The Forsaken Merman 

by Matthew Arnold

"But cruel is she!
She left lonely for ever
The kings of the sea"

Before analyzing the poem, I did some research about the author, so I realized that he believed in science rather than Cristianity. Also, in his works, he related the stories with the Victorian era. In this case, this poem is related to Cristianity, which he critized it.

I can interpret the poem like this: Margaret lived happy in the sea with her family; she did not want it to go back to the land. However, because of her cristian duties, as she said "she must go," she went leaving her family in the sea. She never came back to the sea. This shows that sometimes people leaves everything behind for religion. Also, the poem shows women empowerment in the Victorian era in which women had to obey her husband and submit to him. However, in the poem, she empowered herself, and decided to do something for herself. As the poem shows, she lives in the sea; so she left her home to live with the merman, and sacrifice herself to live in the sea, but then she returned to his home and never came back to the sea. She decided to do what she really wanted.

I enjoy reading this poem, for I can imagine the sea, the merman very clearly. The author explains and gives many details. Therefore, reading this poem was an enriching experience.