A Musical Instrument

BY ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

What was he doing, the great god Pan,

Down in the reeds by the river ?

Spreading ruin and scattering ban,

Splashing and paddling with hoofs of a goat,

And breaking the golden lilies afloat

With the dragon-fly on the river.

II

He tore out a reed, the great god Pan,

From the deep cool bed of the river :

The limpid water turbidly ran,

And the broken lilies a-dying lay,

And the dragon-fly had fled away,

Ere he brought it out of the river.

III

High on the shore sate the great god Pan,

While turbidly flowed the river ;

 And hacked and hewed as a great god can,

With his hard bleak steel at the patient reed,

Till there was not a sign of a leaf indeed

To prove it fresh from the river.

IV

He cut it short, did the great god Pan,

(How tall it stood in the river !)

Then drew the pith, like the heart of a man,

Steadily from the outside ring,

And notched the poor dry empty thing

In holes, as he sate by the river.

This is the way,' laughed the great god Pan,

Laughed while he sate by the river,)

The only way, since gods began

To make sweet music, they could succeed.'

Then, dropping his mouth to a hole in the reed,

He blew in power by the river.

 VI

Sweet, sweet, sweet, O Pan !

Piercing sweet by the river !

Blinding sweet, O great god Pan !

The sun on the hill forgot to die,

And the lilies revived, and the dragon-fly

Came back to dream on the river.

VII

Yet half a beast is the great god Pan,

To laugh as he sits by the river,

Making a poet out of a man :

The true gods sigh for the cost and pain, —

For the reed which grows nevermore again

As a reed with the reeds in the river.

 FORM

A Musical Instrument

BY ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

I
1
What was he doing, the great god Pan, -- (a)

2 The first and

Down in the reeds by the river ? -- (b) third line
rhymes.
3
Sextet Spreading ruin and scattering ban, -- (a) (Both a)
6 lines per stanza
4
Splashing and paddling with hoofs of a goat, -- (c)

5
And breaking the golden lilies afloat – (c)

6
With the dragon-fly on the river. – (b)

II

7
He tore out a reed, the great god Pan, -- (a)

8
From the deep cool bed of the river: -- (b)

9 The limpid water turbidly ran, -- (a)

Sextet
6 lines per stanza The eight line
10
And the broken lilies a-dying lay, -- (c) and twelve line
rhymes.
11
And the dragon-fly had fled away, – (c) (Both b)

12
Ere he brought it out of the river. -- (b)
 III

13
High on the shore sate the great god Pan, – (a)

14
While turbidly flowed the river; – (b)

15
And hacked and hewed as a great god can, – (a)
Sextet
6 lines per stanza
16
With his hard bleak steel at the patient reed, – (c) The eight line
and twelve line
17 rhymes.
Till there was not a sign of a leaf indeed – (c)
(Both c)

18 To prove it fresh from the river. – (b)

IV

19
He cut it short, did the great god Pan, – (a)

20
(How tall it stood in the river!) – (b)

Sextet 21
Then drew the pith, like the heart of a man, – (a)
6 lines per stanza
22
Steadily from the outside ring, – (c)

23
And notched the poor dry empty thing – (c)

24
In holes, as he sate by the river. – (b)

25
This is the way,' laughed the great god Pan, – (a)

26
Laughed while he sate by the river,) – (b

27
The only way, since gods began – (a)
 28
To make sweet music, they could succeed. – (c)
Sextet
29
6 lines per stanza Then, dropping his mouth to a hole in the reed, – (c)

30
He blew in power by the river. – (b

VI

31 Sweet, sweet, sweet, O Pan !

32 Piercing sweet by the river !

Sextet 33 Blinding sweet, O great god Pan !

6 lines per stanza
34 The sun on the hill forgot to die,

35 The lilies revived, and the dragon-fly

36 Came back to dream on the river.

VII

Yet half a beast is the great god Pan,

To laugh as he sits by the river,

Sextet
Making a poet out of a man :
6 lines per stanza
The true gods sigh for the cost and pain, —

For the reed which grows nevermore again

As a reed with the reeds in the river.

Form: EBB used the sestet

CONTENT

1. CONTENT- a Musical Instrument was published in 1860, shortly before her

death 1861. The poem is thrilling and speaks of destruction of currently peaceful
and stagnant scenery. This is what female Victorian writers were doing when they
entered the “public sphere”. But also, with them gradually revealing their
identities and being accepted into society or perhaps the possibility of their
acceptance leads to the lilies growing back and the dragonfly returning. It is the
allegory of EBB’s state of mind and state of the nation when writing the poem.

