Chastity In Beowulf

In the first stanza we find them lying in separate beds; he is looking at a book without reading it and she is staring at the ceiling. All the excitement in their lives now lies behind them. Everything seems to be routine. The words “lying apart”, “elsewhere” and “separate” suggests the gulf that is created between the couple. “She like a girl dreaming of childhood” suggests that she is not happy and wants to be in the past. “Keeping the light on late” and “shadows overheard” shows the contrast between the couple now and before. Neither of them is talking to each other. The book does not interest him and the mother stares at the shadows overheard. Sleeping in separate beds depicts physical distance and a sign of being apart and a lack of communication …show more content…
But there is still hope left, - they are still able to dream. At the beginning of the second stanza their relationship is described as “flotsam from a former passion”. There is no passion left between them, it is broken into pieces and floating on the surface. Flotsam means wreckage floating in the sea . Here it refers that is all what is left after their passion as a younger couple. Chastity refers to the loss of passion of youth which has now faded from their lives. The stage in their relationship when they touched has passed. The words “confession” and “chastity” are religious and reflect that they keep to their promises even if they are unhappy. They have taken a further step and have reached chastity again. One might suppose that this is a step backwards, but still Jennings describes it as the reaching of “a destination/for which their whole lives were a preparation” (210) .
It is the contrast in their relationship by which we are most fascinated. The only thing that is shared between them seems to be silence, but mysteriously there is much more left which ties them together. It is the time they have shared, all the common experiences, the difficulties and the beauties of life which lie behind them; it is the familiarity which links them. Their lives are not really separated; because they need each other. The only thing that has happened to them is the fact that they have grown …show more content…
It is about the quietness, the kindness and secrecy of love. Jennings makes use of the discrepancy which exists between the mind and feelings. The poem starts with an apparent contrast between shyness and love .It seems strange that we specially feel a certain kind of shyness towards the people we really love. In the rest of the poem this contradiction is explored further. She compares the uncertainty and doubt implied by this shyness with a familiar face, which cannot visualize. It is not possible to remember or describe every single detail of such a