To Marguerite by Matthew Arnold

Yes! In the sea of life enisled,
With echoing straits between us thrown,
Dotting the shoreless watery wild,
We mortal millions live alone.The islands feel the enclasping flow,
And then their endless bounds they know.

But when the moon their hollows light,
And they are swept by balms of spring,
And in their glens, on starry nights,
The nightingales divinely sing;
And lovely notes, from shore to shore,
Across the sounds and channels pour—

Oh! Then a longing like despair
Is to their farthest caverns sent;
For surely once, they feel, we were
Parts of a single continent!
Now round us spreads the watery plain—
Oh might our marges meet again!

Who ordered that their longing’s fire
Should be as soon as kindled, cooled?
Who renders vain their deep desire?
A God, a God their severance ruled!
And bade betwixt their shores to be
The unplumbed salt, estranging sea.

Initial Reaction:
From the first reading, it seems like the author is talking about humanity. He is saying that all people are islands themselves and they are all alone. Later on in the poem he is saying that sometimes we feel whole and connected and he says that he is waiting for our shores to meet again. After this he questions who will decide when our longings will be answered. He answers himself that it is a God who puts the distance between all the people.

Paraphrase:

Yes! The sea of life has made islands,
With distances of sea thrown between us,
The islands are randomly thrown along the sea,
Each one of us mortals are alone on our own island.Us mortals feel the flow of the sea,
And we all know how vast the sea (loneliness) is.

Their emptiness is lighted by the moon,
And they are swept by youth and happiness,
And in their valleys at night,
The birds sing lovely songs;
And the lovely songs can be heard from every shore,
And with the sounds they are all connected—

Oh! Then a longing too great to bean
Is sent deep into their hearts;
At one time they felt as if they were
Together and whole!
Now their is all this distance around us again—
Oh I wish we can be together again!

Who decides on when their longing
Should be relieved and soothed?
Who causes the desires to not be answered?
A God that keeps them apart!
And bid that their distances should be
As large as the sea.

SWIFTT:
SW - The author's syntax and word choice have to do with the sea and words that have to do with islands and the sea. In the first stanza he uses words like shoreless, enisled, islands, flow. In the second stanza he makes references to the night and more nature. He mentions the spring which represents rebirth and new starts. He also mentions nightingales which represent good fortune. In the third stanza he talks about distances in land terms. He uses words such as caverns, continent, watery plain, marges. Then in the last stanza, he is talking about his desires and comparing them to a fire that would be kindled or cooled.
I - Arnold uses a lot of imagery in this poem. For one, he uses the image of people being islands on their own. He uses the seas as images for vast distances and he uses fire as an image for longing and desires.
F- The whole poem is a metaphor comparing people to islands isolated in a large sea.
T- The tone of the poem is sad and expresses longing. Arnold is expressing his desires throughout the poem.
T- The theme of the poem is that distance from your love can lead to total isolation.

Conclusion:
I think that my initial reaction to the poem was very close to what I think he was trying to say. What I missed in my initial reaction was that there is a girl involved that he is longing. The second stanza isn't about all humanity coming together but instead it is about him and his lover being reunited and his happiness with their love.