“Life’s Never Ending Struggles” in “Uphill” by Christina Rosetti

Maria Rosetha
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A. Background
I choose “Uphill” by Christina Rosetti to be discussed in this paper for some
reasons. At the first glance, I find that “Uphill” is an interesting poem. It is interesting
because the form of this poem is question and answer. Then after read it, I find that the
content is interesting. It seems that the words in this poem ask me to analyze the poem
further. The series of beautiful words in this poem make me want to know the meaning
behind its literal meaning. There are two characters in this poem, the questioner and the
answerer. The questioner asks again and again. The answerer answers those questions
with clear and brief answers. Symbol and Imagery are found in this poem.
I will try to analyze this poem by using formalistic approach. The imageries and
the symbols will be discussed to reveal the theme.

B. Problem Formulation
1. What are the symbols found in the poem?
3. What are the imageries found in the poem?
4. How can the imageries and the symbols reveal the theme?

C. Definition of Terms

1. Symbol : People, places, or things used to represent something else in literature.

2. Imagery : A literal and particular representation of an experience or object
perceived through the sense.
3. Formalistic approach: An approach that only focus on the text itself.
4. Uphill : Toward the top of the hill, it’s very difficult and need a lot of effort.
5. Road : A specially prepared hard surface for cars, buses, bicycles etc to travel
on.
6. Bed : A piece of furniture for sleeping on.

D. Analysis

1. What are the symbols found in the poem?

The poem is about a person asking another person about a journey to come. The
person is making questions about the road and what will happen along the road. The
questioner asks the second man about the length and hardness of the journey. The
answerer tells the traveler that the road to his destination is a long, hard journey that will
“wind uphill all the way.” But he is told that there is an inn which he cannot miss, that
will give him a resting place. Along the journey, he will not be alone. And after passing
the long road, it’s time for the person to take a rest in a bed.
 At the first stanza, this poem tells about the distance of the road and the time that
are needed to pass that road. Here, it is said that the road is a long and hard journey. It
winds uphill all the way from the beginning to the very end. At the second stanza, it tells
that the person is worried about his journey when the night comes and wonders whether
the darkness can be avoided or not. At the third stanza, the questioner seems more
worried of darkness that he is eager to know if there will be others people he finds along
the road at night. In this part, the second speaker assures the first speaker that even in the
night he will never be alone. There will be some people who have walked the road earlier
than him. Then, the last stanza tells about the result of the struggle in passing the long and
hard road. It is said that his struggles are not useless. He will get something that is equal
to his effort along his journey on the road. Then, after all his effort passing the road ends,
he will get a place to rest. He can take a rest in a bed and get comfort in it. Actually, bed
is the last destination of the road.
In this case, road can be compared with life. Life is hard. The journey along road
is long, so is life. People have to pass many things during their life. And in this poem, the
person wonders whether life is always being a struggle. In the third stanza, the questioner
seems more worried about difficulties in his life. He is eager to know if there will be
others people that are ready to help him when difficulties come to his life. He is even
curious whether he can avoid the difficult times in his life. In fact, he cannot. Difficulties
here are not to be avoided since it is part of life. In this part, the second speaker assures
the first speaker that even in the difficult moment in life, there are some help that are
ready to come to him. He will never be alone and he will be helped by people who have
more experiences in life. It can be older and wise people. During his life, there will
always be others for him who ready to help him to pass difficulties in life.
This poem talks about road. And after analyze it, I find that this poem is talk about life
too. Thus, road is used to represent life I this poem. What are talked about road have
relation with what are happened in life. Then, I conclude that in this poem road
symbolizes life.
Talking about life has relation with death. As it has been explain above that after
the long road there is bed, the place to take a rest, to get comfort. If life is the road we
travel on, death is the bed where one rests in peace. Death is the opposite of life.
Realizing that he has already so tired during his journey, during his life, the first speaker
wants to know the result of his struggle. In the last stanza, he wants comfort, travel-sore
and weak. Then the answerer convinces him that hard efforts will earn good results. He
tells the questioner that all struggles along his life are not useless. He means this by
saying “of labor you shall find sum”. Finally, the first speaker comes to the last question,
“will there be beds for me and for all who seek?”. As what I have said before that in this
poem, death is the bed where one rests in peace after a very long journey in his life. Thus
in this poem, I find that death is symbolized by “bed”. Every one who seeks peace will
find it.

