Poetry · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for Poetry by John Keats.
Chapter 1
Imitation of Spenser
The poem describes a beautiful morning landscape with a verdant hill, a clear rill, and a lake that reflects the sky and surrounding bowers. The speaker observes a kingfisher, fish, and a swan, and imagines a fair isle in the lake so enchanting it could soothe Dido's grief or Lear's sorrow. The scene is depicted as an emerald in silver waters, with verdant slopes dipping into the tide and roses shedding tears.
Chapter 2
On Death
The speaker reflects on the paradox of fearing death when life itself is fleeting and dreamlike, questioning why humans endure suffering rather than embrace the awakening that death brings.
Chapter 3
To Byron
The speaker addresses Lord Byron, praising the sweet sadness of his melody and how it attunes the soul to tenderness. They suggest that Pity herself inspired Byron's plaintive lute, and that he has captured and preserved those tones. The speaker reflects that sorrow does not diminish Byron's delightfulness but rather adorns his griefs with a bright halo, comparing it to a golden moon veiled by a cloud whose sides glow resplendently. They urge Byron to continue singing his enchanting tale of pleasing woe.
Chapter 4
To Chatterton
The speaker laments the tragic early death of Thomas Chatterton, a young poet of genius, describing him as a child of sorrow and misery whose bright promise was cut short by death. Yet the poem finds consolation in the belief that Chatterton now dwells among the stars, singing beyond earthly fears, while on earth his name is honored by the good.
Chapter 5
Written on the Day That Mr. Leigh Hunt Left Prison
The poem celebrates the release of Leigh Hunt from prison, asserting that his spirit remained free and elevated through his engagement with literature, particularly the works of Spenser and Milton, despite his physical confinement.
Chapter 6
To Hope
The speaker invokes Hope as a comforting and protective force against despair, disappointment, and sorrow. Through a series of stanzas, Hope is called upon to dispel gloomy thoughts, ease the pain of unhappy love, and preserve the nation's honor and liberty. The poem concludes with a plea for Hope's celestial influence to shine through dark times.
Chapter 7
Ode to Apollo
The speaker addresses Apollo, the god of poetry, describing how the greatest bards—Homer, Virgil, Milton, Shakespeare, Spenser, and Tasso—are inspired in his presence. Each poet's unique style is evoked through vivid imagery of their music, from Homer's martial harp to Spenser's silver trumpet, culminating in the divine harmony when Apollo joins the Muses.
Chapter 8
To Some Ladies
The speaker addresses absent female friends, imagining their shared experiences in nature despite physical separation. He describes their exploration of landscapes, listening to nightingales, and gathering a shell as a keepsake, which he treasures as a symbol of their refined and pure minds.
Chapter 9
On Receiving a Curious Shell and a Copy of Verses from the Same Ladies
The speaker addresses a knight, asking if he possesses gems, goblets, steeds, swords, trumpets, or a scarf from his lady. The speaker then reveals his own blisses: a magical scroll and a canopy made by a fairy, under which King Oberon once languished for Titania. The canopy holds enchanted melodies that soothe the speaker, allowing him to escape pain and find repose.
Chapter 10
Stanzas to Miss Wylie
The speaker invites Georgiana to enjoy a beautiful natural setting, promising comfort and romantic intimacy through a blend of sensory pleasures and tender gestures.
Chapter 11
Woman! When I Behold Thee Flippant, Vain
The speaker oscillates between disdain and adoration for a woman, condemning her vanity and fickleness yet confessing an irresistible attraction. He contrasts her superficial charms with her rare moments of meekness and intelligence, which inspire a fervent desire to protect and love her. The poem explores the tension between physical allure and deeper virtue, ultimately affirming the enduring power of true beauty.
Chapter 12
To ⸻
The speaker imagines the beloved in ancient or chivalric times, praising her beauty, grace, and enchanting qualities, and concludes that she herself is an enchantress who would never harm those she captivates.
Chapter 13
Sonnet: Happy Is England!
The speaker expresses contentment with England's natural beauty and simple charms, yet confesses a longing for the more dramatic landscapes and passionate beauties of foreign lands, particularly Italy and the Alps.
