128 Poetry for Students

Lines 26-29:

The speaker of the poem is pulled back from

the magical spell that the Gaelic language had

drawn him into, back into the ordinary reality that

he knew before. The same words that he described

in line 10 as “tradition” he describes here as “for-

eign words.” The poem uses the sound of the Eng-

lish language more conspicuously in the last lines,

especially the device of alliteration, the repetition

of consonant sounds, such as the hard “c” in “com-

plex” and “cause,” the “w” sound formed with the

lips (“wizard” and “warlock”), and the “m” of

“midnight” and “metric.” This sort of wordplay is

referred to as “metric laws” at the end of the poem,

implying that English-language poetry is more a

matter of trickery than of actual meaning. The last

three lines of the poem are graceful, for English,

but they still prove weak when compared with the

ennobling experience of the speaker in hearing

Gaelic.

Themes

Language and Meaning

“A Farewell to English” addresses an old,

long-running philosophical question of whether

language describes meaning or creates it. The

poem’s speaker is inspired by the sound of the Irish

words he hears, particularly their rhythm, and not

by their meaning. As a poet, he is of course aware

of both the sounds and meanings of words, but the

few Gaelic words are not significant to him for

what they say. They express the sorts of ideas that

might be expected to drift through one’s mind in a

social setting—beautiful, black-haired, graceful,

gentle—but they do not combine in meaning to

make a life-altering experience.

The speaker’s life is definitely altered, though.

The metaphor he uses for his new awareness, slabs

of slate falling, break the forms of meaning he used

to know. In this poem, it is language that destroys

old meanings and creates new ones, but, ironically,

it is the sounds of the words, not their definitions,

that changes this person’s sense of meaning.

Identity

The setting of this poem, a pub, is a typical

Irish gathering place. The bartender, with her black

hair and deep, dark eyes, is a typical symbol of Irish

beauty. The speaker of this poem is a poet, though,

and it is the Gaelic language that awakens him to

his true Irish identity. Through the middle of the

poem, the excitement that he experiences, that

sends him “sifting the centuries for words,” is all

expressed in the fine Irish words that he keeps re-

peating: “mánla, séimh, dubhfholtach, álainn,

caoin.” Even after the music of the words has

stopped exerting its effect on him, though, he real-

izes that he will never be able to look on his Irish

identity in the same way as before. The Anglo-

Saxon words he once used now look foreign to him:

in fact, his former business as a poet of English

strikes him as questionable at best. The poem’s ti-

A Farewell to English

Topics for

Further

Study

• Because of the use of English in international
  business, several countries have passed resolu-
  tions declaring their original language to be the
  “official” one. Choose a country and research its
  official language and report on what measures
  are taken to assure its use.


• Study the history of England’s involvement with
  Ireland. Explain why you think the Irish lan-
  guage has become so rare.


• Old Irish is used more often in music than in po-
  etry. Find some recordings of people singing in
  Old Irish, and explain what is musical about the
  rhythm and sounds of the words used.


• Do you think people of one culture could have
  a “cultural memory” that would allow them to
  recognize a language they have never heard be-
  fore? Explain why or why not.


• Some people see the Irish Republican Army as
  a group of freedom-fighters who have made it
  possible for Ireland to stand up against the
  tyranny of Britain, while others consider them
  murderers for their terrorist acts that have taken
  many lives. Research the history of this organi-
  zation and support your own judgement about
  them.


• Read about County Limerick, and explain why
  you think Hartnett makes a point of mentioning
  that this event happened there.