Remembrance of an End

A Complaint

BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

There is a change—and I am poor;
Your love hath been, nor long ago,
A fountain at my fond heart's door,
Whose only business was to flow;
And flow it did; not taking heed
Of its own bounty, or my need.

What happy moments did I count!
Blest was I then all bliss above
Now, for that consecrated fount
Of murmuring, sparkling, living love,
What have I? shall I dare to tell?
A comfortless and hidden well.

A well of love—it may be deep—
I trust it is,—and never dry:
What matter? if the waters sleep
In silence and obscurity.
—Such change, and at the very door
Of my fond heart, hath made me poor.

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Upon first read of this poem, it is clear that the speaker must learn to live on a type of love they are not comfortable or familiar with. The "change" that is spoken of is the way the speaker receives love and affection from the person they care about. It has changed from a never-ending stream of reminders that what they are part of is real and mutual to a still, silent love that may not include this constant reassurance and stability that the speaker craves. The hardest part of love is when the emotion lingers after the relationship has ended. Love does not require action, but happiness can require demonstrative love. 

The first stanza discusses the puppy love that the speaker shared with the addressee not long ago. This attachment was filled with excitement and passion. The speaker reminisces the times when their connection was constant, "not taking heed/Of its own bounty, or my need".  Their relationship consisted of performative gestures, constantly giving to one another and receiving gratitude in return. There was no shortage of this kind of affection in the speaker's life. The speaker becomes accustomed to this lifestyle. A love that was in "flow" because, like a river, it did not stop coming. 

Like all other pieces of life, it did, however. The second stanza begins to change tense and the tone of the poem becomes melancholy and nostalgic. Halfway through this stanza, the tense changes from past to present. The reader is now exposed to the speaker's present reality. The speaker asks the question "what have I?" to convey that what was there before, isn't. The vivacious love that was described no longer exists the way that it used to. It cannot be described the same way. The author uses this change in tense to signify a change in the speaker's life. With this stanza comes an introduction to the harder part of love. 

It is the part that is not written about. Love still exists even when the relationship does not. The relationship between the speaker and their significant other has experienced change that is powerful enough to redefine the way the speaker discusses love. The flowing river no longer exists in this present, but is now a stagnant well. Their relationship still contains love, though it is not active love. The speaker says the well is "never dry", meaning it is possible for the speaker to recall their relationship and the fondness is still present in the speaker's life, but likely they have no way of reforming a bond that was lost. The core of the relationship is there, but the actions no longer match the amount of love or, in the analogy, water. They no longer act on this emotion, causing the lack of "flow" in this new stage of their relationship. The focus of their love has changed and morphed into "silence and obscurity". The speaker mourns the love they used to share and attempts to heal the deep, metaphorical wounds that were left behind.

In a period of poems about romance, this poem focuses on the loss that coincides with love. Loving deeply results in hurt as the last line points out "Such change, and at the very door/Of my fond heart, hath made me poor". This poem focuses on how difficult it can be to know love and watch it slowly disappear or fade. "The Complaint" that the poem highlights is the hardships that accompany love. Happiness dependent on another person is the fastest way to destroy yourself.