BELLS FOR JOHN WHITESIDE’S
DAUGHTER
Annotated and explicated by: Brady McQueeney
and Grant Hendrix
PARAPHRASE AND OUTSIDE
INFORMATION
The poem “Bells for John Whiteside’s Daughter”
written by John Crow Ransom is an metaphysical elegy, a
community remembering John Whiteside’s daughter.
They remember the energy and liveliness she was filled
with but the remembrance is interrupted by the sound of
funeral bells for the same girl that was once filled wit life
not long ago. This poem was written in the modern era,
more specifically in 1924.
IN DEPTH: STANZA #1
In stanza #1 diction like “speed,” “little,” and
“lightness” imply that the subject the speaker is talking
about is young or small. “Lightness” being used in past
tense implies there is a contrast with her stillness in the
present. The phrase “brown study” may be referring to
the famous sculpture of The Thinker, which tells us she
was quite contemplative.
IN DEPTH: STANZA #2
The speaker is still speaking in the past tense,
remembering this young girl. The speaker is revealed to
be a collective of people, most likely the community,
who once watched the girl from their “high window” as
she enjoyed the outdoors. The speaker specifically says
“where she took arms against her shadow” which could
be an allusion to Hamlet’s famous soliloquy.
IN DEPTH: STANZA #3
The third stanza is a more detailed memory of
geese. Ransom compares the geese to snow clouds
“dripping their snow” on everything. The geese’s snow
are the feathers that constantly fall off. “Green grass” is
an alliteration that symbolizes life, which could be
connected to the past liveliness of the girl.
IN DEPTH: STANZA #4
The fourth stanza continues the memory of the
geese but the girl is introduced as she prods the geese
with a “rod that made them rise” from their lazy routine.
This stanza shows that the girl was curious just like any
other child that comes in contact with a creature.
THE SHIFT
The shift occurs after the fourth stanza and
before the fifth. Beforehand the community was
remembering the life of this young girl and how
energetic she was, to then talking about how now she is
lifeless and still.
IN DEPTH: STANZA #5
The word “But” is an obvious sign of a shift and
contrast, for the community was once remembering the
energy present in this girl to hearing the “bells” of her
funeral, creating an attitude of shock. The contrast is
almost ironic and just to point out the connection
Ransom uses anaphora speaking of “her brown study”
once again.
THEME
The message Ransom is trying to convey is
that ultimately life is fragile, even those full of life
can lose it tomorrow.
AP PROMPT
How does the author reinforce meaning through his use of figurative
language, tone, structure, and other literary features?
My thesis would be something along the lines of: John Crow Ransom
conveys his message of the true fragility of life through a shocking shift,
numerous allusions and the usage of a vivid flashback.
For topic sentences I would say: Ransom speaks of a girl so full of
life the entire poem in order to shock his audience with the shift revealing that
she has died unexpectedly. As well as: The first four stanzas are a flashback to
create an emotional attachment to this young girl only to expose that she has
suddenly died not too long afterwards.
WORKS CITED
• Ransom, John C. "Poetry.literaturelearning.org." Bells for John Whiteside's
Daughter. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.
• Cummings, Michael J. "Bells for John Whiteside's Daughter A Study
Guide."Cummings Study Guides. N.p., 2010. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.
• Bells for John Whiteside's Daughter Summary - ENotes.com." Enotes.com.
Enotes.com, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.
SCAN OF ANNOTATION
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