Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship if feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky,
That does not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As a friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship if feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.
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Notes
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Comments
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spelling
From guest hannah (contact)
i before e except after c
MOD REPLY
That's what the rule says Hannah and certainly freindship was wrong (I've changed it) but feigned and Heigh-ho are correct and don't follow the rule.
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From guest Sarah (contact)
This poem was actually not origanally written by Shakespheare. It was originally a Greek poem, but was translated into English. -
This poem is about compareing nature to a friendship that was once filled with life.
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Shakespeare*
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this poem is about a broken friendship being compared to the harshnes of the winter. The winter is sad, cold, and nippy but it is no where near as hurtful as a broken heart. What Shakespere is trying to communicate is that a friend of his who he had done so much for had broken their friendship. The wind is not as bad as a mans ingratitude because you cannot see it so it doesnt hurt as much. Also even after this he can still be happy.
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This poem is not written in 'olde english' this poem is written in mild (and I mean mild) 'Middle English' -- if 'olde english' didn't exist then we wouldn't have the english we speak today.
This poem is written in more of a 'Modern' usages of words than not, if you had a hard time understanding the poem perhaps it's the analogies and the metaphors used and not the actual vernacular.
Coming from your comment and the first line with the usage of 'blow' what other meaning is their to take when it's obvious he's speaking on the wind 'blowing'?
The last line is speaking on the, at least in my opinion, the ableness of the wind making it more cold than it already is (or was) and thus making the situation even worse. It's winter so why make the wind blow and make it even colder? I feel is what he's saying.
In the lyrical of the next verse he's speaking on bringing spring forth, let winter die and let the flowers and grass and the sun come out again.
He realizes that there's nothing he can do but try to enjoy the winter snaps but he wishes for spring to come.
That's my take, if it's wrong, it's wrong, but it's my take, I feel you didn't even try in trying to comprehend, this is not 'olde english' I could show you poems in olde english where you'd most definitely see the difference between the three (the three being old, Middle, and modern)
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It was weird and when I thought of the meaning of blow I don't know it just didn't sound right. How come we have the English that we speak today and Old english? Why couldn't we just keep the same words it would definately help me understand this poem.
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The meaning of this poem to me (the theme) is nature, ingratitude, and false friendship. William Shakespeare must have had REALLY bad friends when he was growing up...
reply? -
Oh! this is a very sweet song from "As You Like It"
some time everyone incline to think like that...radiant thought
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He is refering to the icey cold edge of a forked tounged presence in everyones lives.The two faced so called friend the decietful lover .It is as a very fridgid and cold place to live among those venomous souls.
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The poem really isn't about aging. It is about the human tendency to be cruel. Nature is harsh, but not cruel. We can be far crueller to one another than nature can be, since we have a choice over the matter.
My favorite poems of Shakespeare are his sonnets. I particularly like # 147 and how desperate and bitter it is -
The meaning behind this poem to me is about a man aging, and Shakespeare use the reference of winter to get it across it. Then it also seems at the same time as others before me pointed out that people can be cruel compared to nature. Anyways, it has several meaning that can be derieved from this poem. This was really beautiful the imagery that derieved from the words are impeccable to say the least. Truly another astounding write.
Edited on Jun 26, 5:50 p.m. because ''. -
This is a song from the play As You Like It, Act 2, scene 7. Amiens, a lord who serves the banished Duke sings it to please his master when Orlando and Adam have arrived and are being fed. The sense of the song is that nothing in nature is as harsh or cruel as man's betrayal of love and friendship.
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i just love shakespeare, this isn't my favorite though, i am bigger aof his plays.
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There are lovely songs that have set this text wondefully. Anyone have a favorite?
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A place where all humanity would
find their songs with songs about life,
the second line poses a double negative
which I never really took note of before
my closed eyes!
this is one of the lovliest poems
I have read when younger
but merely forgot about it...so with that
i think i'll venture out here longer!
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Beauty
"Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude."
This is very beautiful___ how deeply Shakespeare had studied the human nature I wonder how n why the people in the old time were? Not as cruel n selfish as ____ well he had a very close observation. It’s a beauty!
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Not so simple. He's saying that, compared to how cruel people can be, nature is nothing. Man's ingratitude hurts more than the cold wind, so therefore he doesn't mind the wind, not the sting of cold water, which is not as biting as a friend who doesn't remember you. Hence the chorus says that we should sing to nature and the holly because it's nicer to us than the folly of loving or the feigning (pretence) of supposed friendships. Enjoy life and nature, because otherwise people will get you down much worse than it can.
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I think he is talking about old age. And how you can not hang on to youth and youthful companionship.
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All this poem is talking about is winter and its effects, its pretty straightforward
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