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BA : Poem : Friendship by H D Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau highlight the importance of friendship in his poem 'Frienship'.

 Title:-

 'Friendship' is a one of the favourite subject of the poet, many poem have been written under the same title. Here the title 'Friendship' is a short, simple and meaningful as the poem highlights the elements of friendship. 

 Theme:-

 Thoreau conveys his feeling, emotion and sentiment by the way of poem. He has beautifully described love through friendship. According to him love and friendship are both on the same level and synonyms to each other. The central theme of the poem is friendship. 

 Content:-

 Friendship is a well rhyming poem. The poet has analized friendship from its roots and found out they are equal and there is no difference between the two love and friendship both are equally important in a relationship, love is the greatest feeling in the world as Thoreau begins this poem:

     "I think a while of love, while
     I think, love is to me a world" 

 Love is the base of every relationship, no feeling is superior than love in life. A person with love in his heart can win anyone and anything in his life. Love can be found in many relationship such as man and nature, man and animals, etc. But love is incomplete without friendship. The poet says that he is very happy in the company of his friends:

    "I fain would ask my friend how it can be,
    But when the time arrives, then love is 
    Lovely. Than, anything to me, and
    So I am dumb". 

 The poet argues that the true love cannot speak but only thinks. A man love truth and practice it, he may admire duty but he can not easily express the true love. The poet also gives examples of too strong oaks which stand side by side. They face winter to strong, wind and rain but they are both strong by root which are inseparable. 

 In his attempt to determine the limit of friendship. Thoreau immerses himself in the ocean. His deep exploration makes him realise that the roots of friendship are inseparable and undermine, interwinned roots of friendship indicate there is no defined base of friendship, it can happen between anyone. For example there are no set rule to start your friendship with someone in oak to have a successful friendship.

   "In sach case only doth man fully
   Proove, fully as man can do, what 
   Power there is in love his in most 
   Soul to move resist lessly"

 Friendship laids on ground of love will always be successful. End of friendship means end of love. If there is no love there is no friendship. The friendship is laid on the ground of love is inseparable. Just like no time or no age can separate love between two people, similarly true friendship never die. 

 Style:-

 Thoreau is a thinker, and philosopher like Emerson. Therfore, his poetry is govern by thought of ideas rather than feeling. In the present poem friendship he discuss two key elements of human life love and friendship. He has designed the poem into 11 stanzas of five lines its most of the lines are short in simple. For example, 

    "As they always incline, 
    And make one soul the
    Seat, and favourite
    Retreat, of loveliness". 

 The poet has made use of some example of day to day life to convey his ideas about love and friendship. For example the oak tree. life without friendship is like wine without taste, it indicates the role of friendship in our life. H D Thoreau has also highlighted some relationship in this poem. This conveys a fine message about the role of love and friendship in our life. 

   "Life without friendship is like
    Wine without taste."

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