When Silence Becomes the Greatest Symphony
How Still How Happy
Emily Jane Bronte
How still, how happy! Those are words
That once would scarce agree together;
I loved the plashing of the surge,
The changing heaven the breezy weather,
More than smooth seas and cloudless skies
And solemn, soothing, softened airs
That in the forest woke no sighs
And from the green spray shook no tears.
How still, how happy! now I feel
Where silence dwells is sweeter far
Than laughing mirth’s most joyous swell
However pure its raptures are.
Come, sit down on this sunny stone:
‘Tis wintry light o’er flowerless moors,
But sit, for we are all alone
And clear expand heaven’s breathless shores.
I could think in the withered grass
Spring’s budding wreaths we might discern;
The violet’s eye might shyly flash
And young leaves shoot among the fern.
It is but thought, full many a night
The snow shall clothe those hills afar
And storms shall add a drearier blight
And winds shall wage a wilder war,
Before the lark may herald in
Fresh foliage twined with blossoms fair
And summer days again begin
Their glory, haloed crown to wear.
Yet my heart loves December’s smile
As much as July’s golden beam;
Then let us sit and watch the while
The blue ice curdling on the stream.
In a world constantly in motion, Brontë reminds us that stillness is not absence—it is presence of a different kind. Her words find contentment not in thrill but in quiet, not in spring’s bloom but winter’s bare honesty. This poem speaks to the heart that has endured and now finds joy not despite silence—but because of it.
❓ Reflective Questions:
- What does “stillness” mean to you, and how has your relationship with it changed over time?
- How might Brontë’s winter setting reflect a personal emotional season in your life?
- Do you believe joy can be found in solitude, even during life’s bleakest landscapes?
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