Leaves of Grass · Chapter
Old Ireland explained
The poem personifies Ireland as an ancient sorrowful mother mourning over a grave, believing her son (hope and heir) is dead.
What happens
The poem personifies Ireland as an ancient sorrowful mother mourning over a grave, believing her son (hope and heir) is dead. It then reassures her that her son is not dead but has been translated and reborn in a new country, symbolizing the rebirth of hope and spirit in America.
Themes in this chapter
Death and Immortality
The mother's son is not truly dead but translated and reborn, illustrating immortality through transformation.
America and Its People
America is depicted as the new country where the spirit of Ireland is reborn with rosy and new blood.
Characters to notice
- Dread Mother
Personified as ancient sorrowful mother, once a queen, now lean and tatter'd, mourning over a grave.
- Christ
Referenced as the Lord who is not dead but risen again young and strong in another country.
Key passages
“Far hence amid an isle of wondrous beauty, Crouching over a grave an ancient sorrowful mother, Once a queen, now lean and tatter'd seated on the ground, Her old white hair drooping dishevel'd round her shoulders, At her feet fallen an unused royal harp, Long silent, she too long silent, mourning her shrouded hope and heir, Of all the earth her heart most full of sorrow because most full of love.”
In a distant beautiful island, an old grieving mother—once a queen, now ragged and worn—kneels by a grave, her white hair disheveled, a silent harp at her feet. She mourns her lost hope and heir, her sorrow immense because her love was immense.
Establishes the image of Ireland as a mourning mother, full of love and grief.
“Yet a word ancient mother, You need crouch there no longer on the cold ground with forehead between your knees, O you need not sit there veil'd in your old white hair so dishevel'd, For know you the one you mourn is not in that grave, It was an illusion, the son you love was not really dead, The Lord is not dead, he is risen again young and strong in another country, Even while you wept there by your fallen harp by the grave, What you wept for was translated, pass'd from the grave, The winds favor'd and the sea sail'd it, And now with rosy and new blood, Moves to-day in a new country.”
But listen, ancient mother: you don't need to kneel there anymore. Your son is not in that grave—it was an illusion. The Lord is not dead; he has risen young and strong in another land. While you wept, what you mourned was transformed, carried by wind and sea, and now lives with fresh, rosy blood in a new country.
The poem offers hope, declaring that Ireland's spirit has been reborn in America.