Chapter 14
Sonnet: How Many Bards
The speaker reflects on how many poets have enriched time, and how their works serve as nourishment for his imagination. When he sits down to write, these bards crowd his mind, but instead of causing confusion, they create a harmonious and pleasing chime, much like the varied sounds of evening—birdsong, rustling leaves, water, and a distant bell—that blend into a soothing music rather than a wild uproar.
Chapter 15
On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer
The speaker reflects on his extensive literary travels through classical realms, but only upon reading George Chapman's translation of Homer does he experience a profound revelation, comparing the moment to an astronomer discovering a new planet or Cortez gazing at the Pacific from a peak in Darien.
Chapter 16
Epistle to George Felton Mathew
The speaker celebrates the joys of poetic brotherhood and laments the distractions that keep him from the Muse, longing for a return to nature and inspiration. He calls upon his friend Mathew to help him find a secluded, romantic spot where they can honor past poets and reflect on genius and freedom.
Chapter 17
Specimen of an Induction to a Poem
The speaker invokes a tale of chivalry, describing vivid images of plumes, lances, and a lady at a battlement. He questions how to revive the dying tones of minstrelsy and calls upon the spirit of Spenser for guidance, expressing a humble hope to follow in his poetic path.
Chapter 18
Calidore
Young Calidore paddles across a lake at evening, delighting in the natural beauty around him. He is called by a trumpet sound and eagerly rows to a castle where he is greeted by ladies and knights, including the renowned Sir Gondibert. The chapter ends with a peaceful, idyllic scene of conversation and camaraderie.
Chapter 19
To ⸻
The speaker imagines the beloved in ancient or chivalric times, praising her beauty, grace, and enchanting qualities, and concludes that she herself is an enchantress who would never harm those she captivates.
Chapter 20
To G. A. W.
The speaker addresses a nymph-like figure, musing on which moment of her day reveals her greatest beauty—whether in speech, thought, or playful movement—and concludes that she is so perfectly formed that no single mood can be deemed best.
Chapter 21
Sonnet: As from the Darkening Gloom
The speaker describes a soul ascending from darkness into light like a silver dove, entering a realm of peace and everlasting love where it joins an immortal choir or serves as a divine messenger. The poem ends with a rhetorical question questioning why grief should impair joy.
Chapter 22
On a Picture of Leander
The poem describes a picture of the young Leander drowning as he struggles to reach his beloved Hero, emphasizing his beauty, exhaustion, and tragic death in the sea.
Chapter 23
Sonnet: Oh! How I Love
The speaker expresses a deep love for a fair summer's eve, where the beauty of nature—streams of light, silver clouds, and balmy zephyrs—allows him to leave behind meaner thoughts and little cares. He finds a fragrant wild dressed with Nature's beauty, where he delights his soul, warms his breast with patriotic lore, and muses on the fates of Milton and Sydney. He then soars on wings of Poesy, often dropping a delicious tear when a melodious sorrow spells his eyes.
Chapter 24
Sonnet to Solitude
The speaker addresses Solitude, expressing a desire to dwell with it in nature rather than in the city, and ultimately suggests that the truest bliss is found when two kindred spirits share such solitude together.
Chapter 25
Sonnet: To One Who Has Long in City Pent
The speaker describes the profound relief and joy of escaping the city to immerse oneself in nature, finding peace in the open sky, a grassy resting place, and a gentle love story. The day ends too quickly, mourned like an angel's silent tear falling through the clear air.
Chapter 26
To a Young Lady Who Sent Me a Laurel Crown
The speaker expresses a newfound freedom and joy inspired by a laurel crown sent by a young lady. He declares his defiance against any force that would challenge his will, yet humbly kneels to kiss her hand in gratitude.
Chapter 27
To a Friend Who Sent Me Some Roses
The speaker recalls a walk in the happy fields where he discovers a wild musk-rose, which he initially believes surpasses the garden-rose. However, upon receiving roses from his friend Wells, he is spellbound by their deliciousness, which whispers of peace, truth, and unquelled friendliness.
