# The Lily of Yorrow explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Henry van Dyke Jr..

## What happens

A lyrical poem describing the mystical lily of Yorrow, a blue woodland flower with an enchanting fragrance that haunts all who perceive it, leading them on a lifelong quest to find it. The flower symbolizes peace, joy, and hidden secrets, and the poem reflects on a companion who found it and disappeared, leaving the speaker hopeful to find it tomorrow.

## Themes in this chapter

### Spiritual Peace and Rest

The lily represents ultimate peace and the crown of a lifelong endeavor.

### Nature and Divine Beauty

The lily's blue cup, mystical odor, and the forest setting evoke divine natural beauty.

### The Pilgrimage of Life

The quest for the lily symbolizes life's pilgrimage toward hidden truth and fulfillment.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who describes the lily and laments a comrade who found it and vanished.

## Key lines

> Deep in the heart of the forest the lily of Yorrow is growing; Blue is its cup as the sky, and with mystical odour o’erflowing

The lily of Yorrow grows deep in the forest, its blue cup like the sky and overflowing with a mystical scent.

_Introduces the central symbol of the poem._

> Surely to see it is peace and the crown of a life-long endeavour; Surely to pluck it is gladness—but they who have found it can never Tell of the gladness and peace: they are hid from our vision for ever.

Seeing the lily brings peace and is the reward of a lifelong effort; plucking it brings joy, but those who find it cannot describe that joy and peace, as they are hidden from us forever.

_Highlights the ineffable nature of the lily's gift._

> He has discovered it first, and perhaps I shall find it to-morrow.

He found it first, and maybe I will find it tomorrow.

_Ends with hope and anticipation for the speaker's own discovery._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se/chapters/the-lily-of-yorrow
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se/chapters