Decay

Throughout the course, we have read several poems, short stories, and even some prose that discusses decay, decaying, and withering away. Although in some of them, it is talking about physical decay, there is a lot of emotional decaying, psychological decaying, and, in some instances, even the atmosphere is decaying. Death is a normal part of life, but decay is as well. It needs to be discussed more in depth, and addressed, rather than just “accepted”. From the moment we are born, we begin to decay, ever so slowly; we decay even after life has ended.

            First, “The Thorn” by William Wordsworth is a prime example of more than one kind of decay. In the first couple of stanzas, it discusses the thorn being beaten down and entombed, growing old and decrepit, slowly decaying with age. It discusses how difficult it is to imagine the thorn young and alive and growing, looking at it now- grey and old, entombed in a rocky grave.

            The thorn, however, is just a metaphor. It describes the life of the woman in the poem, later identified as Martha Ray. She was once very young, very “green”, and with age comes the “greying”. Challenges and milestones in life represent the rocks closing in around her, sending her closer to decay.

            Physical decay is most commonly portrayed, as death is a normal subject of poetry. Another poem that discusses physical decay, or, more importantly, the fear of it, is “When I have fears…” by John Keats.

            John Keats discusses his fear of death and dying in this poem, and his regrets of the chances he never took when he had the opportunity. Fear of the death is normal, especially if they are on death’s doorstep, but regret is another concept.

            Regretting not taking a chance could haunt you forevermore, and it plants itself in the mind of the fearful, slowly decaying their every thought. Soon, it’s as though the thought of death has decayed the brain from any sort of happier thoughts. Even more slowly, the fear of death begins to consume and decay the fearful, dragging them into their graves much soon than needed; maybe this is because they begin to decay so much mentally that it projects itself physically.

            Fear is a form of decay, in most instances. It is a decay of the emotional (or the mental- it can drive a man insane), which will, in turn, decay the person physically, just as “When I have fears…” represents. Another poem that accurately describes the decay into madness is “Macbeth”, from William Shakespeare, when compared to “Romance of the Forest” by Ann Radcliffe.

            Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo, which starts the decay of his mind. Then, Lady Macbeth starts to question her husband’s sanity as he slips farther and farther into madness. His decay of the mind presents several other decays in Macbeth’s life- his physical well-being, and his relationships with his friends and his wife, Lady Macbeth; his insane babblings and outburst during the banquet really reflect the madness within.

            Almost a mirror image, in “Romance of the Forest”, La Motte begins to decay into madness, leaving Adeline and Madame La Motte to worry for his well-being. His is, though not as clearly insane as Macbeth’s behavior, far more mysterious and distrusting of others, especially the Marquis. Just as Lady Macbeth feels guilt, so does Madame La Motte- she feels “a pang of self-accusation”. However, more interestingly, Adeline suffers anxiety attacks about La Motte’s mental decay, and the toll it is taking on him- physically as well as mentally.

            Some characters are destined to destroy themselves, to rot within their own minds, and they bring the decay and destruction down upon themselves. Manfred in “Castle Otranto” is a prime example of self-decay and destruction.

            A prophecy is foretold, and that thought consumes his every action. He begins to decay mentally, trying his hardest to disprove this prophecy and, ultimately, it destroys his mental health and kills his only remaining family. This is, in a literary sense, a very drastic and sharp level of decay within the mind, mixed in with loss of his consciousness, and his own pride.

            The thoughts of immortality can cause decay- maybe not into madness, but decay into obsession. In “An Ode to a Nightingale”, Keats discusses his intense desire to become immortal through song and poetry, maybe a thought turned perverse through obsession and decaying him slowly into a mad obsession. The barrier between fantasy and reality is slowly erased, and the two may leak together, in a sort of giant mind bubble that decays their very soul.

            The effects of drugs, specifically opium, mirror this; it can cause a sane man to question everything he knows is reality, or could make him desire his deepest fantasies. It could cause him to decay physically by not taking care of himself. It could make him lose himself in his own mind, trapped within his own head, unable or unwilling to admit his thoughts to others.

            “The Brownie of the Black Haggs” and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” are two very prime examples of thoughts within, and a physical desire turned into something of an obsession, or intense fantasy, which they stop at nothing to make become a reality.

            It could become a hopeless situation, and desires may bleed into their everyday life. There is some constant that keeps the main characters of these poems somewhat sane, whatever those things may be. It keeps them from completely decaying and losing their mind, or withering away into nothingness. It keeps them from an unhealthy level of obsession, or snaps them out of their obsession with a swift kick of reality. Desires and fantasies are part of a normal mind, just like obsession can be quite normal- so long as it is under a lot of control. Just like the sun and the moon, there is two sides to every person, and not every thought they have is spoken to someone or spoken out loud.

            Sometimes the decay can be one of friendship or relationships. Significant others do not last forever, love does not last forever, and friendships are somewhat strained to the point of breaking. It can emotionally decay a person to be in a poisonous relationship or friendship, until they have nothing left to lose or give. Adeline is a prime example of this, as she sits in the forest, singing and reflecting on her falling out with Madame. Those troublesome thoughts can nit-pick in her brain, and decay her emotionally, so she has spent all of her tears and can scream no more, for she has no voice.

            Decay is a natural process, that can slowly become unnatural, and can turn the best people into empty shells, or worse, a monster of little remorse or control. A monster that can no longer decay, and it sits, waiting to die, or waiting for someone else it can drag into its hell,  so long as they no longer have to suffer alone.