Chapter 28
To My Brother George
The speaker reflects on the wonders of nature he has witnessed, from the sunrise to the ocean's vastness, and concludes that these marvels would be meaningless without the companionship of his brother George.
Chapter 29
Epistle to My Brother George
The speaker addresses his brother George, reflecting on moments of poetic inspiration and despair. He describes lying on a cliff overlooking the ocean, writing verses, and imagines the transcendent visions available to a poet in a trance—including enchanted portals, knights, and celestial revelries. He contemplates the lasting power of poetry to inspire future generations, envisioning his verses sung by maidens and recited by patriots and sages.
Chapter 30
Epistle to Charles Cowden Clarke
In this epistolary poem, Keats addresses his friend Charles Cowden Clarke, reflecting on his own poetic insecurities and the profound influence Clarke has had on his literary development. He compares himself to a swan struggling to capture fleeting moments of inspiration, acknowledges Clarke's superior classical taste, and expresses gratitude for Clarke's mentorship in introducing him to Spenser, Milton, and other great works. The poem concludes with fond memories of their walks and conversations, ending with a warm farewell.
Chapter 31
Sonnet: Keen, Fitful Gusts Are Whisp'ring
The speaker walks through a cold, bleak night, feeling little of the chill or distance from home because he is filled with the warmth of friendship and thoughts of the poets Milton and Petrarch, their loves, and their losses.
Chapter 32
On Leaving Some Friends at an Early Hour
The speaker longs for divine inspiration and artistic tools to capture the sublime beauty and music of the spheres, resisting the solitude that follows a parting from friends.
Chapter 33
To My Brothers
The speaker describes a quiet, intimate evening with his brothers, gathered around a fire. He reflects on the peaceful domestic scene, celebrates his brother Tom's birthday, and contemplates the fleeting nature of life and the true joys of the world before death calls them away.
Chapter 34
Addressed to Benjamin Robert Haydon
The speaker celebrates great spirits currently on earth, including Wordsworth and another poet, and praises high-mindedness and steadfast genius against a money-mongering society.
Chapter 35
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 36
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 37
Written in Disgust of Vulgar Superstition
The speaker laments the oppressive and melancholy influence of church bells and religious superstition, which draw people away from joyful domestic life and high-minded conversation. However, the speaker finds solace in the belief that such superstitions are dying out, like a lamp burning out, and that fresh, immortal glories will take their place.
Chapter 38
To Kosciusko
The speaker reflects on the power of Kosciusko's name as a source of high feeling and inspiration, comparing it to the music of the spheres. The name is imagined to transform into harmonies in unknown worlds and to join with the names of other great heroes like Alfred in a hymn that reaches God.
Chapter 39
On the Grasshopper and Cricket
The poem celebrates the enduring poetry of nature, contrasting the grasshopper's summer song with the cricket's winter chirp, asserting that the music of the earth never ceases.
Chapter 40
Hymn to Apollo
The speaker addresses Apollo, god of the bow, lyre, hair, and fire, questioning why Apollo's wrath slept when the speaker presumptuously wore his laurel wreath. The speaker contrasts Apollo's power—which could have crushed him like a worm—with Apollo's pity, which stilled the thunder. The poem ends with a vision of the Pleiades, the swelling earth, and the laboring ocean, as the speaker reflects on his audacity and humility before the god.
Chapter 41
Sleep and Poetry
The speaker reflects on the gentle and soothing nature of sleep, then transitions to a meditation on poetry and the creative imagination. He describes the visions and inspirations that poetry brings, the joy of artistic creation, and the resolve to pursue a nobler life through poetry despite doubts and the pull of worldly distractions.
Chapter 42
I Stood Tiptoe Upon a Little Hill
The speaker describes a serene natural landscape, observing buds, clouds, streams, and wildlife, and reflects on the beauty of nature as a source of poetic inspiration. He imagines a maiden's presence and recounts mythological tales of Psyche and Love, Pan and Syrinx, and Narcissus and Echo, culminating in a vision of the poet who sought Endymion.
