There was such speed in her little body,
And such lightness in her footfall,
It is no wonder her brown study Astonishes us all
Her wars were bruited in our high window.
We looked among orchard trees and beyond
Where she took arms against her shadow,
Or harried unto the pond
The lazy geese, like a snow cloud
Dripping their snow on the green grass,
Tricking and stopping, sleepy and proud,
Who cried in goose, Alas,
For the tireless heart within the little
Lady with rod that made them rise
From their noon apple-dreams and scuttle
Goose-fashion under the skies!
But now go the bells, and we are ready,
In one house we are sternly stopped
To say we are vexed at her brown study,
Lying so primly propped.
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interpretation and prosody
From guest Charles Strong (contact)
Just a few things. To begin with,"Astonishes us all" is the fourth line of the first stanza, not the last line of the first. Second, Ransome's poems sometimes present puzzles for their readers ("Piazza Piece" comes to mind). Nonetheless, poems are not Rorschach ink blots: poets are usually saying something particular, and we must use our knowledge of language and literature to find out what it is. "Bells" in a poem very often refer to death, as in Owens' "what passing-bells for those who die as cattle?" and of course, Donne. "Brown study" (like "blue funk"!) refers to depression, but in connection with the bells and the past tense ("There was such speed") it is surely a metaphor for death. The poem's voice is astonished because she was so vital. The next three stanzas are very interesting. In contrast to the first (and last) stanzas which are end-stopped, they are one statement that is run more and more together. We have "harried unto the pond/the lazy geese" and "Alas/ for the tireless heart" with no separation between the stanzas. The lines are tied together with alliteration and assonance: green/grass, dripping/ tricking, stopping/sleepy/proud, little/lady, etc. They become more cacophonous, as you can see if you observe the movement of the sounds in your mouth when you say "the little lady with a rod that made them rise" and compare that with the lines of the first stanza. And, this extended statement ends with an exclamation point! Now, we are back to the wake(?) and it is vexing (troubling) to see her lying in her brown study (dead). The description of her liveliness is prosodically much different from the first and last stanzas that introduce us to the problem of her death, and leave us with it. Did she "metaphorically" die with the exclamation point . . . maybe. Is the brown study at the end also her coffin . . . maybe. These ideas aren't essential, may be useful to us, and might even be invited . . . maybe. -
From guest Julia nDavy (contact)
1. What tone is conveyed in the phrase "but now goes the bells?" 2. What could be observed from the high window? 3. How does the impression of the "litte lady" contrast with the current state of affairs? -
Brown Study Meaning
Yes the Original meaning of brown study was a melancholy state, i.e. depression. But this was in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was more commonly used to mean a state of thinking deeply about something. I think this definition is more suitable to the poem. -
in a brown study
From guest Mike Adams (contact)
Forty years ago, my college professor asked me (the sensitive one) during class what it means to be in a brown study. After embarrassing me, she soon berated the entire class for taking the literal meaning that said author is in a room painted brown possibly full of books. Now I’ve always felt that the professor was just much too angry at the class for this: I mean there’s no way today’s student, no matter how astute, would know such an archaic term (Please don’t tell me most readers know that brown study equals depression). Couldn’t said author have just been in a room painted brown, possibly full of books? Anyway, I can still recall her anger, so out-of-proportion to the subject at hand. Because of her tirade so many years ago, whenever I feel depressed or sad or melancholy today, I go into a brown study---and lock the door! Brown study is one of my favorite phrases that I hardly ever use. For years I could not remember the name of the poem that contains my brown study. You’d think a teacher worth her salt (and aren’t we all full of archaisms, even today) would have impressed upon us the meaning of said poem, the genius of said author and the beauty of the said English language? Seems all I’ve retained from my college English curriculum is a great appreciation of literature with not much retention of said subject, so much still to be read from a room painted brown, possibly full of books. -
From guest Ann Arlosoroff (contact)
Wonderful irony. The very thing they complained of is the thing whose loss they now grieve. The last stanza brings me to question...are they indeed ready? Are they merely "vexed"? Surely they are devastated, but they are too "manly" to admit it. She was SO very alive, and now she is SO very dead. O yes, her liveliness was sometimes annoying, but it was heartening, too, and they had looked forward to the spirited young woman she would become, and to the fine old age she would attain. Now all those hopes are cut off short. They will never know what she might have become. Now they are sorry, now they appreciate what she was, but now it's too late. Not at all meaning to trivialize the poem--the sorrow is palpable!--but it also reminds me of so many "somebody done somebody wrong songs," in which the implicit or often explicit message is, "You'll be sorry when I'm gone" (maybe alive, maybe dead, but GONE). -
The speaker in this poem is probably a neighbor looking down on this energetic girl who is constantly screaming and chasing the geese until they retreat to the safety of the pond. You can almost sense he is a little annoyed by this girls escapades. Everyone is amazed at her brown study (her lifelessness/motionless state) because she had a "tireless heart" and was so full of life. Everyone is troubled at her present state "lying so primly propped."
It also seems that the neighbor was not close to this family. He never mentions her name or real emotions toward her or them. Just thought I'd add that. -
O I loved it!
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