In Robert Browning's poem Parting at Morning, he opens with an enticing description of a Cape Surrounded by sea. This shows the beauty of the world around the character whom this poem is about. In the song Stay or Leave, Dave Matthew's says, "Kissing whiskey by the fire with the snow outside and when the summer river swims at midnight shiver cold touch the bottom, you and I, with muddy toes."(Matthews, 2003, Track 3) This expresses the love and happiness that he is feeling with his special someone. They are enjoying the beauty of nature, and each others company.
The next line in Browning's poem is on the dawning of a new day. Browning says, "And the sun looked over the mountain's rim."(Browning) This is symbolism for the dawning of a new day in a mountainous peak. Then in Dave Matthews' song, the second non-chorus line says, "Wake up naked drinking coffee making plans to save the world, while the world is changing us."(Matthews, 2003, Track 3) It is also the dawning of a new day, they are changing and it seems like things are going to be different for them.
The third stanza of the poem and next line of the song both express a different choice that has to be made. Browning said, "And straight was a path of gold for him." This means that the man was given a choice to stay with the one he loves in the beautiful mountain paradise, or begin a new life of greed and riches with the "path of gold." In the song by Dave Matthews, the chorus says throughout the song that there is a choice between staying and leaving, then it says, "And everyone wanted to be you and me, I want to be too."(Matthews, 2003, Track 3) This shows how good the couple was for each other, but you get a feeling that is just is not working out for the girl.
Everyone needs love, and in both the poem and the song it shows that you need that feeling of belonging. Browning says in the final line of his poem, "And the need of a world of me for me."(Browning) This shows that the man chose his path of gold, instead of the women he loved. He decided to have money in a very ugly alternative, rather than having a lover in a mountain paradise. In the song the chorus says, "Stay or leave, I want you not to go, but you did." (Matthews, 2003, Track 3) The woman obviously left the man. He did not want it and was reminiscing about all the good times they shared together. That makes it harder to get through the tough times.
Both the poem and the song use very similar poetic devices such as, imagery, personification, and metaphors. The first device used in Robert Browning's poem is imagery. Browning opens with some imagery of the scenic mountain top abode that the person seems to be either entering or leaving. Mathew's also opens with imagery of the seasons and fire to imitate and describe that he and his significant other are participating in an intimate action.
The second poetic device that is used in Browning's poem is personification, which is also in the song. In the second stanza of Browning's poem, he gives a human characteristic to the sun when he says, "The sun is looking over the mountains' rim." (Browning) This is personification because the sun is not actually peering over the edge of a mountain looking at you. In Mathew's song it says, "Kissing whiskey by the fire" (Matthews, 2003, Track 3), which is impossible for whiskey to kiss because whiskey is a drink and not a person.
Then, both of the poems use the poetic device known as a metaphor. In the third line of Robert Browning's poem he says that a man chooses a path of gold for him. The path of gold is a metaphor for moving to the city and leaving the life he has now behind. He is choosing riches over love and beauty. So basically the path of gold is a metaphor for riches and respect. Dave Mathew's uses a metaphor when he makes the comparison of "muddy toes" which is saying lightly that the two people are getting frisky in the bottom of a lake.
Finally, the last poetic device that these two share is consonance. Consonance is the repeated sound of any letter that is not a vowel. In the final line of Browning's poem he talks about the woman left behind and says, "And the need of a world of men for me." (Browning) The last part of "men for me" Is an example of consonance. Dave uses consonance through out the song in the chorus. He uses the "g" sound throughout like, "it was good as good goes." This is a perfect example of consonance.
The two authors are very similar. They were both taught to love god, and had great family backgrounds.
