Where Lies the Land? Arthur Hugh Clough

1. Where Lies the Land?Arthur Hugh Clough Marielle Graham & Kyle Ord

2. The poem Where lies the land to which the ship would go? Far, far ahead, is all her seamen know. And where the land she travels from? Away, Far, far behind, is all that they can say. On sunny noons upon the deck's smooth face, Link'd arm in arm, how pleasant here to pace; Or, o'er the stern reclining, watch below The foaming wake far widening as we go. On stormy nights when wild north-westers rave, How proud a thing to fight with wind and wave! The dripping sailor on the reeling mast Exults to bear, and scorns to wish it past. Where lies the land to which the ship would go? Far, far ahead, is all her seamen know. And where the land she travels from? Away, Far, far behind, is all that they can say. 

3. Mind map of the ‘proposed’ meaning of the poem pride

4. Biography of Arthur Hugh Clough • 1822 family moved to America and his childhood was spent mainly in Charleston, South Carolina • 1828 his brother and he returned to England to complete his education • Graduated with second class honours • Received a tutorship at Oriel college • He quit in 1848 and travelled to Paris • Witnessed the French revolution which inspired his long poem; The Bothie of taberna-Vuolich • In 1853 he married and wrote no poetry for six years • In 1860, with failing health, he travelled around the world • In April 1861 he travelled extensively in which he wrote his last long poem Mari Mango • He died in Florence on November 13 1961

5. General Response • This poem, ‘Where lies the land?’ portrays a strong theme of ‘life’ and the journey one takes through it. Although talking about and describing mere travels by sea, the poem seems to capture a much deeper meaning – one of life’s joys and troubles. It’s slightly comical how he has made something so deep and complex, so light hearted, relaxed and somewhat easy.

6. Stanza One • The first stanza, has an overall feeling of uncertainty. The first line of the poem, ‘where lies the land to which the ship would go?’ gives the reader the impression that they are sailing into the unknown - it being a question, contributing to readers ambivelance even more so. • The next two lines, ‘Far, far ahead, is all her seamen know. And where the land she travels from? Away…’ suggests that one is unaware of what lies ahead, with no insight as to what may happen or take place (in both the poem and life) – but are going along with it anyway. The word ‘seamen’ referring to the more experienced sailors on board, is perhaps implying some guidance is, and always will be at hand throughout the ‘journey.’ • ‘Far, far behind, is all that they can say’ implies that even these supposedly knowledgeable seamen with years on board, don’t have a clear answer as to where they are headed and remain vauge so as to allow the passengers to discover life on their own.

7. Stanza Two • The second stanza, starts off on a happier note (as opposed to the first, which contained much uncertainity) with the first line ‘ Sunny noons upon the deck’s smooth face’ implying that all is good. The word ‘smooth’ possibly referring to having no problems or worries, nothing to trouble over at the present time. • ‘Linked arm in arm, how pleasant here to pace’ suggests feelings of togetherness, amity and how blissful it is to be in that state of mind. It again, suggests having nothing or very little to worry about, perhaps indicating a younger time in one’s life. • The last line of this stanza, ‘The foaming wake far widening as we go’ suggests that the passengers are perhaps gaining experience, witnessing their life change before them. This line, gives one the impression that the ‘passengers’ are mere spectators, to the widening of this wake – as if they are viewing the situation from an outsider’s perspective.

8. Stanza Three • The third stanza shows the struggles one can be faced with in life, by the boat itself hitting hard times – managing its way through storms. • The first two lines, ‘On stormy nights when wild north-westers rave, How proud a thing to fight with the wind and wave’ seems to be speaking about the challenges which are thrown at us in life. ‘Stormy nights’ referring to troubled times,’a proud thing to fight..’ referring to us beings. It seems to send out a message of hope, a message of not giving up. • ‘The dripping sailor on the reeling mast, Exults to bear and scorns to wish it past’ give us the impression that although controlling this ship, struggling to keep it from losing to the storm, the sailor is proud to be the one doing so. This meaning that even though life is difficult, we should be proud to call it ours, we should be proud to be in control – even if sometimes we feel as if we’re not. ‘Exults to bear and scorns to wish it past’ means that the sailor, although doing something both pysically and mentally taxing, wouldn’t wish the storm away – for the exhiliration, thrill and challenge of it. The message here, is that we should try to enjoy whatever is thrown at us in life, regardless how hard the task is.

9. Stanza Four • Stanza four is a repitition of stanza one. • This brings back that feeling of uncertaintiny which came across in the first stanza. Perhaps the point of this repitition is to say that all through everything, from the start of life, through the good times and the bad, the true meaning of life remains unknown. • This effect this has, is one of slight confusion. The reason being that the poing of repeating the first stanza is at first unclear to the reader. Infact, this is a very good (and effective!) ending to the poem – simply because it’s true. All through the journey of life, there are questions as to why things happen the way they do. Nobody has the answers – there are only people who are ahead of us on this voyage who can offer their advice and wisdom to us embarking upon it, and even they still don’t have the answers. This closing stanza portrays that very well.

10. Task • What effect does the repetition of the first and fourth stanza have on the poem?