Woodland Music

This poem has gorgeous imagery that is incredibly relevant to the events of The Moonstone during these chapters. Not only does this poem address the power of nature, but it also links nature itself to lovers and their triumphs and failures. The poem personifies nature, describing how it breathes in and out with the passing of "Life, and Love and Death" (28). The Moonstone follows these themes at its very core, as well. In this chapter, the reader gets their first taste of death firsthand, and in the most tragic way possible, with the suicide of Rosanna Spearman. Her death is tied to nature as she takes her life utilizing the Shivering Sands. Her life is tied to the misery of being isolated due to her physical disability. At the very end, her unrequited love pushes her to the brink and is the final straw in her decision to take her life. Rosanna embodies the poem's last lines "We live, we love, we die." (54)(not pictured on this page). Placing this poem amidst these chapters would increase the melancholy readers would connect to the storyline of Mr. Franklin's interaction, or lack of, with Rachel and Rosanna. The beautiful and tragic tone of this poetry directly mirrors the love lost and life taken in these sections. "Woodland Music" is a bittersweet poem, much like the death of Rosanna, where she felt vindicated in protecting Mr.Franklin, but suffered by her own exclusion and emotional distance from the man she loves. This poem also applies to the relationship between Rachel and Franklin suffering as Rachel flees the scene of Franklin's unknown crime. IN both cases the poem perfect increases the drama and sadness of the love lost between these women and this singuar man. (Note: The author of this poem is not cited or credited in this section and I was unable to find citation elsewhere either.)