Introduction of the Poem:
The poem ‘The Forsaken Merman’ is one of the early poems of Matthew Arnold, published in 1849. Most likely, the hint for the poem has been taken from Hans Anderson's “The True Story of My Life” and George Borrow's Romantic Ballads.
It is a sad poem that speaks of loneliness and longing. The poem has a love - story which has been presented beautifully. It can be said a powerful and poignant poem about the love of the merman and Margaret for each other and the warm family life, they enjoyed with their children, in spite of the fact that merman was a sea - creature and Margaret was human . It is presented in the form of a speech addressed by the merman to his children.
Merman and mermaids, in this charming and romantic poem, are mythical sea creature - half human and half fish. Legend has it if a mermaid or a merman marries a human they might, in due course of time, become one of them.
At another level, where the wife abandons her husband along with the family for some reasons, the poem is very humane and can be understood by anyone who have seen or experienced such a destitute condition. There, it is a touching account of the emotional - tug of war that the merman and his children feel when Margaret does not respond to their call. But within this story of agonizing human, the poet also questions the value of a religious duty that compels to abandon love.
The story is full of pathos. There is a remarkable resemblance between the story in the Romantic Ballads and that of Arnold’s.
Summary of the Poem:
The merman was married to Margaret, a human and lived with her in the heart of sea amidst all kinds of luxury. They had children whom they loved dearly. Margaret enjoyed the life, full of happiness, luxuries, peace and love as a creature of the sea. However, one fine day, she heard the chime of church bells from the shore and something stored her inside. She left the surf of sea behind, after getting permission from her loving and unsuspecting husband, and went onto the shore to worship in the church.
Since Margaret didn't return as promised, the merman, along with his children, came up from the depth of sea and waited there at the seashore for her return. Sitting there, he recalled the time they had with her as they lived in their under - water residence. They were all together a happy family.
After waiting there on the shore, they travelled through the narrow streets and reached the little grey church in search of her. They saw her sitting in the chapel and they called out to her to come to them. There was no response from her despite the merman's pathetic call. As a last attempt, he told the children to call out to their mother before they would leave. The merman hoped that the call of the children could never fail to touch the heart of a mother and Margaret would come to them. He still hoped that a mother's heart would force her to hurry to her children.
Margaret was sitting near a pillar. Her eyes were fixed on the holy book that she was reading. The merman told her that they had been long alone for a long time and the sea - waves were growing stormy. The children were moaning.
But she was so engrossed in praying that she did not hear them. The merman and his children had to return to the depths of the sea without her.
Because, Margaret had gone back to being a human and in order not to lose her ‘poor soul’, decided never to return to the sea again and thus, forsaken her heartbroken husband and children , leaving them forever.
Critical Appreciation of the Poem:
‘The Forsaken Merman’ has been considered by one of the most charming and the most romantic poems in the world of pure and tender imagination. The poem has been written in the form of a monologue, with the children acting as the audience.
Through the story of betrayal and infidelity, the poet hints at the fact that one can't ignore God's call, no matter how comfortably one is entrenched in worldly affairs and comforts. Sometimes, that call comes at a great price, as both the merman and Margaret are to discover.
The poem starts on an elegiac note that pervades till the end. The merman is depicted as an affectionate father who has great faith in the love of his human wife, as he hopes that she'll return to him though she has abandoned him for the moment. Here, the pathos of the entire episode creates a sense of conflict within the reader. Though the reader's immediate reaction is to extend his sympathy to the motherless children and to the merman yet Margaret too demands our sympathy in the sense that she too makes an enormous sacrifice in forsaking her husband, her children and her beautiful home, full of all comforts and luxuries.
The poet has created three different words in a single poem. Such an atmosphere has made the poem charming. Initially we are introduced to the underwater kingdom of the merman with its “red gold throne in the heart of the sea”, “sand - strewn caverns”, cool and deep, “where the spent lights quiver and gleam” in the “clear green sea.” Then we are taken to the living world of human beings through “the narrow paved streets”, “the graves, the stones, worn with rains”.
And finally, the world of religion is elevated to our thoughts through “the little grey church on the windy hill” where Margaret's “eyes were seal'd to the holy book” while the “loud prays the priest”.
Through this charming description, an important contrast has been presented, i.e., Margaret's town on the seashore with the foamy waves like ‘wild white horses’ in contrast to the merman's cavern home where the winds are all asleep. There is also a contrast between the things that the merman understands and what goes on in the church in the human world.
On the whole, the poem has been written in the three parts the first part reminds the reader of the happy days; the second the unhappy state of affairs and the third the definite sorrowful future.
The lucidity of the style resembles that of classical literature. The reader enjoys this appealing poem due to the intense personal feeling, the poignant pathos, its imaginative quality, its remarkably exquisite scenic description and its love for the strangely mythical qualities.
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