Author Archives: gandyip

To Tell or Not Tell The Bees

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By Isabella Gandy

When deciding which poem, I should adopt I gravitated heavily toward Lizette Woodworth Reese’s “Telling the Bees “because the title was intriguing to me. Before reading over the poem, I had no idea if it was going to be a simple poem about nature that described bees or something completely unrelated to bees. To my surprise, this poem sheds light on a tradition that is practiced by different cultures. The tradition varies slightly from place to place but always involves the concept of notifying the bees of death or departure in the person’s life.

Reese makes it clear that the information that is about to be provided in the poem is a tradition by giving the poem the subheading, “A Colonial Custom”. Throughout the nineteenth century, this tradition of alerting the bees was significant as it was believed that if the bees were not made aware of the loss then bad things would happen. Some of the places where people practiced this ritual were in the United States, Europe, as well as England.

Prior to reading this poem I had never heard of the idea of telling the bees information, especially about a loss. One of my mom’s best friends is from England so I decided to ask her about this old tradition. Surprisingly she admitted that she had heard this old myth of “telling the bees” from older members of her family while she was growing up. It was like an old story being told to her about this strange custom that used to be carried out. Growing up my family introduced me to certain customs and superstitions which I was reminded of with this poem. Two of the most important ones that my family believed and practiced were knocking on wood three times to ensure good luck instead of bad about anything said or done as well as not sweeping over someone’s feet as that is supposed to bring bad luck even if it is done accidentally.

The poem starts with the image of someone named Bathsheba whom the speaker is close with running from the house with tears in their eyes. The speaker runs after them and listens as Bathsheba tells the bees about the loss. The person who has passed away is the speaker’s mother and instead of hearing directly from Bathsheba, the speaker learns the information at the same time the bees do.

In the first stanza, it depicts Bathsheba running outside to the family’s cherry- trees where she is crying, “standing in the sun, telling the bees”. The first thing that Bathsheba did after learning the news of her loved one passing was running to the bees which illustrates how aware she must have been about this custom. The importance of telling the bees is depicted as Bathsheba didn’t even tell the speaker before running out to the trees to let the bees know.

The third stanza is important as it illustrates how somber this experience was for the speaker as they can still recall it so clearly. She has this profound memory of Bathsheba running to tell the bees as the speaker expresses how “her look I never can forget”. This tragedy has become a significant event that is engraved in her memory. The repetition of the statement, “telling the bees” at the end of all three stanzas is notable as it further signifies the idea of the speaker never forgetting her experience finding out about her mother’s death.

“Telling the Bees” has allowed me to gain a new perspective on how much a tradition can affect you even if it doesn’t make the most sense. Observing how Bathsheba and the speaker both reacted in this unfortunate situation is intense as the speaker is finding out information that is not only disheartening but also life-altering. It’s the moment where the speaker realizes that their mom wouldn’t be there for another birthday or holiday or say another sentence to them. The speaker goes through this moment filled with emotion and realizations all while their relative is relaying the news to yellow and black insects. I feel that the way the speaker found out about their mother passing through Bathsheba acting out this custom is what makes this moment so profound in the speaker’s memory. It is a memory that will always be clear as day for the speaker for the rest of their life.

Bathsheba came out to the sun,
Out to our wallèd cherry-trees;
The tears adown her cheek did run,
Bathsheba standing in the sun,
Telling the bees.
My mother had that moment died;
Unknowing, sped I to the trees,
And plucked Bathsheba’s hand aside;
Then caught the name that there she cried
Telling the bees.
Her look I never can forget,
I that held sobbing to her knees;
The cherry-boughs above us met;
I think I see Bathsheba yet
Telling the bees.

works cited:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52087/telling-the-bees-56d2304893bbehttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/lizette-woodworth-reesehttps://beegood.co.uk/blog/the-tradition-of-telling-the-bees/

A bee in the natural world.

Grasping the Light at the End of Tunnel

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By Isabella Gandy

One of my favorite poems that has stuck with me is “The Light of Stars” written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and published in 1838. This poem has stood out to me because I think the message of finding the good in life even if it is not going the way you expected it to be is an important lesson to learn. I believe that most people and I tend to get upset when something goes wrong in our life. The unpredictable nature of life can cause people to develop a pessimistic outlook especially when it feels like you are not exactly where you want to be in your own life. To me I think this poem perfectly emphasizes the importance of realizing that there is always something good in life you just have to have the right perspective to see the good around you. It is a poem that illustrates how overcoming obstacles thrown at you can lead to success.

In the first two stanzas of the poem Longfellow illustrates the vast dark nothingness as by using imagery of a night sky. The “cold light of stars” was the only source of light peeking through the dark sky. Being at a point in life where it appears that everything is going downhill is similar to the idea of a dark sky that has the tiniest amount of light in it.

The Red Planet Mars is used as an image of strength in the poem. The planet gets personified into this powerful celestial being that symbolizes strength. The fifth stanza ends with, “thou beckonest with thy mailed hand, And I am strong again”, in other words suggesting how the speaker got this inspiration to overcome any pain or obstacles. I think it is interesting for Longfellow to have chosen to use a planet as a means of inspiration, but it works as it shows that truly people can find inspiration anywhere in their life. Specifically choosing Mars as his planet was a brilliant choice as it has many meanings which enables a wide variety of possibilities for the audience to connect. To some it is considered an ancient Roman deity while others may look at it as a celestial body.

The last two stanzas of the poem acknowledge how universal it is to experience challenging points in life. Longfellow connects his own personal experiences of hopelessness to his audience by explaining how it is a common part of life to have these bumps in the road. He then clearly emphasizes the importance of overcoming any suffering or obstacles. Illustrating the transition from this low point to the sense of strength after you have overcome it as a, “sublime a thing”. The poem wraps up by depicting the evolution of suffering to strength.

As someone who would get caught up worrying over things that went wrong this poem has provided such a fresh outlook on life. Instead of being consumed by stress over matters that have not gone according to plan I am choosing to let them go in order to make space for new opportunities. I am focusing more on the future rather than the past as the future is what enables more inspiration to take place. To me this poem is inspirational as it connects everyone by acknowledging the human experience of hopelessness that occurs throughout life but depicts how when that hopelessness is overcome the result is worth the struggle. Longfellow wrote this poem to encourage people not to give up even if life does get hard because there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Night sky illuminated by the stars.