Poetry · Chapter
XIII: Go Seek Her Out All Courteously explained
The narrator implores the wind to act as a messenger, urging it to courteously seek out his beloved and announce his imminent arrival.
What happens
The narrator implores the wind to act as a messenger, urging it to courteously seek out his beloved and announce his imminent arrival. He insists that no distance can separate them, and asks the wind to sing at her window of the approaching bridal hour when they will be reunited.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Longing
The poem is a passionate declaration of love and the urgent desire to be reunited with the beloved.
Nature and Mood
The wind is personified as a courteous messenger, and the imagery of gardens, seas, and lands reflects the natural world as a conduit for emotion.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Go seek her out all courteously, And say I come”
Go find her politely and tell her I am on my way.
The narrator instructs the wind to act as a gentle herald of his approach.
“For seas and lands shall not divide us, My love and me.”
No physical distance can separate us, my love and me.
A declaration of the unbreakable bond between the narrator and his beloved.
“Singing: The bridal wind is blowing For Love is at his noon; And soon will your true love be with you, Soon, O soon.”
Sing that the wedding wind is blowing because Love is at its peak, and your true love will be with you very soon.
The wind's song announces the imminent union, with Love personified at its zenith.