Ruins Of The Great House : summary

Ruins of a Great House

The poet is basically introduced to stones of disjecta membra (scattered fragments in Latin) of the great house, there lived in girls who perhaps moved around the lights at night like moth but now the part of the same dust that was lit by candles. There are lizards in the house that can sharpen the claws on the walls of the house.  Cherubs are winged unearthly creatures, from the bible. There are shrieking (crying) in pain from fear because they are stained with what is unsure but more like it is the stain of cruelties ad horrors. The three cows of evil doings are in the trees, whose braches creak as the heavy birds settle down.  The dead limes personifications bringing the image to life and the unpleasant smell gets right into the nose. The line 11 ad 12 is from Blake’s poem Night, which is good versus evil- the speaker suggests that when the empire is around you can say goodbye to freedom and happiness. Greece refers to the ancient culture that is no longer used; Faulkner had love/hate relationship with south which resonates with the speaker.  The poet begins with a slightly different tone focusing on another ruinous aspect of the house. A rash of trees suggests a not too healthy grouping, with dead leaves nearby. The limes as the fruits the plantation was created to produce- silt, fine rocks are now gathered at the river’s edge. The rivers flows refer to wipe off all thoughts of hurt. I climbed the wall- the speaker makes use of “I”, which he feels he is the part of the ruined landscape. The word rent refers-that the worm takes out something from the estate and cavalry is military in origin, as if the mice are running to rescue. The wind of the lime trees reminds him about the death of the empire. The poet is thinking about the situation he finds himself in the green law, with low walls.  The poets say that men come and go but rotten things they do remain. The idea of dead is intensifies, this time blown by the wind that disperses the ash and yet causes the mind’s ember to grow-burn as he thinks of Donne. The poet is angry as he says a slave in the lake of emotions affecting him must be intense as they compete more thoughts based on reasoning. At the end, there isn’t forgiveness but a kind of understanding, based on Donne’s idea that no man is an island and that death of every man affects everyone.

Work Cited:
https://commons.marymount.edu/ruinsofagreathouse/close-reading/