 Persona: Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 Speaker involves the Poem: She serve as an observer of Pan wrong destruction in
nature.

 Addressed by the Poem: Pan

 Phrases or Clue:
a. Stanza 1 Line 1
b. Stanza 2 Line 7
c. Stanza 3 Line 13
d. Stanza 4 Line 19
e. Stanza 5 Line 25
f. Stanza 6 Line 31
g. Stanza 7 Line 37

 Situation described: Destruction of Nature

 Social Situation: Destruction
 Physical Place: River
 Time: Day
LANGUAGE

A Musical Instrument

BY ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

What was he doing, the great god Pan,

Down in the reeds by the river ?

Spreading ruin and scattering ban,

Splashing and paddling with hoofs of a goat,

And breaking the golden lilies afloat

With the dragon-fly on the river.

II

He tore out a reed, the great god Pan,

From the deep cool bed of the river :

The limpid water turbidly ran,

And the broken lilies a-dying lay,

And the dragon-fly had fled away,

Ere he brought it out of the river.

 III

High on the shore sate the great god Pan,

While turbidly flowed the river ;

And hacked and hewed as a great god can,

With his hard bleak steel at the patient reed,

Till there was not a sign of a leaf indeed

To prove it fresh from the river.

IV

He cut it short, did the great god Pan,

(How tall it stood in the river !)

Then drew the pith, like the heart of a man,

Steadily from the outside ring,

And notched the poor dry empty thing

In holes, as he sate by the river.

This is the way,' laughed the great god Pan,

Laughed while he sate by the river,)

The only way, since gods began

To make sweet music, they could succeed.'

Then, dropping his mouth to a hole in the reed,

He blew in power by the river.

 VI

Sweet, sweet, sweet, O Pan !

Piercing sweet by the river !

Blinding sweet, O great god Pan !

The sun on the hill forgot to die,

And the lilies revived, and the dragon-fly

Came back to dream on the river.

VII

Yet half a beast is the great god Pan,

To laugh as he sits by the river,

Making a poet out of a man :

The true gods sigh for the cost and pain, —

For the reed which grows nevermore again

As a reed with the reeds in the river.

WORD DENOTATION CONNOTATION

Great god Pan Greek God Struggles
River Natural flow of water Life
Reed Slender-leaved plant People
Dragon - fly Insect Hope

Vocabulary Words:
 Reed
 A tall, slender-leaved plant of the grass family that grows in water or on
marshy ground.
 A thing or person resembling or likened to a reed, in particular.

 Ban
 Officially or legally prohibit
 An official or legal prohibition.

 Paddling
 The act of moving a boat by means of a paddle
 A spanking or beating with a paddle

 Hoofs
 The horny part of the foot of an ungulate animal, especially a horse.
 Go on foot

 Limpid
 (Of a liquid) free of anything that darkens; completely clear.
 (Of a person's eyes) unclouded; clear.
 (Especially of writing or music) clear and accessible or melodious.

 Turbidly
 A liquid; not clean or clear

 Ere
 Before (in time)

 Hacked
 Cut with rough or heavy blows.

 Hewed
 Chop or cut (something, especially wood) with an ax, pick, or other tool.
 Conform or adhere to.

 Bleak
 (Of an area of land) lacking vegetation and exposed to the elements.
  (Of a building or room) charmless and inhospitable; dreary.
 (Of the weather) cold and miserable.

 Pith
 Soft or spongy tissue in plants or animals, in particular
 The essence of something.

 Notched
 Synonyms: cut, score, incise, carve, slit, groove,
 Score or achieve (something).

Explanation/Analysis why EBB used these words:

IMAGERY

A Musical Instrument

Repetition What was he doing, the great god Pan,

Down in the reeds by the river ?

Spreading ruin and scattering ban,

Splashing and paddling with hoofs of a goat,

And breaking the golden lilies afloat

Repetition With the dragon-fly on the river.

 II

Repetition He tore out a reed, the great god Pan,

From the deep cool bed of the river :

The limpid water turbidly ran,

And the broken lilies a-dying lay,

And the dragon-fly had fled away,

Repetition Ere he brought it out of the river.

III

High on the shore sate the great god Pan,

Repetition
While turbidly flowed the river ;

And hacked and hewed as a great god can,

With his hard bleak steel at the patient reed,

Till there was not a sign of a leaf indeed

Repetition To prove it fresh from the river.

IV

Repetition He cut it short, did the great god Pan,

(How tall it stood in the river !)

