FEAR NO MORE BY SHAKESPEARE
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INTRODUCTION
Shakespeare is the most famous personality of English literature. He had an unparalleled imagination. His works were written years ago but even today, they appeal the people of all the ages and races. He is better known as the dramatist but his love for poetry can be seen in the poems that are the part of his dramas.
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POEM EXPLANATION
“Fear No More occurs in Act IV, Scene 2, of the play Cymbeline. It is a funeral song for fidele. In the story of the play, Fidele is Imogen in dịsuise. She is not dead but only unconscious. Shakespeare has taken this occasion to express his philosophical attitude to death.
This dirge is sung by Guiderius and Arviragus. They are putting Imogen in he Grave. Fidele is the heroine named Imogen of the play. She is not dead but unconscious. However, the dramatist comments under the impression that she is dead. The poet points out that as she is dead she needs not fear a dreadful thing like lightening. She even needs not to be afraid of scandal or bitter criticism.
The underlying idea of the poem is that death is inevitable. It is the ultimate fate of one and all. Young and old all must die. Everyone irrespective of power, position and learning must die. The ultimate end of all people in the world is the same as that of Imogen. Finally everyone has to be mixed up with dust. But, Shakespeare points out that since all must die: death must not be regarded as dreadful. On the contrary, death makes a person free from the miseries of life. Death liberates a man from the bondage of this world.
Guiderius says that Imogen cannot be affected by the heat of the sun or the severe cold of winter. When a person dies it means that he has finished the task appointed to him in the world. He has also received the wages for his task. Everyone has the same fate whether: it is a highborn boy, girt or a chimneysweeper. Further it is said that a dead person should not be afraid of displeasure of the great. He is beyond the reach of the tyrant’s violence He even does not bother about food or clothing. For him there is no difference between the reed and the oak The dead person should not be afraid of the flash of lightning or the thunderbolt. He even should not be afraid of any defamation or thoughtless judgement. Now the sorrow or joy cannot affect him.
This simple little song of lament is really moving in its tone. It has a philosophical attitude. The poet laments over the death of a youth who has died in the prime of his life. However, there is ns sadness in ne song. There is a sense of delight as death makes a person free from all the worries of life. The poem gives a new value to the death. This is something rare and only Shakespeare can do this. This is why Shakespeare is the best.
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Reference to Context:
Fear no more the lighting-flash,
Not the all dreaded thunder-stone
Fear no slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finish’d joy and moan:
All lover young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust
These philosophical lines are taken from the poem Fear No More. It is written by the great poet Shakespeare. Here the poet talks about the advantages of death.
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