Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "On My Wedding Day," Sarah Fyge Egerton crafts a lamentation of love lost and grief following the death of her husband. The poem captures her sorrow as she reflects on her wedding day, now stripped of its joy and glory. Through rich imagery, poignant metaphors, and a powerful exploration of fate, the poem delves into themes of mourning, memory, and despair.

The poem begins with a bitter address to her wedding day: "Abandon'd Day, why dost thou now appear? / Thou must no more thy wonted Glories wear." The term "Abandon'd Day" establishes the speaker's sense of betrayal, as her wedding day no longer represents celebration but sorrow. She implores the day to "Rend thy self out of the circling Year," seeking to erase it entirely.

The speaker acknowledges that her wedding day has lost its "pompous Pride" and is no longer a "festival Cause" because she is "no Bride." Instead of being crowned with myrtle, a symbol of love and fertility, the day is now "dress'd... with sad Cypress," representing mourning and grief. The cheerful music, health toasts, and joyful pageantry have been replaced by an atmosphere of loss.

Egerton introduces her late husband as the one who always saw the day as worthy of celebration: "The once glad Youth that did so honour thee / Is now no more; with him thy Triumph's lost." His love for the wedding day convinced her to see its worth: "Such Adorations he still thought thy due, / I learn'd at last to celebrate thee too." However, her initial hesitation to embrace the day fully is evident: "Tho' it was long e'er I could be content, / To yield you more than formal Complement."

The speaker acknowledges that her reluctant acceptance of marriage may have contributed to her current sorrow: "If my first Offering had been Free-Will, / I then perhaps might have enjoy'd thee still." She recalls how, on her wedding day, she "trembling Tongue with the sad Rites comply'd, / With timerous Hand th' amazing Knot I ty'd." Her vows were influenced by duty rather than love, making her a "doubting Bride."

Despite her initial reluctance, she eventually embraced her marriage: "At length my reconcil'd and conquer'd Heart, / When 'twas almost too late own'd thy Desert." But now that her husband is gone, the wedding day is reduced to a "sad Relick of Solemnity."

Egerton expresses a desire to erase the day from her memory and "Fate's strict Calender," cursing it to perpetual darkness: "May the Sun's Rays ne'er be to thee allow'd, / But let him double every thick wrought Cloud, / And wrap himself in a retiring Shroud." The imagery of darkness, shrouds, and a "sable Horizon" reflects her deep despair and longing for oblivion.

The poem ends with a mournful plea: "With me thy abdicated State deplore, / And be like me, that's by thy self no more." Here, the speaker aligns her emotional state with the abandoned wedding day, suggesting that she, too, is no longer herself after the death of her husband.

Structurally, the poem is written in rhymed couplets with lines in iambic pentameter. This form lends the poem a rhythmic and solemn quality, mirroring the speaker's grief and adding to the poem's emotional weight.

Overall, "On My Wedding Day" by Sarah Fyge Egerton is a moving exploration of loss and sorrow. By employing vivid imagery, poignant metaphors, and a deep sense of melancholy, Egerton creates a poem that captures the emotional devastation of losing a loved one. The poem’s themes of mourning, memory, and despair resonate with the universal human experience of grief and the longing to rewrite fate.

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