UNIT – 5
Up-Hill By Christina Rossetti
Up-Hill is a poetry that consists of four stanzas with four lines each. It is written from the perspective of two distinct narrators, one who asks questions and another who provides answers. The lines alternate between asking questions and giving answers. In this way, Rossetti is able to craft a poetic conversation between two people without complicating her work in any way. The guide addresses the narrator as “my friend”.
“Does the road wind up-hill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.”
In the first stanza, the speaker asks about the road and whether it’s uphill for its entire length, whether it will take time to walk the road will mean the entire day. The description the of “whole long day” is an unusual choice, one of the reasons being matching the syllables with the first one. Additionally, it even shows the reader is tired of asking questions. Their uphill journey was a long and tiresome and they are waiting for the destination. It’s apprehensive that their journey will not end before the sundown. The second narrator’s lines are much shorter than the first one’s. The first character addresses the second narrator as his friend.
“But is there for the night a resting place?
A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.”
The questions and the answers continue in the second stanza too. Both the characters are portrayed here very differently in their perspectives on the uphill journey. The first speaker is unsure and lacks confidence who asks if there is a place they can stay for the night, since their journey will take so long. As soon as he is told the such a place exists, he worry that he will miss seeing it. The second speaker is certain that not only there is an inn for shelter against the dark, but that he will undoubtedly find it before it is too dark to see. The poet has chosen to portray one journey through two opposite viewpoints and yet it remains easy to follow and understand.
“Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?
They will not keep you standing at that door.”
In the third stanza, the narrator wonders about the inn they are about to find, and whether they will be welcomed there. This is a line of thought where the idea of an inn, is for anyone to find shelter, and an inn is constructed with nomads in mind. Still the speaker is concerned that they will be unwelcomed despite assurances from the second speaker that they will be welcomed by the “other wayfarers”. The first speaker hopes to find friends in their same predicament, and are told that they will. The anxieties of the first speaker and the confidence of the second speaker continues to be the prominent theme of the work even though the identities of both remain concealed.
“Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labour you shall find the sum.
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.”
The idea of “two friends” walking up the hill for full day is rather unlikely scenario in the literal sense. The expression refers to situations and scenarios that require hard work than usual to overcome – walking down the pathway versus walking up the hill. The speaker asking questions in this work is attempting to overcome an obstacle and likely to walk uphill for full day. Another speaker could be the friend who is encouraging them all along, or it could be another aspect of their personality, their sense of optimism, or determination to finish what they have started. The narrator asks if there will be a bed for her. The guide tells her that there are beds for everyone.
The idea of an inn along the way, in which lies comfort equal to the work put in, as well as other people climbing the same hill, is a likely metaphor for all. It is difficult to cross over any kind of obstacle without some kind of support. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be a great obstacle. So the speaker draws on their own sense of self and imagines that at the end of the day, there will be a roof over their head. Perhaps they are going home to their family, or perhaps the inn is a bar where they can meet up with friends and forget about the hardships of the day.
Conclusion
The question and answer form is common in devotional writing, because it encourages the reader to contemplate his or her own response to the question. The guide addresses the narrator as “my friend”. The journey is the prominent symbol in this poem and is open to a few different interpretations. The first interpretation is that the poem symbolizes the journey from birth to death. The second interpretation is that the road represents the journey of life. The third interpretation is that it considers the journey from the thoughts to represent Christian purgatory. Here the inn also represents the Heaven.
Key Takeaways:
1. Up-Hill is a poetry that consists of four stanzas with four lines each.
2. In the first stanza, the speaker asks about the road.
3. In the second stanza, the speaker asks if there is a place they can stay for the night.
4. In the third stanza, the narrator wonders about the inn they are about to find, and whether they will be welcomed there.
5. In the fourth stanza, the narrator asks if there will be a bed for her.
References
1. Gradesaver
2. Poem Analysis