In the closing stanzas of Pope’s Eloisa to Abelard there seems to be a dramatic break in Eloisa’s frantic struggle with her rekindled passion for Abelard.
“Oppose thyself to Heav'n; dispute my heart;Come, with one glance of those deluding eyesBlot out each bright idea of the skies;Take back that grace, those sorrows, and those tears;Take back my fruitless penitence and pray'rs;Snatch me, just mounting, from the blest abode;Assist the fiends, and tear me from my God!
No, fly me, fly me, far as pole from pole;Rise Alps between us! and whole oceans roll!Ah, come not, write not, think not once of me,Nor share one pang of all I felt for thee…”
(Lines 282-292)
What do you think is the point of this break in the context of the poem? Is there an “out” being proposed for Eloisa’s passion in the cessation of the poem? Is there some conflict in the end of the poem, if Eloisa’s will be united with Abelard in heaven, as opposed to in earthly life?
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2 comments:
I think that the change in Eloisa's tone toward the end of the poem is brought on by her "hearing" a distant voice - " ...From yonder shrine I heard a hollow sound." - Perhaps she is driven to the point madness, having halucinations, by her doting on her passion for Abelard. She makes the choice to just abandon her passion with Abelard to hopefully be at peace. "And faith our early imortality! Enter each mild, each amicable guest; Receive and wrap me in eternal rest!"
The break between these two stanzas emphasize Eloisa's conflict in thoughts. Lines 282 to 288 comprise of Eloisa pretty much begging Abelard to save and pacify her overwhelming passion for him, "tear[ing her] from [her] God" (l. 288) and essentially choosing Abelard over God. The second stanza begins with a blunt "No" in which she, now in conflict, discerns that it would be better for "whole oceans [to] roll" and for "alps [to rise] between [them]" (l. 90).
Should Eloisa be united with Abelard in heaven as opposed to earthly life, she would still harbor sentiments of conflict as her desire to enter heaven would only be motivated by Abelard, as opposed to an unadulterated pursuit to be with God.
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