Then drew the pith, like the heart of a man,

Steadily from the outside ring,

 And notched the poor dry empty thing

Repetition In holes, as he sate by the river.

Repetition This is the way,' laughed the great god Pan,

Laughed while he sate by the river,)

The only way, since gods began

To make sweet music, they could succeed.'

Then, dropping his mouth to a hole in the reed,

Repetition He blew in power by the river.

VI

Repetition Sweet, sweet, sweet, O Pan !

Piercing sweet by the river !

Blinding sweet, O great god Pan !

The sun on the hill forgot to die,

And the lilies revived, and the dragon-fly

Repetition Came back to dream on the river.

VII

Repetition Yet half a beast is the great god Pan,

 To laugh as he sits by the river,

Making a poet out of a man :

The true gods sigh for the cost and pain, —

For the reed which grows nevermore again

Repetition As a reed with the reeds in the river.

RHYTHM-- Meter:

A Musical Instrument
BY ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

What was he / doing, the / great god Pan,

Down in the / reeds by the /river?

Spreading ru / in and scat / tering ban,

Splashing and / paddling with / hoofs of a / goat,

And breaking / the golden / liliesa / float

With the dra / gon-fly on / the river.

II
 He tore out/ a reed, the / great god Pan,

From the deep / cool bed of /the river :

The limpid / water tur / bidly ran,

And the bro / ken lilies / a-dying lay,

And the dra/gon-fly had / fled away,

Ere he brought/ it out of /the river.

III

High on the /shore sat the / great god Pan,

While turbid / ly flowed the / river ;

And hacked and / hewed as a / great god can,

With his hard / bleak steel at/ the patient / reed,

Till there was / not a sign / of a leaf / indeed

To prove it / fresh from the / river.

IV

He cut it / short, did the / great god Pan,

(How tall it / stood in the / river !)

Then drew the / pith, like the / heart of a /man,

Steadily from / the outside / ring,

And notched the / poor dry emp / ty thing

 In holes, as / as he sat by / the river.

This is the / way,“laughed the / great god Pan,

Laughed while he / sat by the / river,)

“The only way, / since gods began

To make sweet / music, they / could succeed.”

Then, dropping his mouth to a hole in the reed,

He blew in / power by / the river.

VI

Sweet, sweet, sweet, / O Pan!

Piercing sweet by / the river!

Blinding sweet, / O great god / Pan!

The sun on / the hill for / got to die,

And the lil/ies revived, / and the dra / gon-fly

Came back to / dream on the / river.

VII
 Yet half a / beast is the / great god Pan,

To laugh as / he sits by / the river,

Making a poet /out of a /man:

The true gods / sigh for the / cost and pain, —

For the reed / which grows nev /ermore again

As a reed / with the reeds / in the river.

A Musical Instrument consists of 6 lines (Sextets)

Meter: Dactylic Trimeter

Rhyme (Rhythmic pattern): A-B-A-C-C-B

TONE

Based on the meter and rhythmic pattern of the poem, it suggests a smooth
movement or flow of the poem. The persona shows

STYLE

- Formal

Enjambment.

Verbs. EBB used active voice in the poem

Sentence Structure. Each stanza makes a sentence.

Punctuation.

a. Commas - Commas provides a very brief pause to convey concern

like in the first stanza line 1 Elizabeth Barrett Browning use commas to
separate the description of thoughts like(“he” to “Pan”) while in Line 3
and 4 is parallelism (Spreading, scattering, Splashing and paddling)and
 we also have series of event Line 15, 16, 17, 18 (And hacked and hewed
as a great god can, With his hard bleak steel at the patient reed, Till there
was not sign of the leaf indeed To prove it fresh from the river). They are
divided. Commas usually use to check the speed of the reader.

b. Period – The most understandable punctuation mark. It indicates the full-

stop of a poem like in Stanza 1 Line 6 (With the dragon – fly on the
river.)Stanza 2 Line 12 (Ere he brought it out of the river.)Stanza 3 Line
18 (To prove it fresh from the river.)Stanza 4 Line 24 (In holes, as he sat
by the river.) Stanza 5 Line 30 (He blew in power by the river.)Stanza 6
Line 36 (Came back to dream on the river.)Stanza 7 Line 42 (As a reed
with the reeds in the river.)

c. Colon– Colon has definite role in a poem. It indicates that have follow
things that happen; following statement like Stanza 2 Line 8 (From the
deep cools bed of the river:)and Stanza 7 Line 39 (Making a poet out of a
man:)There is something important to pay attention.

d. Semi-colon –It is a cautionary pause, it indicates to wait like Stanza 3 Line

14 (While turbidly flowed the river ;)

e. Parentheses– It is the side comment of the author like Stanza 4 Line 20

(How tall it stood in the river!) and Stanza 5 Line 26 (Laughed while he
sat by the river!)

f. Exclamation Point – It is emotional burst out, usually the effect of

imagery. Stanza 4 Line 20 (How tall it stood in the river!)Stanza 6 Line 31
(Sweet, sweet, sweet, o Pan!)Stanza 6 Line 32 (Piercing sweet by the
river!)Stanza 6 Line 33 (Blinding sweet, O great god Pan!)Fleeting due
the emotion of the reader.

g. Question Mark – It is the judgment calllike Stanza 1 line 2 (Down in the

reeds by the river?)

h. Quotation Marks – Emphasize the words or thought, it is usually a direct

speech like Stanza 5 Line 25 (“This is the way,” laughed of the great god
Pan,)
 i. Hyphen – To emphasis on the rhythm of the word and meaning of the
word(dragon – fly)of Stanza 1 Line 6, Stanza 2 Line 11, Stanza 6 line 35
and to introduce like (pain –)of Stanza 7 Line 40.

THEME

Struggles make our lives hard but it will mold us to be a better person.

Interpretation by stanza and as a whole based on the elements used:

a. Interpretation as a Whole

Elizabeth Barrett Browning shows in her poet, “A Musical Instrument” the natural
process in human’s life. That we, humans, cannot be considered alive if we did not
undergo different challenges that mold us to be a strong person. “A Musical Instrument”
describes the painful process of learning life’s lessons and how these lessons help us to
be a better person.

In the poem, “A Musical Instrument”, EBB used a lot of symbolisms

first symbolism is the great god Pan himself. EBB used the Greek god to symbolize
“Struggles”. Even though Pan is a god, he is also a beast. Just like the struggles we have
in life. We also thought that struggles make our lives miserable but come to think of it,
we can also consider them as blessing in disguised. For which without them, we cannot
realize how strong we really are. We should not always think them as a “beast” in our
lives, we should also consider them as “god”.

The second symbolism is the river. The word ‘river’ in the poem symbolizes “Life”.
River as we all know is flowing freely.We cannot control it. Just like us, we cannot
control our lives. River can be peaceful sometimes but there are also times that the water
flows rapidly. We cannot predict the flow of the river, just like our lives.

The third symbolism is the reed. Reed in the poem symbolizes “People”. Pan destroyed
the reed first to make a beautiful musical instrument. We’re just merely a reed which
without Pan, cannot transform into a musical instrument by ourselves. We cannot become
a stronger if we didn’t face any challenges in our lives. We just have to accept the fact
that we also need struggles to become a better person. Just like how reed needed Pan to
be a musical instrument.
The fourth symbolism is the dragonfly. Dragonfly symbolizes “Hope”. Dragonfly, in the
poem, is always seen on the river. It was only Pan who made the dragonfly go when he
ruined the river. Applying it in our lives, sometimes when we think that our problems
have no solutions, we tend to lose hope. We tend to give up. That’s when the dragonfly in
ourselves flies and left us out.

b. Interpretation by Stanza

1ST AND 2ND STANZAS

And breaking the golden lilies afloat,

With the dragon-fly on the river.

And the broken lilies a-dying lay,

And the dragon-fly had fled away,

In these stanzas, EBB described how Pan destroyed the reed in the river. She also
described the beautiful things that Pan destroyed that can be found in the river.

From the deep cool bed of the river:

The limpid water turbidly ran,

Elizabeth Barrett Browning also used the two contrary words “limpid” which means clear
and “turbidly” means muddy in describing the water in the river. It only shows that life
has two faces—the good and the bad. Also, the words, “deep cool” describes the river.
Isn’t it sometimes we thought that life is easy. Just like how these words stand in the
poem. It describes the river as deep cool but when Pan went into it, it becomes muddy.
Just like in our lives, we always thought that we are living comfortably until struggles
knocked us down.

And the dragon-fly had fled away,

Ere he brought it out of the river.

Dragonfly in these stanzas serves as hope. This line in the poem shows that the dragonfly
already flew before Pan destroys it. It only shows that even though struggles make our
lives hard and sometimes we become hopeless, the flame of hope inside us never dies.
We lose hope, yes but our hope, no matter how small, does not die.

3rd STANZA
High on the shore sat the great god Pan

In this line, it describes how humans feel when problems drag them down. That, no
matter what we do, we feel that the hardships prevail in our lives. That there is no way
out.

Till there was not a sign of the leaf indeed

In this line, it describes that reed cannot produce a single leaf because of Pan’s beating. It
only shows that we, people, when we experience hardships in life, we tend to lose hope.

4th STANZA

In this stanza, Elizabeth Barrett Browning described the process of molding human’s life.
Pan, in this stanza, already started to create a musical instrument using the reed.

Then drew the pith, like the heart of a man,

In this line, Pith is also a symbolism. Pan is described to draw the pith or the soft interior
of the reed. It symbolizes the heart of the man. That once we already accept the problems
positively, we can have the heart to continue moving on.

5th STANZA

The only way, since gods began

To make sweet music, they could succeed.

In this stanza, Pan is already done molding the reed. He already made a musical
instrument out of reed. It shows that the only way for us to be stronger is to actually face
challenges. We need struggles for us to realize that we are a better person.

6th STANZA

Piercing sweet by the river!

And the lilies revived, and the dragon-fly

Came back to dream on the river.

 “Piercing sweet” shows how beautiful the great god Pan is in the river. It means that if
we accept the challenges or problems that come in our way positively, we can understand
why these problems existed in our lives. Or what their purpose is. In this stanza, it also
shows that all the things that Pan destroyed came back to life. Meaning, once we
overcome these hardships, we become a better person. We are hopeful again. We think
optimistically that we can surpass challenges that come in our way.

7th STANZA

For the reed which grows nevermore again

As a reed with the reeds in the river

In the last stanza, it shows that the reed which transformed into a musical instrument can
never be reed again. If we overcome challenges and we learned something from it, we
can never be the same person as we are before who is weak, coward and fragile.
Struggles made us strong and better person.

Gynocriticism

A Musical Instrument is a poem about overcoming struggles in our lives, which is

different from what her themes usually are. Just like love, struggle is also one of the
recipes in human life. Everyone had a taste of it – bitter or sweet. Everyone knows how
these made impact in our lives. In short, everyone can relate to it, No matter what kind
of people you are, no matter what gender you have, and no matter how big your name
is. Even Elizabeth Barrett Browning herself, such a noble and respectable lady of her
generation, also faced difficult times. In this poem, she once again impressed her
readers for her flexibility as a writer. She used a lot of symbolisms to express her
thoughts creatively. Different emotions are also enveloped in these 7 stanza poem. She
described the destruction of the river flawlessly, as if we are at the scene where Pan
shamelessly smashing the poor little reeds. We felt how sad the persona is when the
river got destroyed. We felt pity for those reeds. But at the latter part, we realized that
Pan has a purpose why he did those horrible things. We realized that it was necessary.
Why do you think we shift from sadness to relief? Because of Elizabeth Barrett
Browning’s majestic type of writing. She manipulates the emotions of her readers
through her pen. She controls the emotions. That is because of her creativity. She truly
is the counter-part of Shakespeare. This poem mirrors Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s life
and perspective. She also experienced challenges that dragged her down. Her father’s
financial losses, she was diagnosed with a disease, she lost her mother and her brother.
Life has been hard for her. But unlike the typical, cliché and stereotype kind of women
who are fragile, weak and hopeless, Elizabeth Barrett Browning stood tall. She never
gave up. Instead, she continued writing to inspire people. To promote hope through
writing. This poem shows how brave and strong woman Elizabeth Barrett Browning is.
The world had a glimpse of what a woman, who has been through a lot, can do. This
proves woman are also capable of inspiring people through their experiences. Not all
guys wear capes, sometimes even woman can be a superhero.

EXPRESSIVE THEORY OF ART

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a celebrated English poet of the Romantic Movement.
The story within the poem of “A Musical Instrument” is fairly straight forward. It is
commonly depicted about human being and this is among of her last published works
before she died in 1861. She writes “A Musical Instrument “because it is about human
life. It is all about the painful process of life like what she experienced on her own. She
was illness at the age of 15, (life long illness), her mother early died while her father was
dominant and strong-willed man and she was discriminated of being a woman poet. For
forty years of her life she was lived under her beloved father side that’s why this is one of
her motivation and inspiration of her works. She emphasize on human struggles, freedom
of individual expression, emotional directness and the primacy of being a woman poet.
She tries to express the process of human life that life is full of struggles. It takes a long
road to success Deal with many ups and downs. You must get ready to face all these
things bravely. It will put you on a painful situation to become a stronger and molded of
being a better person. It leaves lessons that, “We learn through the pain and failure of
our life. “