Fear No More -Shakespeare

 

• Introduction :-

The lines of ‘Fear no more the heat o’ the sun’ are sung in the play Cymbeline, over the recreantly deceased forms of Cloten and Fidele. It appears in Act IV, Scene 2, and is sung by Guiderius and Argiragus, the sons of Cymbeline. They alternate verses, or stanzas. Cymbeline is also known as The Tragedie of Cymebline or Cymbeline, King of Britain. By some, the play is considered to be a romance or a comedy and it was included in the First Folio in 1623 but scholars are unsure when exactly it was written. Some believe that a secondary writer might’ve worked on the play, specifically parts of Act II and Act V. Today, Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays but at the time it was quite popular. John Keats even later named it as one of his favourites.

• About the Poet :-

William Shakespeare, Shakespeare also spelled Shakspere, byname Bard of Avon or Swan of Avon, (baptized April 26, 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England—died April 23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon), English poet, dramatist, and actor often called the English national poet and considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time.Shakespeare occupies a position unique in world literature. 

His Notable works includes, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” “All’s Well That Ends Well” “Antony and Cleopatra” “As You Like It” “Coriolanus” “Cymbeline” First Folio “Hamlet” “Henry IV, Part 1” “Henry IV, Part 2” “Henry V” “Henry VI, Part 1” “Henry VI, Part 2” “Henry VI, Part 3” “Henry VIII” “Julius Caesar” “King John” “King Lear” “Love’s Labour’s Lost” “Macbeth” “Measure for Measure” “Much Ado About Nothing” “Othello” “Pericles” “Richard III” “The Comedy of Errors” “The Merchant of Venice” “The Merry Wives of Windsor” “The Taming of the Shrew” “The Tempest” “Timon of Athens”.

• A Poem :-

Song: “Fear no more the heat o’ the sun” 

Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,

Nor the furious winter’s rages;

Thou thy worldly task hast done,

Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages:

Golden lads and girls all must,

As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o’ the great;

Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke;

Care no more to clothe and eat;

To thee the reed is as the oak:

The scepter, learning, physic, must

All follow this, and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning flash,

Nor the all-dreaded thunder stone;

Fear not slander, censure rash;

Thou hast finished joy and moan:

All lovers young, all lovers must

Consign to thee, and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!

Nor no witchcraft charm thee!

Ghost unlaid forbear thee!

Nothing ill come near thee!

Quiet consummation have;

And renownèd be thy grave!

• BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

• Analysis of the Poem :-

Summary of Poem :-

In the lines of the poem/song, the two speakers go through all the reasons that the listeners, who can’t actually hear them, should be glad their dead. They are rid of all work, jobs, and responsibilities that the real world would demand of them. They also don’t have to worry about punishments from those in power or following any set of rules. There is also a repetition of the fact that everyone, no matter their beauty, power, or age will find death. 

Themes of the Poem :-

The primary theme in ‘Fear no more the heat o’ the sun’ is quite clear, it is death. The lines of this poem/song are quite simple, especially for Shakespeare, and convey quite clearly the speakers’ interest, death, and the escape it provides from life. They take turns laying out all the reasons that someone who has died should be glad they did. This isn’t in order to drive someone to suicide, but so that the two “deaths” that feature in this section of the play are cast in a less depressing light. 

Structure and Form :-

Song: “Fear no more the heat o’ the sun” by William Shakespeare is a four stanza excerpt from the play Cymbeline. These four verses of the song, or stanzas in this context, follow a rhyme scheme ABCBDD, changing end sounds from stanza to stanza. There is a good example of repetition at the end of the first three stanzas where Shakespeare uses epistrophe, repeating the words “must” and “dust”  at the ends of lines five and six of stanzas one, two, and three. The same technique appears in the final stanza where the rhyme scheme is broken and “thee” ends the first four lines of the stanza. 

Literary Devices

Shakespeare makes use of several literary devices in ‘Fear no more the heat o’ the sun’. These include but are not limited to juxtaposition, enjambment, and an example of an apostrophe. The first, juxtaposition, is seen through the various things that the speaker believes dead people no longer have to concern themselves with. A good example can be found in the first stanza when the singers suggest that neither “winter’s rages” nor the “heat o’ the sun” should bother the dead. 

Enjambment is another common formal device that appears throughout Shakespeare’s plays and poems. In this case, readers can find a few examples. For instance, the transition between lines five and six of the second stanza and five and six of the third stanza. 

In these lines, Shakespeare also uses another technique known as an apostrophe. This is seen when the speaker or speakers address their words to someone or something that cannot hear them or is unable to hear them. In this case, they are talking to people who are either sleeping or dead. 

• Conclusion :-

The poem is a plea to God to keep the country safe from wickedness. Tagore wrote the poem while India was still under British rule and people were excitedly anticipating their independence. It is a prayer to the Almighty for a nation free of all manipulation and corruption.