La Figlia che Piange - A poem by T.S. Eliot

T.S. Eliot - La Figlia che Piange

O quam te memorem virgo...



STAND on the highest pavement of the stair—
Lean on a garden urn—
Weave, weave the sunlight in your hair—
Clasp your flowers to you with a pained surprise—
Fling them to the ground and turn
With a fugitive resentment in your eyes:
But weave, weave the sunlight in your hair.

So I would have had him leave,
So I would have had her stand and grieve,
So he would have left
As the soul leaves the body torn and bruised,
As the mind deserts the body it has used.
I should find
Some way incomparably light and deft,
Some way we both should understand,
Simple and faithless as a smile and shake of the hand.

She turned away, but with the autumn weather
Compelled my imagination many days,
Many days and many hours:
Her hair over her arms and her arms full of flowers.
And I wonder how they should have been together!
I should have lost a gesture and a pose.
Sometimes these cogitations still amaze
The troubled midnight and the noon’s repose.

Added: on November 25th, 2005 at 3:54 PM | Viewed: 8214 times | Comments and analysis of La Figlia che Piange by T.S. Eliot Comments (6)

La Figlia che Piange - Comments and Information
Poet: T.S. Eliot (T.S. Eliot Art) Poem: 12. La Figlia che Piange Volume: Prufrock and Other Observations Year: Published/Written in 1917 Poem of the Day: Jan 24 2007 Comment 6 of 6, added on May 18th, 2009 at 4:54 PM. One wonders if this poem could be a reference to his wife Vivienne as she is referred to as having "downy hair" on her arms in the lamp light in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock when he refers to her as almost a representative woman. This poem goes some way in proving that Eliot is a great poet for his intense lyricism as seen here in this poem's almost elegiac tone as well as for his masterful handling of subversive subject matter. Sophie Ogilvie from United Kingdom Comment 5 of 6, added on June 2nd, 2006 at 4:45 PM. In the few comments here, people seem to be making note of the line "the hair over her arms and her arms full of flowers" - I, personally, believe to fully understand this line the reader needs to continue to connect this directly to the next line "And I wonder how they should have been together!" Eliot is using a metaphor to describe her bad and good characteristics and reflects, in an older stage of his life, if they could have worked together in a relationship with himself. Seamus from United States Comment 4 of 6, added on November 25th, 2005 at 3:54 PM. You can hear T.S. Eliot giving a reading of this poem online at The Academy of American Poets at poets.org Sarah from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, La Figlia che Piange, has received 6 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by T.S. Eliot with others on the American Poems poetry forum!

Poem Info
Poet: T.S. Eliot Poem: 12. La Figlia che Piange Volume: Prufrock and Other Observations Year: Published/Written in 1917 Last read: Nov 22 2009, 8:53AM Poem of the Day: Jan 24 2007 Viewed 8214 times. Added on November 25th, 2005 at 3:54 PM.

Eliot Info
Biography More Poems (45 poems) Books