Anne Finchs Poems :: Anne Finch Poetry Poem Essays

Anne Finch's Poems While other writers use their poetry to decipher the meaning of life, Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea was busy writing about how to live it. Five of her poems, â€Å"Jupiter and the Farmer,† â€Å"The Tree,† â€Å"The Shepherd Piping to the Fishes,† â€Å"Love, Death, and Reputation,† and â€Å"There’s No To-Morrow,† convey strong messages to the reader about how to live their lives. In her poetry, Anne Finch uses anecdotes to help illustrate the validity of her statements, thereby providing the reader with a strong, meaningful, and important message about how life should be lived. â€Å"Jupiter and the Farmer† tells the story of a farmer who took it upon himself to control the weather in favor of his crops: â€Å"The Frost to kill the Worm, the brooding Snow, / The filling Rains may come, and Phoebus glow† (14 – 15). In doing this, the farmer plays god himself rather than let the real god, Jupiter, control things. The farmer ends up choosing what he wanted in such a bad fashion, he ruins his crops and is â€Å"with Famine pinch’d† (24). Upon the realization of his mistake, the farmer calls upon Jupiter and promises he will no longer take fate into his own hands. He resolves to let Jupiter lead the way while he â€Å"live[s] to Reap† (30). Through this poem, Finch stresses how important fate is in everyday lives. Like the farmer, we may have a desire to try and take the reigns from destiny, but it will never end well. Finch says we should just leave our lives to fate, and everything will work out alright. In â€Å"The Tree,† the speaker talks to a tree and express thanks for its â€Å"delightful shade† (1). The speaker goes on to talk of the others who benefited from the existence of the tree and gave it something back in return, such as the birds singing, travelers praising it’s welcome shade, and nymphs making crowns from its blooms. The speaker wonders what she can do to repay the shade given her by the tree. She decides to wish something for the tree’s future. She wishes, â€Å"To future ages may’st thou stand / Untouch’d by the rash workman’s hand† (19 – 20). Ultimately, she wishes something such as â€Å"some bright hearth† (32) be made from the tree at its death.