2. What are the imageries found in the poem?

“Uphil” is rich of imageries. Imagery can be seen trough out the poem. In the
beginning of the first stanza, I find sight imagery. I can imagine a long road to the very
end. It must be very long. By seeing that very long road, there will be a question in my
mind, “how long will I finish the road?”. Then this may lead one’s mind to worry. Then,
still from sight imagery that I can see the condition in the morning and in the night.
Beside that I can also feel how the condition and the temperature of morning and also feel
how the condition and the temperature of night. This imagination will create some
questions in one’s mind about the things that will happen when night comes.
In the second stanza, it is also visual imagery that I can imagine a resting-place, a
roof, and an inn in my mind. By imaging the condition of being dark, perhaps as what the
first speaker wants, I also want to see other people in that night to ensure me that I have
some people around me. In this case, I use sight imagery again.
Feeling imagery can be felt in the last stanza. I imagine that I find comfort, travel-
sore and weak after I have a very long and tiring journey. Then I feel them. By feeling
these I can forget my tiredness along the road, along struggles in life. Then I can see in
my imagination both my hard efforts and the results of the efforts. It’s just the same with
the word “beds”. I can imagine that I see the beds and feel the comfort of being in the
bed. Moreover, I can feel how nice to have a bed for resting after being tired walking the
road. That’s all the imagery that I find in this poem that help me to understand this poem
by imaging all of things in this poem and feel as if I experience all the things happen in
this poem.

3. How can the imageries and the symbols reveal the theme?
By reading the entire poem, there will be imaginations appeared in mind. By
imaging what really happen in the first stanza until the last stanza, the meaning of the
poem can be grasped. In this poem, there are sight and feeling imagery that are used to
help the reader to understand the poem. Along the road, there are so many things happen.
And all this things can be felt directly by the writer by imaging what is said in the poem
since the condition of this journey from the beginning until the end is described by using
imageries. The imageries, for example by imaging how long the road is and how hard the
struggle to pass it makes me able to see and to feel the real condition of what are
described in the poem. By using imageries, the writer is also able to find and to
understand which words are the symbols in this poem. Then, the symbols that I find in
this poem by using imageries are road and bed. Road symbolizes life, a long life. Beds
symbolize death, the place for resting in peace. Overall, this poem is about the journey of
the life - life in the real life and life after death. The symbols in this poem, road and bed
make me focus in the problem discussed in this poem. Both of them lead me to
understand the theme of the poem. The symbols and the imageries reveal the central idea
of the poem by supporting each other.

D. Conclusion
I use imageries to understand this poem more. Moreover, by using imageries I
also can find what the symbols contained in this poem. By finding imageries and symbols
in this poem, I conclude that “Uphill” is a poem about life’s never ending struggle. By
analyzing that road symbolizes life and bed symbolizes death, I can get deeper meaning
of this poem. In this poem, to reveal the theme, symbols and imageries as the intrinsic
elements work together.
References:
Longman: Dictionary of Contemporary English. Barcelona: Pearson Education Limited.
2001.
Abrams, M.H. A Glosarry of Literary Terms, 6th Edition. Harcourt Brace and Company.
1969.
A handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford, 1999.
http://contemporarylit.about.com/cs/literaryterms/g/symbol.htm

UPHILL
By Christina Rosetti

Does the road wind up-hill all the way?

Yes, to the very end.

Will the day's journey take the whole long day?

From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?

A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.

May not the darkness hide it from my face?

You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?

Those who have gone before.

Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?

They will not keep you standing at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?

Of labor you shall find the sum.

Will there be beds for me and all who seek?

Yea, beds for all who come."