Robert Browning was born on May 17 1812, in Camberwell London England. His father worked for that Bank of England, so they did not go hungry. His father provided money love and compassion to his family, and he loved to read and write. This is why Robert became of one of the best poets of his time. Robert's mother was a very gifted pianist, and gave Robert a love for music. She also provided a strong religious background for Robert so cling to. He went to primary school until he was fourteen, but then his parents decided he should be homeschooled. In Robert's spare time he loved to read and write just about anything.. (Biography of Robert Browning)
Dave Matthews was born on January 9th 1967. Throughout his childhood Dave's family moved almost constantly. Dave taught himself how to play the guitar, which would always stay with him. When Dave was two years old they moved to New York where his father was a physicist for the computer company IBM. When Dave was eight years old his family was struck with some bad news, his father was diagnosed with lung cancer and died shortly after in 1977. After his father's death, his family decided to move back to South Africa to be with their family. But After High School Dave moved to the United States to avoid South Africa's military service. (Dave Matthews Biography)
Influence for a writer is almost as important as the pen and paper they write on. The most influential person in Robert Browning's life was his wife and poet Elizabeth Browning. The two wrote poems about each other and for each other. After her death in 1861 he said, "I shall live out the remainder in her direct influence, endeavoring to complete mine, miserably imperfect now, but so as to take the good she was meant to me." (Liukkonen) This just shows the love and compassion he had for his wife. Dave Matthew's has a lot of influences in his life as well. Matthew's says that his personal artists' influences include, "The Beatles, Trent Renzor, Bob Marley, Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, and a host of others." (Meuller) His father and his sister's deaths affected his life and influenced him by making him who he is today. He brings up his sister in a majority of the songs he sings. This song however was about one of his girlfriends three years. Dave asked her to marry him three times, but she declined every single one of the requests.
These men were not just cooped up inside all day everyday. They also were not just one hit wonders. Robert Browning wrote almost his entire adult life. He wrote a lot of books about poetry, and even worked on some short plays. He loved music and was a very religious man. Robert thoroughly enjoyed nature especially when he was with his wife Elizabeth. (Robert Browning)
Dave Matthews has had a lot of success in his musical endeavors; he was nominated for awards over 25 times. He has had a lot of songs that have climbed the charts like, What Would You Say, So Much to Say and Crash into Me. He and his band mates started a charity organization called "Bamaworks", which is an organization that funds other charitable causes in the Charlottesville area. (Dave Matthews Biography) This is pretty good for a guy who wasn't a great student in school, but it pays off to be a great guitarist. He got into drugs for awhile, but now he just smokes marijuana. He does not record as much as he used to. He likes to play live concerts and spend time with his three children.
Dave and Robert both had goals they were trying to accomplish when they decided what they wanted to do with their lives. Robert's goals in life were to be a great play write and poet. He wanted to win awards for his great works of literature. (Robert Browning) Dave's goals were to become a well known artist, because he did not want to do anything other than play his guitar. His goal when he is playing is to find a creative sound that no one else can recreate, and to be very original. (Meuller)
Everyone in life needs the love of someone else. They need a special connection between them and that special person. Both writers of these wonderful pieces of art have strong ties with other people in their lives. I am sure that they would not want to just crawl in a hole and not ever let anyone get close to them because they are afraid to get hurt. It is a part of life and but as a famous person said, it is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all. It is essential in life to be loved and to love others.
Work Cited
"Biography of Robert Browning" Poem Hunter 1 Janurary 2010. Web. 29 March 2010.
Browning, Robert. "Parting at Morning" Literature The Evolving Canon Ed. Rowena Dores. Needham Heights, Mass. A Simon& Schuster Company. 1993. Page 823. Written Literature.
"Dave Matthews Biography" Bio. True Story. A&E. 2009. Web. 29 March 2010.
Liukkonen. "Robert Browning" Books and Writers. 2008. Web. 29 March 2010.
Matthews, Dave. "Stay or Leave." RCA. September 2003. Audio C.D.
Meuller, Walt. "Dave Matthews Band: Venerated Masters of Jam" CPYU 2007. Web. 29 March 2010.
"Robert Browning" Encyclopedia of World Biographie. Advameg Inc. 2009. Web. 29 March 2010.
Stay or Leave
Maybe different, but remember
Winters warm there you and I,
Kissing whiskey by the fire
With the snow outside
And when the summer comes
The river swims at midnight
Shiver cold
Touch the bottom, you and I,
with muddy toes
Stay or leave
I want you not to go
But you should
It was good, as good goes
Stay or leave
I want you not to go
But you did
Wake up naked drinking coffee,
Making plans to change the world
While the world is changing us...
It was good good love.
We used to laugh under the covers
Maybe not so often now
The way I used to laugh with you
Was loud and hard
Stay or leave
I want you not to go
But you should
It was good as good goes
Stay or leave
I want you not to go
But you did
So what to do
With the rest of the day's afternoon, hey
Well isn't it strange how we change
Everything we did
Did I do all that I should?
That I could'a done
Remember we used to dance
And everyone wanted to be
You and me
I want to be too
What day is this?
Besides the day you left me?
What day is this
Besides the day you went?
So what to do
With the rest of the day's afternoon, hey
Well isn't it strange how we change
Everything we did
Did I do all that I could?
Remember we used to dance
And everyone wanted to be you and me
I want to be too
What day is this?
Besides the day you left baby
What day is this?
