A Musical Instrumnt - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a Victorian poet noted for confronting fundamental questions about
gendered identity. In her last work A Musical Instrument, published posthumously, she makes use of the story
of Pan to depict the dual nature of art – the beauty and the sacrifice behind it. Pan, according to the Greek myth,
is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks. It is half-human and half-goat. Once it chased the beautiful nymph
Syrinx to the banks of the River Ladon where he finally caught her. When Syrinx sought the help of the water
nymphs to rescue her, the nymphs turned her into river reeds; but Pan, the semi-god, was not ready to accept
defeat. He plucked those reeds and made a flute out of it, thus asserting his male supremacy.
The poem, in seven stanzas, narrates the cruel way in which Pan made a flute out of the reeds,
highlighting the fact that a beautiful work of art is often a result of sacrifice.
The beginning of the poem presents the human-goat god Pan as “spreading ruin” and destroying all the
order and calmness of the river by splashing and paddling with his hoofs. He crushed the beautiful golden water
lilies and scared away the dragon flies. He has seen the river nymphs transforming Syrinx into the river reeds
and so to get hold of Syrinx in whatever form she is, Pan tears away (plucks out) the reeds from the deep cool
bed of the river. This violent action of Pan disturbs the clear water and makes it turbid/muddy. Pan here
represents the male members of the society who often commit violence against both women and Nature.
Pan disturbing the serenity of the river suggests the lusty assault that men often impose upon women.
After tearing off the reed from the river bed, Pan sits on the high shore of the turbidly flowing river and
begins his work on the reeds. With his steel weapon, he hacks and hews it (chops/ cuts it) until there is no
evidence of green leaf which would indicate that the reed was fresh in the river a moment ago. He cuts the tall
reeds into short stems, drew out the pith (the soft fleshy substance inside the stem) from the inside, notched ‘V’
shaped cuts into “the poor empty thing”, and finally the flute was made. And when his work was complete, Pan
gave out a satisfied laugh. Pan’s working on the making of the flute shows the perseverance and strain
that lies behind every creative work of art.
As the flute was now ready, Pan blew into “a hole in the reed” and music flowed out of it. The music
produced was so sweet that the poet uses the hyperbole “blinding sweet” to emphasize its impact. Its
sweetness even made the sun on the hill forget to set. And hearing this “blinding sweet” music, the water lilies
which were paddled upon by Pan’s hoofs became revived and the dragon flies came back to the river. Now,
here there is parallel between Pan producing music by blowing into the reed with the story of creation as
given in the Book of Genesis of man. In the Genesis, God is pictured as creating man out of the dust of the
ground by breathing the breath of life into his nostrils, making him a living soul. Likewise, Pan too takes the
life from the reed by making it hollow, but he breathes into it the power of music. Thus, the poet highlights
the value of sacrifice that leads to a work of creation.
Though Pan is a semi God, the poet in the last stanza stresses his beastly self. The poet satirically calls
Pan “the great god Pan” throughout the poem and towards the end, the poet makes an ironic comparison
between this half god and the “true gods”. While Pan was rejoicing and celebrating his music, the “true gods”
were lamenting the death of the reed – lamenting the loss of life to produce art. While Pan is satisfied in making
a flute out of the reed, thus possessing or asserting his control over Syrinx, the true gods sigh for the pain that
the reed must have undergone. The reed, representing Syrinx/ woman, can never again grow/live as a reed
among the reeds of the river. And here through this poem, the poet is raising the ever baffling/ unsolved
question of whether art is superior to life or life is superior to art.
The reed is a transformed version of Syrinx, a female nymph. And Pan, the half god, wanted to possess
her. When he couldn’t get hold of Syrinx in her female form, he gets aggressive and determined. He simply
decides to own her in whatever form she has safely turned herself into. This is similar to what men do to
women around them. Once they have a desire on them, they employ every means of controlling and possessing
them. In this sense, the poem typically has feminist undertones.

A Musical Instrumnt - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Musical Instrumnt - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Musical Instrumnt - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

You might also like