Envy by Mary Lamb: GCSE

Envy

BY MARY LAMB

This rose-tree is not made to bear 

The violet blue, nor lily fair, 

   Nor the sweet mignionet: 

And if this tree were discontent, 

Or wished to change its natural bent, 

   It all in vain would fret. 

And should it fret, you would suppose 

It ne’er had seen its own red rose, 

   Nor after gentle shower 

Had ever smelled its rose’s scent, 

Or it could ne’er be discontent 

   With its own pretty flower. 

Like such a blind and senseless tree 

As I’ve imagined this to be, 

   All envious persons are: 

With care and culture all may find 

Some pretty flower in their own mind, 

   Some talent that is rare.

Context:

Mary Ann Lamb was an English writer. She is best known for the collaboration with her brother Charles on the collection ‘Tales from Shakespeare’ written for children. Lamb suffered from mental illness, and in 1796 she stabbed her mother to death during a mental breakdown. She and Charles were part of a literary circles in London that included two other “Conflict” poets, William Blake, who was a religious fanatic and a nudist and William Wordsworth, who was probably in love with his sister. Another member of the circle was Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who was constantly high on opium. Despite her mental illness she had a long career as a children’s writer.

Meaning:

Lamb compares an envious person to that of a rose tree, suggesting that a rose wanting to be life a different flower would be blind to its own beauty. This comparison is used to suggest that, if we too could only appreciate our own strengths, talents and beauty, we would have no need to be jealous of others.

Envy is the first poem in an anthology called ‘Poetry for Children’ but it contains a message for all ages. Today, in a world of airbrushed models and perfect celebrities, we lose sight of true inner qualities. The use of nature was common in Romantic Literature and Mary’s use of a rose tree to symbolise human emotions was a good example of this.

Structure and form:

The poem is presented in the form of a lesson or set of instructions giving ‘food for thought’.

It is structured as a logical argument using three short six-line stanzas. This argument builds up step by step using the extended metaphor of a rose tree:

·       Point 1 (stanza 1 lines 1-3) The rose tree is not meant to bear any other flowers

·       Point 2 (stanza 1 lines 4-6) The rose tree cannot change its natural state

·       Point 3 (stanza 2) If the rose wanted to change, this would show its lack of understanding about the ways in which it is beautiful

·       Point 4 (stanza 3 lines 1-3) It’s futile trying to be what you’re not. Appreciate who you are.

·       Point 5 (stanza 3 lines 4-6) When you do stop to think, you’ll find something in yourself that is unique and special

There is a clear rhythm of 2 four-beat lines followed by a three-beat line and a regular rhyme scheme aabccb in each stanza.

This creates a regular, simple, almost sing-song effect reminding us of nursery rhymes. Many nursery rhymes have a lesson or warning within their simple form. The childlike form allows Lamb's moral message to shine through strongly.

Language:

Stanza 1

The rose tree is foolish for wanting to change as it’s impossible.

Specific flowers have particular characteristics, such as loyalty and devotion (the violet) and purity (the lily). This enhances the suggestion that flowers are a model for the reader. They show the reader that there is a ‘subtext’ link between human qualities or gifts and varieties of flower.

Words such as ‘discontent’ and ‘fret’ show that people often struggle with negative feelings. They personify the flower, helping the reader make comparisons between the rose and humans.

‘all in vain’ is a pun, playing with both meanings of ‘vain’, showing that it is both futile and self-serving to want to change.

Stanza 2

Highlights positive attributes a rose has, “red rose” (visual beauty), “rose’s scent”(lovely smell), “pretty flower”. These pick up sensory information which helps the reader to experience the poem more tangibly.

‘red rose’ connotes love and passion.

Stanza 3

Moral message – a person should not be envious because each person has positive attributes.

Alliteration of ‘care and culture’ slows the pace down, suggesting that self-reflection takes time.

‘all may find’ is a hopeful tone, saying that all may find worth in themselves if only they’d take the time to look

‘some pretty flower in their own mind’ is a metaphor to describe the gifts and talents within a person.

The word ‘flower’ in the penultimate line is a generic word rather than naming a particular flower. It helps the reader to realise that there are as many varied talents in people as there are types of flower.

Themes:

Nature: The poem uses images from the natural world to explore human emotions.

Blindness: Someone who is unaware of their own good qualities.

Revision questions:

1. Why do you think Mary Lamb wrote this poem?
2. Who were the Romantic poets? What were they interested in?
3. How does the extended metaphor of a rose help us to understand the problem of envy?