Somewhere Out There: The Intertextual Exploration of A Faraway Poem in A Farewell to Arms

Two types of literature, Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "Sweet and Low" and Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms, express the similar message of loving someone special from afar. The character of the former literature expresses a venturing man's deep love for his child back home, while the latter work alludes to the aforementioned poem when the main character reflects on his beloved from afar, Catherine, emphasizing a theme of keeping love alive in the midst of difficult conditions. Henry, the main character of the story, is driving down the road of a tranquil town, while he reflects on how a war pal f his, Barto, got together with "a couple of  fine girls." (Hemingway 157). Thinking about those girls leads to Henry thinking about his girlfriend from far away, Catherine. Henry wonders if "Catherine [is] in bed now" or if she was "lying" awake "thinking about him." (Hemingway 157). He then says, "Blow, blow ye western wind...Blow her again to me," directly alluding to "Sweet and Low" lines "Wind in the western sea,/ low, low, breathe and blow,/ Wind of the western sea...Blow him again to me"(Tennyson 2-4, 7) (Hemingway 157). In a time where Henry tries to rest in the humble town, he still can't fight the passionate feelings for the woman he loves. He knows he can't escape his duty at war and is willing to do anything to be closer to Catherine, even if that means something as imaginary as asking a wind to bring his love directly to him. Directly alluding to the poem, "Sweet and Low," Hemingway reflects on how the poet wishes for the western wind to carry his son his way across vicious seas and visualizes a loving image that is not too different. He examines the emotional and physical boundaries both characters wish to cross in getting home to the people they love the most. Under confusing times, Henry thinks of Catherine, just as the speaker in the poem thinks about his son while sailing across open seas. The wind is a powerful force of nature and has the ability to whisk away the smallest of leaves or other things off the ground. In his imagination, Henry wishes for the strongest elements of nature to help him be with Catherine, and so, the text refers to the poetic speaker's love for his son to echo the pain and longing that comes with wanting to be with someone who's so physically distant. Continuing to express his love, the main character of the story whispers aloud, " 'Good night, Catherine. I hope you sleep well...In a little while, it will be morning and then it won't be so bad...Try and go to sleep, sweet." (Hemingway 157). The way Henry openly pines for Catherine alludes to a similar way in which the speaker of "Sweet and Low" speaks aloud to his distant son, "Sleep and rest, sleep and rest,/ Father will come to thee soon;/ rest, rest, on mother's breast,/ father will come to thee soon...sleep, my little one, sleep my pretty one, sleep." (Tennyson 9-12, 16). When one is away from the person he cares about more than anyone for so long, it sometimes makes sense to talk to that person in a way that comforts the person, even if it means not directly talking to him face-to-face. As Hemingway alludes once more to the poem of Tennyson, he briefly brings together two men in two different worlds who both want the same thing: to be home with the person they love the most. The bitterness and bloodshed of war are traumatizing experiences, and one of the greatest factors, sometimes the only factor, that keeps a soldier going is the thought of being home with his wife or girlfriend. Speaking to thin air like the speaker in "Sweet and Low," Henry relies once more on the strength of the wind to carry across his message of love to Catherine.