Achieve High Marks with Away, Melancholy by Stevie Smith: A Full Poem Breakdown

Featured in the Cambridge iGCSE Vol I anthology, this poem explores the existential struggle between the desire for peace and the inevitable return of melancholy. Smith’s sharp, introspective writing tackles complex emotions, providing key insights for tackling themes of isolation, identity, and the human condition in your exam.

Analysis
"Away, Melancholy" by Stevie Smith is a poem that seeks to dispel feelings of sadness and despair. The poet calls for melancholy to be banished, emphasising the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Through vivid imagery of nature's wonders, such as the sun, moon, stars, and the vast sea, and humankind's capacity for love, Smith encourages embracing the joy and marvels around us. The poem contrasts the heaviness of sorrow with the lightness of nature's splendour, suggesting that appreciating the world's beauty should be enough to drive away melancholy.

00:00 Introduction
00:05 Biographical and historical context
03:00 Structural overview
06:30 Title
06:46 Line-by-line analysis

Additional Resources
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The Poem: Away, melancholy by Stevie Smith

Away, melancholy,
Away with it, let it go.

Are not the trees green,
The earth as green?
Does not the wind blow,
Fire leap and the rivers flow?
Away melancholy.

The ant is busy
He carrieth his meat,
All things hurry
To be eaten or eat.
Away, melancholy.

Man, too, hurries,
Eats, couples, buries,
He is an animal also
With a hey ho melancholy,
Away with it, let it go.

Man of all creatures
Is superlative
(Away melancholy)
He of all creatures alone
Raiseth a stone
(Away melancholy)
Into the stone, the god
Pours what he knows of good
Calling, good, God.
Away melancholy, let it go.

Speak not to me of tears,
Tyranny, pox, wars,
Saying, Can God
Stone of man's thoughts, be good?
Say rather it is enough
That the stuffed
Stone of man's good, growing,
By man's called God.
Away, melancholy, let it go.

Man aspires
To good,
To love
Sighs;

Beaten, corrupted, dying
In his own blood lying
Yet heaves up an eye above
Cries, Love, love.
It is his virtue needs explaining,
Not his failing.

Away, melancholy,
Away with it, let it go

About Me
I’m an experienced English teacher with over 25 years of classroom and private tutoring experience. My videos are tailored to help students achieve top marks in AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas/WJEC, CCEA and Cambridge IGCSE English exams.

Please note that any literature analysis is highly subjective and may disagree with analysis by another person. All interpretations are valid if they can be justified by reference to the text. This interpretation is my own: it is not exhaustive and there are alternatives!

Let’s Discuss!
What do you think about Away, Melancholy by Stevie Smith?

In this poem, the speaker seems to dismiss melancholy, almost as if it’s an unwanted visitor. How does Smith use the speaker’s tone and attitude to convey themes of existential angst and the fleeting nature of emotions?
The title suggests a desire for melancholy to leave, yet the poem’s imagery paints a picture of lingering sadness. How does this tension between the speaker’s wish and the reality of their emotions deepen the poem’s meaning?
Smith’s poem is filled with playful yet sombre imagery. How do these contrasts between light-heartedness and melancholy help to express the speaker’s complex feelings?
The poem doesn’t offer a resolution, leaving the melancholy unresolved. How does this open-endedness contribute to the sense of uncertainty and disillusionment in the poem?