Chapter 43
Sonnet: After Dark Vapours
The poem describes the relief and renewal that follows a long, oppressive season of dark vapors. A gentle southern day clears the skies, bringing a sense of May and calm thoughts. The speaker reflects on peaceful images of budding leaves, ripening fruit, autumn suns, Sappho's cheek, a sleeping infant's breath, an hourglass, a woodland rivulet, and a poet's death.
Chapter 44
Written on the Blank Space at the End of Chaucer’s Tale of The Floure and the Lefe
The speaker reflects on the enchanting and simple beauty of Chaucer's tale, comparing it to a little copse where the reader is immersed in sweet, interwoven lines, cool dewy drops, and wandering melodies. The speaker expresses a deep appreciation for the power of white simplicity and gentle storytelling, feeling content to lie meekly on the grass, sobbing unheard except by mournful robins.
Chapter 45
To Haydon
The speaker apologizes to Haydon for his inability to articulate grand themes, acknowledging his own limitations while praising Haydon's visionary ability to perceive and worship the divine light in others.
Chapter 46
On Seeing the Elgin Marbles
The speaker reflects on the overwhelming weight of mortality and the sublime grandeur of the Elgin Marbles, which evoke both the glory of ancient Greece and the inevitable decay wrought by time.
Chapter 47
On Leigh Hunt’s Poem, The Story of Rimini
The speaker praises the poem 'The Story of Rimini' by Leigh Hunt, inviting those who delight in nature's gentle scenes—morning sun, evening star, meadows, and moonlight—to find solace and moral reflection in its verses. The poem is presented as a bower for the spirit, leading to tranquil, autumnal landscapes.
Chapter 48
To Leigh Hunt, Esq.
The speaker laments the loss of classical beauty and mythological reverence in the modern world, yet finds consolation in the ability to offer humble poetic tributes to a worthy friend like Leigh Hunt.
Chapter 49
On the Sea
The speaker describes the sea's dual nature—its powerful, eternal swell that fills countless caverns under Hecate's spell, and its occasional gentle calm where even a shell remains unmoved for days. He invites those weary of noise or cloying melody to sit by an old cavern's mouth and brood, until they start as if hearing sea-nymphs sing.
Chapter 50
Endymion
Endymion awakens from his dream and experiences a profound shift from visionary longing to earthly love. He renounces his former phantasmal pursuits, pledging devotion to his Indian maid and imagining a simple, pastoral life together. The chapter explores the tension between ideal dreams and mortal reality, culminating in Endymion's acceptance of human love and the sorrow that accompanies it.
Chapter 51
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 52
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 53
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 54
IV
The emperor sends an embassy to Pigmio to secure the hand of Bellanaine, who is brought away weeping with a single attendant, accompanied by music from little harps.
Chapter 55
On Oxford
A satirical poem describing the architectural and social contrasts of Oxford, blending reverence for its Gothic and Doric structures with a critique of the clergy's indulgence and the university's rigid hierarchy.
Chapter 56
On ⸻
The speaker comforts a beloved figure who mourns a fleeting joy or beauty, urging them not to weep excessively but to accept transience with tenderness. The poem transforms sorrow into a shared, intimate dirge of kisses, celebrating the bittersweet nature of ephemeral bliss.
Chapter 57
Lines
The speaker reflects on a beloved figure, describing her serene beauty and the overwhelming emotions she inspires. He surrenders to the laws of love, embracing a day meant for dalliance and renewal of heavenly feeling.
Chapter 58
Stanzas
The poem contrasts the blissful forgetfulness of nature—a tree and a brook in a drear December—with the human inability to forget past joys, leading to pain and melancholy.
Chapter 59
To a Cat
The speaker addresses an aging cat, reflecting on its past exploits in hunting and mischief, and marvels at how its fur remains soft despite the hardships and beatings it has endured.
Chapter 60
Sharing Eve’s Apple
A playful and erotic poem that uses the metaphor of Eve's apple to explore themes of seduction, consent, and the fleeting nature of youth and passion. The speaker urges a lover not to blush or sigh, suggesting that their shared intimacy is natural and should be enjoyed without shame.
