Hello and welcome to the Discourse. A Journal to Stella was a series of 65 letters written by Jonathan Swift during the period 1710-1713. He wrote these letters for Esther Johnson, the young, eight-year-old daughter of the widowed maid of Sir William Temple’s sister. Swift was appointed as an assistant by William Temple and he was given the charge of tutoring Esther whom he used to call Stella. Jonathan Swift developed a strong lifelong attachment to Stella. In these letters, Jonathan Swift often wrote his views on eminent people as well as reflective, often humorous descriptions of important incidences and personalities along with warm, affectionate personal messages. A Journal to Stella is a detailed commentary on Swift's experiences in London in the last years of Queen Anne's reign, It was believed that Jonathan Swift was in love with Stella and wished to marry her but avoided it because while he was just 14 years old, Esther was only 8 years old. The two maintained a close but ambiguous relationship for the rest of Esther's life who died in 1728.
Swift used to write a poem to celebrate Stella’s birthday on March 13, every year. He wrote the first poem in 1713 and in 1727, he wrote the last such poem for celebrating her birthday.
Structure of Stella’s Birthday, 1727:
The poem is written in iambic tetrameter with 88 lines composed in 44 rhyming couplets. The poem is rather long with 6 stanzas of varied lengths (14,4,16,32,23,). Swift wrote it in epistle form though it appears like a sonnet. Swift deliberately avoided using imagery as he was addressing the ill health and troubles of Stella during her last days however, he used metaphors in one or two instances. Swift says that Virtues in Stella’s life were like “nutriment that feeds the mind.” Swift also used personification of ‘Virtue’ by equating virtue to the Roman god Janus the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings, having two heads, one looking forward and one backward.
Summary of On Stella’s Birthday, 1727:
The poem offers the genuine friendly concern of Jonathan Swift for his close friend Esther who was terminally ill at that time. Swift continues to ignore the probable death of Stella while trying to infuse the poem with merrier, celebratory thoughts as he wishes Stella to cherish her birthday, he does accept the likelihood of her death at the end of the poem. The poem is a tribute to Stella in which Swift expresses how important she was to him. He says that she brought him joy and sorrow, ups and downs and she remained as an inspiring figure in his heart that will always remain there even if death sets them apart.
Stanza 1 (Lines 1-14)
Swift begins the poem by acknowledging Stella’s ill health and his own aging troubles yet asserts that it is the day to celebrate her birthday and they should cherish it with utmost excitement. He says that they should “not think on our approaching ills,” and should avoid the “talk of spectacles and pills” as their ailments and worries can be discussed later sometime or tomorrow. The poet says that reason suggests that despite their declining, decaying days, they should cherish the immense beauty of very few days remaining of their life.
Stanza 2 (Lines 15-18)
In these lines, Swift accepts that neither he, nor Stella is in such an age where they could dream and plan for the future as they are already at a stable stage of life and are declining, but even this decay of health and life has its own beauty and they do have all the beauty and tastes of the past that they cherished together. The poet requests Stella not to dwell on present miseries but rather to take comfort from having lived an unblemished life. In line 18, he urges Stella to “look with joy on what is past.”
Stanza 3 (Lines 19-34)
In these lines, the poet questions if the dreams and plans of the past that they had for a comfortable and cherishable future were all false? Were those hopes nothing more than the ‘contrivances’ of the vice that atheists say religious people use to proselytize? He further says that even if it is true, the message of sages cannot be wrong and virtue always offers its reward. Although Swift seeks throughout the poem to cheer his ailing friend by recalling her past acts of generosity and compassion, he also attempts to assuage his own pain at the possibility that she is dying.
Stanza 4 (Lines 35-66)
Swift expresses the importance Stella always had in his life. He asserts that Stella lives a meaningful well-spent life and asks her if she is not content with her past. He appreciates her and says that she always remained ready to help the needy and could save the ‘despairing wretches from the grave.’ he mentions how Stella always supported him and stood with him in highs and lows.
Your gen'rous boldness to defend
An innocent and absent friend;
Then Swift brings the metaphor comparing virtues as nutrients for the mind. He says,
Does not the body thrive and grow / By food of twenty years ago?
And, had it not been still supplied,v / It must a thousand times have died.
Then who with reason can maintain / That no effects of food remain?
Swift says that true virtue has a permanence that remains forever. He asserts that Stella was a lady of integrity and virtues not only nourish the person with virtues but also everyone else who comes in contact with that person and thus, Stella’s virtues nourished him too. In these lines, Swift shows his pain in losing a friend whom he considered a marvelous human being
Stanza 5 (Lines 67-78)
In these lines, Stanza again beseeches Stella not to worry about her current miseries. The poet gently encourages her not to dwell on the bleakness of the future but rather to derive satisfaction from a lifetime of virtuous achievement. He compares Virtues with Janus, the Roman god, and thus uses personification. He suggests that virtues are divine like Roman god Janus with two faces. One of the faces is for looking back at Stella’s colorful and happy past which will continue to make Stella feel content, and the other takes Stella forward toward fate with courage.
For Virtue, in her daily race,
Like Janus, bears a double face;
Looks back with joy where she has gone
And therefore goes with courage on:
She at your sickly couch will wait,
And guide you to a better state.
Stanza 6 (Lines 79-88)
Swift continued to encourage Stella to forget about her ill health and troubles but in the last stanza, he concedes that she is going to die and he is very sad about the situation. He tells her to have pity on her pitied friends who, like himself, will suffer most from losing her: “O then, whatever Heav’n intends,/ Take pity on your pitying friends!/ Nor let your ills affect your mind,/ To fancy they can be unkind.” He asserts that not of Stella’s friends, especially him, is unkind as all of them are worried and concerned for her. In the last lines, he says that he would gladly take Stella’s position if given a chance to face death while gifting his remaining life for Stella. He further says that if such a sacrifice is possible, it will still be much lesser than what she has done for her. He says that he owes Stella’s care so much that if he is alive for this moment, it is only because of her.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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