Emily Bronte is one of the renowned Bronte sisters.  Emily is most known for her novel Wuthering Heights, but she not only wrote that novel, but also many different poems.  When looking at her poems, one can see evidence of Bronte having a faith in God.  The reader is able to see her devotion and faith in God throughout her poetry, which had a central theme of devotion to God.  The central theme to her poem “No Coward Soul Is Mine” is the idea of God being eternal, and His power being consistent and unifies all experiences.  A faith in God’s power can help anyone overcome any hardship.  Bronte uses her words and format of the poem to display the might and power of God.

Bronte uses her words to show the readers that God is powerful and so important.  SHe doesn’t out right say the “God;” shes uses words to symbolize everything God is.  For example, “Immortality” is used to show that God is eternal; He will always be there.  The word “deity” is used to show God is divine, and that He is ever present.  Every adjective Bronte uses to describe God she uses words that show His eternal being and minght.  In the second stanza she uses, “ever-present Diety,” and “undying Life,” then as the reader progresses to line 14, Bronte uses “thy infinity” to show God is ever present and omnipotent.  Bronte uses these words to enhance what she is already said about God.  Take a look at “ever-present Diety.”  In that phrase, she shows God as an ever present divine being; He has the power to be everywhere and know everything.

The words that Bronte uses add emphasis on God being ever powerful.  “what THOU art may never be destroyed,”  in that line Bronte illustrates that God’s power will endure anything and everything.  There is nothing in this world that can stop God.  The fact that Bronte choose “never” instead of “not” is significant.  Bronte says that God can never be destroyed, the word “never” illustates that there is no way God can be harmed; while had Bronte used “not” that leaves the possibility of destruction.  The image of God not being destroyed gives the reader the thought that God’s power is so great that nothing is equal to it.  Earlier in the stanze Bronte states that “There is no room for Death” (line 25).  The reader sees death being personified, so one can picture a life full of God’s love and power while death just cannot find a way in.  God is the main feature in a person’s life while Death is just an afterthought.  The power of God leaves “no room for Death” in a person’s life or even no fear of death in one’s life because in death one is closer to God.

The form the poem takes gives the reader an insight into the importance of God.  When Bronte describes God and his power, she places them on their own lines for example, line 16 “the steadfast rock of Immortality.”  She also uses a separate line for the things God does such as line 20 “changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.”  God’s power and life are so important and mighty that they need their own line.  All the lines about God’s power and ever lasting life are at the end of the lines or just toward the end of the stanzas.  Putting the words about God at the reinforces the belief that God is at the of evertyhing, or just at the beginning.  God sums up life; in fact He is life itself.  The only stanza that does not have a line with some reference to God is the third stanza.  She doesn’t conect God with being vain; however she does connect it with man and men’s hearts.

The use of end stops (or hard stops) at the ends of her lines creates an idea of the power to put an end to things.  We don’t see this hard stop in stanza three.  Every stanza has a form of an end stop, except that third one…why?  Bronte connects the two thoughts in the stanzas by connecting them with a comma at the end of stanza three.  The idea throughout the poem is that God is power, but in the third and fourth stanzas, Bronte connects the idea that vanity brings on doubt which blinds one to the power of God.  Those two stanzas are the only ones that do not have a stop on each line.  Vanity and doubt are worthless when one is anchored on the rock of God.  Vanity leading to doubt will continue to occur, but the power of God puts an end to it, which Bronte shows y ending that thought with the end stop at “steadfast rock of Immortality” on line 16.

Bronte uses imagery to show God’s power and ever-presentness as seen in lines 15 and 16.  Bronte using the word “anchored” in reference to faith in God in line 15 gives the image of a person having an anchor grounded in God holding him in place so that things like vain and doubt cannot move in.  When a life is anchored in God, then that life has strength and power that will remain.  Bronte also refers to God as a rock in line 1; God being a rock displays God as something that is firm, strong, and unmoving.  A rock is something that lasts forever, and if one anchors something into a rock it will remain there forever.  God is always around, and if a person is anchored in God then God will never leave that person.  In line 17, Bronte writes “with wide-embracing love.”  Her readers can imagine God’s love stretching forever.  One can picture where that person is God’s love is powerful enough to reach.  The reader gets the sense that God’s power not only unites strength and everlasting life, but also a love that lasts.

Emily Bronte creates pictures for her readers, and her choice of phrases and words enhance the eternal nature of God, so that her readers can literally see the importance.  In the sixth stanza, Bronte creates an image for her readers of nothing in the world existing except in God.  Instead of simply stating that God is eternal, Bronte creates a picture of nothing in the world existing anymore.  In lines 22 and 23, Bronte says “though earth and moon were gone, and suns and universes ceased to be.”  The readers can now picture everything gone.  Everything is dead, in a sense, except for God.  God has the power to exist when there is nothing left, but Bronte gives us the image of God creating things with stating in line 20 “changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears,” so the reader can see that God has the power to exist when nothing else does, and at the same time He has the power to create new things, and make them grow.

The theme Emily Bronte creates throughout the poem “No Coward Soul Is Mine” is that God has the power and love that can never be measured, and His life is eternal.  Having the faith in God’s power and love gives a person power over things.  The structure of the poem and the words that she chooses painted a picture for her readers that other poets attempt to create.  Bronte’s novel was her claim to fame, but her poems are of equal quality.  The reader got the sense that Emily put her whole heart into this poem and through her words it shows.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 at 6:39 am.