Chapter 61
What the Thrush Said
The speaker addresses a figure who has endured winter's hardships and darkness, promising that spring will bring renewal and abundance. The thrush's song advises against fretting after knowledge, asserting that true wisdom comes naturally with warmth and that even idleness can be a form of wakefulness.
Chapter 62
Robin Hood
The speaker laments the passing of the days of Robin Hood and his merry band, noting that the forest is silent and the old songs and adventures are gone. He calls for honoring their memory even as the world has changed, with nature and merriment replaced by commerce and loss.
Chapter 63
Lines on the Mermaid Tavern
The speaker addresses the souls of deceased poets, questioning whether any paradise or Elysium they have known surpasses the joy and fellowship of the Mermaid Tavern. He evokes the tavern's fine Canary wine, savory venison pies, and the legendary company of Robin Hood and Maid Marian, and recounts a tale of the tavern's sign flying away to be found in the Zodiac, where the poets continue their revelry.
Chapter 64
A Song of Opposites
The speaker celebrates the union of opposites—joy and sorrow, fair and foul, life and death—embracing the full spectrum of human experience with a tone of bittersweet acceptance.
Chapter 65
On Seeing a Lock of Milton’s Hair
The speaker addresses the spirit of John Milton, praising his eternal influence and vowing to dedicate his own poetic efforts to Milton's legacy, though he acknowledges the need for maturity and philosophical depth before he can fully achieve this. The sight of a lock of Milton's hair inspires a moment of awe and a solemn oath.
Chapter 66
Where's the Poet? Show Him! Show Him
The speaker calls upon the Muses to reveal the true poet, describing him as one who can empathize equally with all people regardless of rank and who understands the language of animals, from birds to lions and tigers.
Chapter 67
A Draught of Sunshine
The speaker rejects earthly wines in favor of drinking sunshine directly from the sky, experiencing a divine intoxication that separates soul from body, leading to a plea for philosophical temperance from Apollo.
Chapter 68
Song: Hush, Hush! Tread Softly!
A lover urges his beloved Isabel to move silently through the house, fearing the jealous old man may hear them. He describes the stillness of the night and the moon's absence, finding all the light he needs in Isabel's eyes and lips. They steal away to a flowery seat, where their love will bloom and be celebrated in nature's quiet harmony.
Chapter 69
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 70
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 71
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 72
Extracts from an Opera
This chapter presents a series of lyrical extracts from an opera, including songs and dramatic verses that explore themes of love, desire, folly, and anxiety. The pieces range from a wish to become one of the Olympian gods to enforce a law of love, to a daisy's boastful song, a folly song celebrating chaotic merriment, a fearful meditation on a beloved's imperfections, a narrative of a stranger's bold kisses, and a prayerful address to a sleeping beloved.
Chapter 73
O! Were I One of the Olympian Twelve
The speaker expresses a wish to be among the Olympian gods in order to decree that any man who toils for a distant beauty should be rewarded with the beloved's increasing softness and fairness, and that each hardship he endures should yield a kiss that ripens and melts upon his lips.
Chapter 74
Daisy's Song
The daisy boasts of its intimate, watchful presence in nature, claiming to see more than the sun or moon, and reveling in its kingly life amid the spring grass, where it observes unnoticed and is lulled to sleep by the bleating of lambs.
Chapter 75
Folly's Song
A playful, repetitive song celebrating folly and mishaps in everyday life, from wedding fiddles to burnt cheese and social misadventures.
Chapter 76
Oh, I Am Frighten'd with Most Hateful Thoughts!
The speaker expresses a sudden, anxious doubt about the perfection of a beloved figure, imagining flaws in her voice, teeth, eyelashes, dimples, and freckles, and suggesting that a careless nurse might have marred her divine beauty.
Chapter 77
Song: The Stranger Lighted from His Steed
A stranger arrives on horseback, takes the lady's hand and kisses it unheard, then kisses her lips in the hall, and finally leads her hand in hand into the bower where her lord's roses bloom. The lady's maid receives a scarf, a ring, and a kiss before the stranger departs on his palfrey.
Chapter 78
Asleep! O Sleep a Little While, White Pearl
The speaker kneels in adoration before a sleeping beloved, offering prayers, blessings, and vows of devotion, expressing a sudden and overwhelming love.
