Mutability

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Mutability
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The poem itself

• From low to high doth dissolution climb, And
  sink from high to low, along a scale Of awful
  notes, whose concord shall not fail A musical
  but melancholy chime, Which they can hear who
  meddle not with crime, 5Nor avarice, nor
  over-anxious care. Truth fails not but her
  outward forms that bear The longest date do melt
  like frosty rime, That in the morning whiten'd
  hill and plain And is no more drop like the
  tower sublime 10Of yesterday, which
  royally did wear His crown of weeds, but could
  not even sustain Some casual shout that broke
  the silent air, Or the unimaginable touch of
  Time.

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• Word Definitions
• Mutability - Capable of or subject to change or
  alteration
• Dissolution (line 1) - Decomposition into
  fragments or parts
• Concord (line 2) - Harmony or agreement of
  interests or feelings
• Melancholy (line 4) - Sadness or depression of
  the spirits
• Meddle (line 5) - To intrude into other people's
  affairs or business
• Avarice (line 6) - Immoderate desire for wealth
• Sublime (line 10) - Characterized by nobility

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Poem form and structure

• Mutability, a traditional sonnet of fourteen
  lines in iambic pentameter, is William
  Wordsworths speculation on change and
  transformation. Something that is mutable is able
  to shift, alter, and adapt itself, and the poet
  places his reflections on the impermanence of
  forms side by side with the permanence of Truth

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Rhyme Scheme

• From low to high doth dissolution climb, AAnd
  sink from high to low, along a scale BOf awful
  notes, whose concord shall not fail BA musical
  but melancholy chime, CWhich they can hear who
  meddle not with crime, CNor avarice, nor
  over-anxious care. DTruth fails not but her
  outward forms that bear DThe longest date do
  melt like frosty rime, AThat in the morning
  whiten'd hill and plain EAnd is no more drop
  like the tower sublime AOf yesterday, which
  royally did wear DHis crown of weeds, but could
  not even sustain ESome casual shout that broke
  the silent air, DOr the unimaginable touch of
  Time. AABBCCDDAEADEDA

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A brief summary

• The first part is a musical metaphor.
• From low to high doth dissolution climb, And
  sink from high to low, along a scale Of awful
  notes, whose concord shall not fail A musical
  but melancholy chime,
• nor avarice, nor over-anxious care. Truth fails
  not
• William Wordsworth is trying to convey the
  idea of how society has changed because of the
  industrial revolution. He is saying that
  societies morals and values have changed for
  worse as people are living and working in
  terrible conditions.

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• The second part the change is society is
  illustrated in nature. Along with the
  personification of time and a tower.
• but her outward forms that bear The longest
  date do melt like frosty rime, That in the
  morning whiten'd hill and plain And is no more
  drop like the tower sublime 10Of yesterday,
  which royally did wear His crown of weeds, but
  could not even sustain Some casual shout that
  broke the silent air, Or the unimaginable touch
  of Time.
• William Wordsworth uses nature to convey the
  overall theme of change in society from something
  beautiful to something ugly. He portrays frosty
  landscape, white, and blissful which over time
  turn into slush. He is saying that our core
  values are still there but the peripheral is
  deteriorating.

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Speaker, Intention and Purpose

• In 1812 Wordsworth published "Ecclestial
  Sketches", a sequence of over a hundred sonnets
  (one of which was "Mutability") prompted by the
  current issue of Catholic Emancipation. Its
  purpose, wrote Wordsworth, 'was, as much as
  possible, to confine my views to the
  introduction, progress and operation of the
  church in England, both previous and subsequent
  to the Reformation'. The following year he
  published a group of poems inspired by his recent
  trip to Europe, "Memorials of a Tour on the
  Continent, 1820, and, for the first time
  eparately, the "Description of the Scenery of the
  Lakes". But for the next ten years, Wordsworth
  wrote little, and published nothing
  new.(reference from the book The British
  Library writers lives William Wordsworth written
  by Stephen Hebron)

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American schools Conclusion

• William Wordsworths poem Mutability makes
  multiple references to the crucifixion of
  Christ. The first few lines about climbing
  dissolution seem to reference periods of
  religious controversy. In this case, the word
  awful might mean filled with or displaying
  reverence, instead of the more common definition
  meaning terrible. Those who "hear the musical but
  melancholy chime," or are fully aware of these
  lapses and swells in religious fervor, are
  Christians. This is evidenced by the fact that
  Wordsworth says they meddle not with crime, not
  avarice, not over-anxious crime, or in other
  words they are trying to lead lives without sin.
  The line drop like the tower sublime of
  yesterday compares Jesus Christ, as a sublime
  figure, to a watchtower that guards over a
  kingdom. Which royally did wear his crown of
  weeds directly references the crown of thorns
  that Jesus wore when he was crucified. The words
  royally and crown recall images of a king
  with a great land empire and royal subjects,
  drawing parallels to Jesus, the Christian empire,
  and his devoted followers. However, the
  incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was
  impermanent like the dew (rime) on the grassy
  hill. Mutability, the title of the poem, draws
  parallels between the ever-changing nature of the
  world and God changing shape to take on the
  bodily form of Jesus Christ, and then leaving the
  world as quickly as he arrived. Wordsworths
  conclusion seems to be that God, although he may
  change shape or form, is always present, and that
  although Jesus died and there is constant
  questioning of religion, his legacy lives on
  (truth fails not), like that of a great
  ruler.On a side note, it was interesting the
  particular words that Wordsworth used because, if
  the poem was being read out loud, many of them
  could be confused for their similar-sounding
  homonyms. Dissolution, meaning breaking into
  fragments, sounds eerily similar to disillusion,
  meaning freeing from false belief or illusions,
  which would also make sense within the context.
  Rime, meaning dew, could easily be confused with
  rhyme, which would follow with the line talking
  about music and a scale and chime. Wordsworth
  seems to be toying with the mutability of the
  words as well.

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Symbolism and Imagery.

• Symbolism- The tower is a symbol for Jesus
  Christ.
• Imagery- which royally did wear/His crown of
  weeds personification tower being Jesus and the
  crown of thorns.

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Feelings and Themes

• Themes
• The powerful leaders all fall some time? (cant
  withstand time) E.g Sadam Hussein, Hitler, fall
  of empires (Rome, Egypt) but could not even
  sustain the touch of time.
• Change in society shown in nature.

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The End