggesting an outpouring of love

• The love does not take “heed” (pay attention) to limits or selfish needs

Poet’s intention

• Wordsworth describes the relationship as endlessly loving with rich imagery

• Repetition of the word “flow” emphasises the love’s many benefits 

Lines 7–8

“What happy moments did I count!

Blest was I then all bliss above!”

Translation

• The speaker remembers their past when the pair were together and exclaims how happy they were

• The speaker says they were blessed with happiness (“bliss”) from above (perhaps heaven)

Poet’s intention

• Wordsworth uses hyperbolic language and exclamations to present the strong emotions as the speaker reflects on their relationship 

• This emphasises not only the joy the love brought but also the pain they are in now

Lines 9–12

“Now, for that consecrated fount

Of murmuring, sparkling, living love,

What have I? shall I dare to tell?

A comfortless and hidden well.”

Translation

• The poem returns from a memory to the present, marked by the word “Now”

• The speaker contrasts their life with metaphorical imagery:

  • The once holy or “consecrated” fountain of their love that was “sparkling” with life is now a “comfortless” well

  • The speaker alludes to being isolated with the adjective “hidden”

Poet’s intention

• Wordsworth draws attention to the stark loss in an individual’s life when they lose a loved one

• This is emphasised with a juxtaposition between a “sparkling”, flowing fountain and a dark, uncomfortable well to convey feelings of hopelessness 

Lines 13–16

“A well of love—it may be deep—

I trust it is,—and never dry:

What matter? if the waters sleep

In silence and obscurity.”

Translation

• The speaker returns to describing the well to convey their intense emotions:

  • They believe the well they feel they are in may be “deep” and full of water but nothing matters if the water is silent and hidden (in “obscurity”)

Poet’s intention

• Wordsworth highlights the speaker’s sense of isolation and grief by developing the metaphorical image of a well

• The speaker’s recollections break and their tone implies frustration and resignation

Lines 17–18

“—Such change, and at the very door

Of my fond heart, hath made me poor.”

Translation

• The poem’s conclusion begins with a pause that may suggest a breakdown in the speaker’s emotions

• They return to the same ideas mentioned in the poem’s first lines:

  • The speaker says that as the change affects his heart this has made him poor

Poet’s intention

• Wordsworth’s poem has a cyclical structure that reflects an unresolved ending for the speaker

• Their bleak future is implied in the speaker’s distressing conclusions

Writer’s methods

Although this section is organised into three separate sections – form, structure and language – it is important to take an integrated approach, focusing on the main themes and ideas of the poem and then evaluating how Wordsworth’s choices of language, structure and form contribute to these ideas. In essence, how and why the poet has made the choices they have, in relation to their intentions and message. 

Focusing on the poet’s main ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. In the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Wordsworth’s intentions behind his choices in terms of:

• Form

• Structure

• Language

Form

The poem’s form reflects an individual who speaks intimately to a lost loved one. Wordsworth shows that the speaker is unable to come to terms with the changes brought by the end of the relationship. 

Structure

The structure of the poem indicates that the speaker attempts to control their emotions, yet a melancholic and resigned tone with outbursts of emotion present an individual’s deep feelings of love and loss.

Language

The poem, although believed to be about the friendship between William Wordsworth and fellow Romantic poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, speaks about the benefits of a relationship and the many riches love can bring.

Context

Examiners are clear that context should not be written about separately. It is therefore important that you do not write about context separately, or include irrelevant biographical information about William Wordsworth or the Romantic era. The best way to include context is to start with the key themes and ideas in the poem, and then include an exploration of why the writer may have chosen to address these themes and ideas. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Wordsworth explores:

• Loss and acceptance

• Memory of love

Loss and acceptance

• In 1795 William Wordsworth met fellow Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge

• They began a collaborative friendship, with Coleridge acting as mentor

• In 1798, guided by Coleridge, Wordsworth published his famous collection, “Lyrical Ballads”

• This collection is considered pivotal in the development of Romantic poetry because of the way it deals with the emotional experiences of the everyday person

• However, the relationship between the poets became conflicted:

  • Coleridge developed an addiction to opium and fell in love with Wordworth’s sister-in-law, Sara Hutchinson

  • Coleridge left England and the friendship came to an end

• His later collection “Poems, Volume 2”, includes the poem A Complaint:

  • ‘A Complaint’ is often considered to be about Wordsworth’s sense of loss at the ending of this friendship 

  • The metaphor of a fountain in the poem may symbolise the lessons Wordsworth learned under Coleridge’s guidance

  • It may also allude to the collaborative and inspiring friendship 

Memory of love

• William Wordsworth, a leading Romantic poet, was born 7 April 1770 in the Lake District

• Wordsworth’s life may be reflected in his poetry, which covers themes of joy and sorrow in pastoral settings

• ‘A Complaint’ is an introspective poem that examines the speaker’s inner world, typical of Romantic poetry 

• His poetry explores the feelings and thoughts of everyday people to accentuate the poignancy of everyday experiences

• Wordsworth is famous for Romantic poetry that uses the language of the average person rather than the heightened sophistication of traditional poetry:

  • ‘A Complaint’ uses simple imagery, such as doors to symbolise love entering and leaving his life

  • The poem uses simple language, such as “fond heart”

• Nevertheless, the unresolved ending deviates from conventional Romantic poetry, which usually offers a solution or epiphany (often found in nature):

  • In this poem the epiphany comes, but it is a tragic one

  • The speaker repeats how “poor” they feel and the poem ends as it begins

• The poem emphasises the cyclical nature of grief unhealed by nature or reflection

What to compare it to

The essay you are required to write in your exam is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about love or relationships, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that ‘A Complaint’ explores the ideas of romantic love and loss, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:

• ‘A Complaint’ and ‘Love’s Dog’

• ‘A Complaint’ and ‘Neutral Tones’

• ‘A Complaint’ and ‘The Manhunt’

For each pair of poems, you will find:

• The comparison in a nutshell

• Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem

• Differences between the ideas presented in each poem

• Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences