In Oscar Wilde’s poem “La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente”, we find a heavy influence from his travels to the classic lands — more specifically, Italy. The poem is invoked by the medieval tradition of courtly love, as the narrator depicts a woman with whom he is enamored by. The woman is portrayed as an unattainable and distant Mademoiselle, with whom the protagonist has no point of contact. The narrator is seduced by the very thought of this woman. Although there exists physical attention towards the “ Bella Donna”, he is engrossed by the mere contemplation of her. The narrator is merely describing the woman’s charm, in what seems to be her life journey. Wilde does not attempt to pursue her in anyway and instead, his purpose is to innocently describe this beauty. The narrator’s adoration for this woman is most obvious in the first stanza, where he pursues the “Bella Donna”, and fails to find her: “My feet are sore with travelling, For, calling on my Lady’s name”. However, it seems that in the second stanza, an encounter is apparent: “My gentle Lady passeth by”. The narrator gently describes her to be “too fair for any man to see or hold his heart’s delight”. Wilde has set the tone for a poem centered on an indulgence of beauty and remote desire.
A subtle, but key component that must be considered when trying to understand the poem is the title. “La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente”, translates into “The Beautiful Woman of My Mind”, indicating the woman may have never existed. Just as whispers chanted that Dante’s Beatrice was but a fantasy, the “Bella Donna” may have well in fact, been the pure invention of the author’s imagination. Wilde could have possibly chosen a magnificent woman to be the exemplar of every human’s fear, which encompasses the passage of time, decay of youth, and our inability to control this. For instance, in just a matter of years this woman will grow old — and her once rose petal cheeks will blush no longer. Throughout each stanza, a season is described in no apparent order, however. Wilde uses the seasons to indicate a time flow, which is most evident in: “Green grasses through the yellow sheaves, Of autumn corn are not more fair” (line 15-16). In the fifth stanza, the woman’s lips are compared to: “roses after evening rain”(line 20); in which roses are commonly found in the springtime. In the seventh stanza, the “Bella Donna” is compared to a pomegranate: “As a pomegranate, cut in twain, White-seeded, is her crimson mouth” (line 25-26). Lastly, in the final stanza, the enthralling woman’s visage is afflicted by her age: “White body made for love and pain! O House of love! O desolate , Pale flower beaten by the rain!” (line 31-32).
The focus of youth, infatuation and an unsettled mind are also pivoted in Oscar Wilde’s famous novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, which I coincidentally read this summer. While sitting for his portrait, the protagonist Dorian Gray wishes to never grow old. Being the Gothic novel that it is, we discover his wish is then fulfilled. Dorian Gray soon lives a life of hedonism and debauchery where each sin committed is displayed as a disfigurement on his portrait, which ultimately leads to his death. The moral from this story is that some life patterns cannot be changed, and human beings just need to accept that beauty will vanish at some point in everyone’s life. Like in “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, there lives a darkness in “La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente”. We find here: “Her little lips, more made to kiss…Than to cry bitterly for pain” (lines17-18) and “The throbbing of the linnet's throat…Is not so sweet to look upon.” (lines 23-24). Such references seek to display a wild sense of despair, whether that pain is inflicted on the narrator or the woman remains a mystery.
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