We caught the tread of dancing feet,
We loitered down the moonlit street,
And stopped beneath the harlot's house (1863).
We loitered down the moonlit street,
And stopped beneath the harlot's house (1863).
From this i understand that Wilde and his companion are taking a moonlit stroll and come to a stop, momentarily, outside of a brothel? They are attracted by the music and the sounds of people dancing and having a good time.
We watched the ghostly dancers spin
To sound of horn and violin,
To sound of horn and violin,
Like black leaves wheeling in the wind (1863).
They continue to watch the shadows of the dancers, until his companion "left [his] side , and entered in" (1864). She is so drawn to the sights and sounds of the brothel that she enters it. However, as soon as she enters the scene changes:
Then suddenly the tune went false,
The dancers wearied of the waltz,
The shadows ceased to wheel and whirl (1864).
The dancers wearied of the waltz,
The shadows ceased to wheel and whirl (1864).
This makes me thing of Tennyson's Lady of Shalott, Wilde's lover finally allows curiosity to get the best of her and enters; however, when she does there is no more music, no more dancing. Is Wilde telling us this story as a warning? At the end of the poem, the Sun "crept like a frightened girl" to cast light on the situation; to show the true nature of the brothel.
Tell me what message you got from this piece. I feel that the poem ended the way it did for a reason, but I am not quite sure if I understand why.
Deborah,
ReplyDeleteI think you do a good job of carefully working through and analyzing the poem. As for the ending, my guess is that you are right to see it as a warning about curiosity leading to indulging in that lifestyle—a lady who did would lose her good reputation, upon which much of her social benefits were based.
I agree with your last statement about this being a warning to avoid such an "immoral" lifestyle. It too reminded me of the Lady of Shallot and letting curiosity overwhelm her. However, I believe that human curiosity is a part of our complex and I cannot agree that simply walking into a brothel would permanently scar someone for life. I do not know that most people would even be tempted by seeing something like this, but I guess it is possible. I feel that The Harlot's House and The Lady of Shallot were very similar in their messages. Here, the life of a harlot is destructive in nature and in Shallot, the woman's curiosity led to death.
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