A Contemplation Upon Flowers

A Contemplation Upon Flowers

Brave flowers that I could gallant it like you,
And be as little vain!
You come abroad, and make a harmless show,
And to your beds of earth again.
You are not proud: you know your birth:
For your embroider'd garments are from earth.

You do obey your months and times, but I
Would have it ever Spring:
My fate would know no Winter, never die,
Nor think of such a thing.
O that I could my bed of earth but view
And smile, and look as cheerfully as you!

O teach me to see Death and not to fear,
But rather to take truce!
How often have I seen you at a bier,
And there look fresh and spruce!
You fragrant flowers! then teach me, that my breath
Like yours may sweeten and perfume my death.

THE POET:
Henry King, English bishop and poet, baptized in January 1591. Henry King died at Christopher on the 30th of September 1669. His works include poems, Elegies, Paradoxes and sonnets (1657). This poem is an example of an ode, a formal way to address someone or something, it is a tribute. The poem is basically about a man wanting to accept death as it is. He watches the flowers accept death as nature. He then learns that the flowers are brave as they go back to the earth. He puts the flowers situation in his and which that they could teach him not to fear death and to be as brave when its time.
As a human, I fear death and the consequences of it. It always seems hard to accept that life must come to an end, and that one day we all must die. In this poem by Henry King he makes a connection to flowers, which are very much like us in the way that they bloom, grow, and they must die. Just as humans a flowers life is filled with beauty and work to please others, so in reality the life of a human is no different to the life of a flower. This poem has helped me understand that life is but a cycle, that everything must come to an end. So why fear death when it is just another step on our cycle called “life”.

LITERAL MEANING
The name was given to the poem because the poet shows that the speaker is studying the poem. This poem "A contemplation upon flowers by Henry King" is about a man who wants the flowers to teach him to become humble. The comparison of the life of a simple flower is made to the life of a human, in the sense that we both are born, we both live, and we both must die. Majority of people fear death, but the flowers accept death with open arms and a smile. This poem by Henry King praises flowers for not only their humble lifestyles but also for their acceptance of death.

Instead, the flowers taught him three lessons.

Stanza one centers on the characteristics of flowers. They are gallant, humble, etc., and they return to the earth (figuratively, they die every winter--but this isn't revealed until later) after putting on a show. His first lesson that he learnt was to become brave and to remember the place where the flower came from, as referred to line 1, 5-6 " Brave flowers that I could gallant it like you "The persona wishes that he could be as brave as the flowers, who are aware of their allegiance to the earth. "You are not proud you know your birth for your embroidered garments are from earth." They know their place and obey the order, or cycle, of life and death. The persona wishes that he could be this way because he is the opposite, he wants to live forever. The persona wants the flowers to teach him NOT to fear death, but to accept it. Line 1 can also be identified as a literary device known as personification because brave flowers cannot gallant which only living things such as animals or humans can do. Also in line 5 and 6 can be identified as Biblical allusion another literary device because the bible in the books of John and Mathew Jesus talked about the lilies in the field where they are created and their birth place.

Stanza two switches focus to the speaker: he would rather it be always spring, so he'd never have a winter (again, so he'd never die, but this doesn't become clear until later: winter is often used as a symbol of death). He wishes he could go to the earth (his grave), and look as cheerful, and smile, as the flowers do when they go to their earth. The second stanza the speaker learnt the second lesson which was to accept nature and their selves for today the flowers in the field may be beautiful and blooming but tomorrow the flowers know their beauty will not last forever where they may withered away and torn to pieces. In line 7 and 8 "You do obey your months and times, but i would have it ever spring;" metaphor can be found in the sentence.

In stanza three, the focus on the speaker in stanza two combines with the focus on the flowers in stanza one, as the speaker asks the flowers to teach him to not fear death; to teach him that his breath may sweeten and perfume his death, as the flowers' breath sweetens theirs. In the last stanza the poet learnt his last lesson which was to accept death as referred in line 13 and 14 " Oh teach me to see death and not to fear, but rather take truce." The only literary device that can be found is rhyme. In line 17 and line 18 " You fragrant flowers then teach me that my breath like yours may sweeten and perfumed my death."

In short, the speaker envys the flowers their ability to face death without the fact of death negatively influencing their existence.

The poem depicts the ways that flowers handle their existence, inspite of impending doom; the failure of the speaker to handle the same situation as well as the flowers do; and a wishing for the flowers to teach the speaker.

