Put Up My Lute!
poem 261
Put Up My Lute! - meaning Summary
Music Unheard, Longing for Response
The speaker addresses her instrument and music after finding her intended listener indifferent. She contrasts a passive, granite-like recipient with the hope for a transformative melody—invoking the Memnon statue that was said to sing at sunrise—to suggest a strain powerful enough to rouse or move the unresponsive. The poem balances resignation (accepting sorrow as a suitable expression) with a wish for an art capable of awakening hearts.
Read Complete AnalysesPut up my lute! What of my Music! Since the sole ear I cared to charm Passive as Granite laps My Music Sobbing will suit as well as psalm! Would but the Memnon of the Desert Teach me the strain That vanquished Him When He surrendered to the Sunrise Maybe that would awaken them!
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