The speaker in this poem begins by complimenting the subject, flowers. So great is his admiration, that he uses the word 'gallant', which is both an adjective and a noun as a verb. In this way, he gives the word, strength and force in order to emphasise his appreciation. In addition, he remarks that flowers are not conceited; they do not think too highly of themselves. He declares that he wishes that he could be like them on both counts, that is, courageous and yet not stuck-up!He then explains further when he says that when flowers emerge and attract attention (with their beauty) they make no problems; rather they quietly return to the earth, from which they came, after they are seen. There is the suggestion at this point that the flowers do not feel important for they know that the earth is the source of their beauty (embroidered garments) and so growing, blooming, fading, withering and then becoming a part of the earth once again is taken as natural and create no cause for concern.
The speaker now comes to a point that seems very important to him as he continues to contrast the flowers' attitude, this time to death. For him, the flowers follow life's cyclical pattern cheerfully, without any regret, while he yearns to remain youthful, never to grow old, never to die, and not even to contemplate the fact that death exists.And, so he next appeals for a lesson.
He wants to learn how not to fear death because he realises that he cannot escape from death; he calls it 'my bed of earth'. His desire is to get to a position where he can smile at death, where he can make an agreement with death. Do you see the significance of that statement? In order to do so you must know the meaning of the word 'truce'.Look it up and you will find that it means 'a temporary agreement to cease hostilities'. This, therefore, tells us that he feels that he is at war with death and is uncomfortable about it. Why do you think I say that? I do so because if he were not, he would not sound so anxious to be like the flowers and would not be talking about a truce.
In the last four lines, our speaker brings the flowers which he respects face to face with death, which he fears. The influence of the flowers is great, for here he sees them as displaying no fear. They look good; they brighten up the funereal atmosphere and make the place smell fragrant. We, Jamaicans would say, 'sweet'. The flowers are dying, but they do fulfil their purpose anyway, and this is the attitude the speaker wants to achieve. He wants to be able to approach death as if he were approaching a friend, sweetly and with confidence.
Take a close look at the poet's style. Consider, the rhyming pattern, the run-on lines, the use of the colon, the conversational tone, the couplet with which the poem ends and the fact that there is only one full stop used in the whole poem. Please notice, too, how the seasons are used as symbols. Is there any personification? Has this lesson assisted in your understanding of this work? I would really like to think that it has. By the way, does it surprise you that a bishop wrote this?

ANOTHER LOOK
LITERAL MEANING
The persona wishes that he could be as brave as the flowers, who know who they owe their life to - the earth. They know their place and obey the order, or cycle, of life and death. The persona wishes that he could be this way because he is the opposite, he wants to live forever. The persona wants the flowers to teach him NOT to fear death, but to accept it.

LITERARY DEVICES 1. SIMILE * Stanza 1, line: The persona is wishing that he could be as brave as the flower. This implies that the persona does not think that he is brave, but a coward in the face of death. * Stanza 2, line 14: This is another comparison between the persona and the plant. The persona wishes that he could look death in the face and be cheerful, like the plant. Again, this emphasizes that he fears death.

2. EUPHEMISM
This phrase is a replacement for the word death. It softens death and makes it appear welcoming and pleasant.

3. IRONY
It is ironic that the flowers look so fresh and alive, when they are facing their very mortality, on the top of a casket. Death is a sad affair, yet the flowers are at their best when ushering people back to the earth.

4. PERSONIFICATION
The persona is speaking directly to the flowers and giving them human qualities, therefore, the whole poem is an example of the use of personification at its best. He even goes as far as to ask the flowers to teach him things that will allow him to acquire their qualities.

IMPORTANT WORDS/ PHRASES
5. 'galant'
This word literally means brave or heroic. The word, however, also brings to mind adjectives such as charming and attentive, like a knight would be in olden days. So the plants are not simply brave in their acceptance of death, but they are also gracious.
6. 'harmless show'
The word harmless sticks out in this phrase because it implies that the flowers are demure and quiet in their beauty.
7. 'bier'
This is a movable frame on which a coffin or a corpse is placed before a burial or cremation, or on which they are carried to the grave.
8. 'teach me that my breath like yours may sweeten and perfume my death'
This implies that if death is not feared, then the person will go into death's arms joyfully, without any sorrow, remorse or bitterness.

TONE
The tone of the poem is admiration, because the persona literally admires the flowers for its accepting attitude towards death.

MOOD/ ATMOSPHERE
The mood, or atmosphere of the poem is a pensive one. The persona is thinking about death, how he relates to it versus how others relate to it.

CONTRAST
A contrast in this poem is the persona's fear of death, versus the flowers' acceptance of it.

THEMATIC CATEGORY
Death, nature,

THEMES
Death is the overwhelming theme in this poem. The persona admires the way in which the flowers deal with death and wish to emulate it. Death is a very scary prospect for the persona.

Nature is his willingness to accept nature as a worthy contrast to human’s personality and approach to life. He uses the natural to highlight the failings and weaknesses of man.