Chapter 79
Faery Songs
Two faery songs: the first comforts a mourner with the promise of renewal and the faery's own ethereal flight; the second laments the impending death of a queen, as blossoms fall and a silver-winged page is sent to prepare her for a calm burial.
Chapter 80
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 81
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 82
On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again
The speaker bids farewell to the enchanting realm of Romance to engage with the profound and bitter truths of Shakespeare's King Lear, seeking transformation and renewal through the fiery experience of the tragedy.
Chapter 83
Sonnet: When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be
The speaker reflects on his fear of dying before he can fully express his creative thoughts, experience love, and achieve fame, ultimately concluding that these concerns dissolve into nothingness when he contemplates the vastness of the world.
Chapter 84
To a Lady Seen for a Few Moments at Vauxhall
The speaker reflects on a brief encounter with a lady at Vauxhall five years ago, whose beauty and grace have left an indelible mark on his memory. Every natural sight—the midnight sky, a rose, a budding flower—triggers a vivid recollection of her eyes, cheek, and imagined voice, blending delight with grief.
Chapter 85
To Spenser
The speaker addresses the poet Spenser, expressing admiration and the difficulty of matching his poetic brilliance. He acknowledges the impossibility of sudden inspiration, comparing it to a flower that must draw from its soil before blooming, and promises to strive for honor in summer days.
Chapter 86
To the Nile
The speaker addresses the Nile River, personifying it as a son of ancient mountains and the chief of pyramids and crocodiles. They question its reputation for fruitfulness, noting the desert that surrounds it, and wonder if it truly nurtures nations or merely deceives weary travelers. The speaker concludes that ignorance creates barrenness, and the Nile in fact sustains green rushes and islands, hastening happily to the sea.
Chapter 87
Written in Answer to a Sonnet Ending Thus
The poem celebrates the color blue as the essence of heaven, the domain of Cynthia, and the vast palace of the sun. It describes blue as the life of waters and the gentle cousin of forest-green, appearing in flowers like forget-me-nots and violets. The speaker marvels at blue's power as a mere shadow and its profound significance when present in an eye, alive with fate.
Chapter 88
To Homer
The speaker reflects on Homer's blindness as a paradoxical gift that grants him profound insight into the divine and natural worlds, comparing his visionary power to that of the goddess Dian.
Chapter 89
To John Hamilton Reynolds
The speaker expresses a longing to stretch time so that each week feels like an age, allowing for repeated partings and warm meetings. He imagines that a single year could become a thousand years, filled with perpetual joy, and that even a day's journey could be lengthened in a haze of oblivious delight. The poem concludes with the speaker acknowledging that the thoughts of the present morning and the previous evening have taught him how to harbor such a happy vision.
Chapter 90
The Human Seasons
The poem draws an analogy between the four seasons of the year and the four seasons of human life: spring of clear fancy, summer of luxurious dreaming, autumn of quiet contentment, and winter of pale misfortune, suggesting that to forgo winter would be to forgo mortal nature.
Chapter 91
The Devon Maid
The speaker addresses a Devon maid, asking where she is going and what she carries in her basket. He expresses love for the Devon landscape and proposes a romantic, pastoral encounter, offering to secure her basket and shawl so they can lie together on the heather and kiss.
Chapter 92
Epistle to John Hamilton Reynolds
In a letter to his friend John Hamilton Reynolds, Keats describes a restless night filled with disjointed visions and memories, ranging from whimsical to sublime. He vividly conjures an enchanted castle and a golden galley, only to pivot to a darker meditation on the destructive forces of nature and the pain of seeing too clearly into the 'eternal fierce destruction' that underlies existence. The poem grapples with the limits of imagination and the torment of melancholy moods.
Chapter 93
At Teignmouth
The speaker extols the pastoral beauty and simple pleasures of Teignmouth, contrasting its natural delights with the dreariness of urban life in Soho, and expressing a desire to remain there through the summer.
Chapter 94
Fragment of an Ode to Maia
The speaker invokes Maia, mother of Hermes, and expresses a desire to sing to her in the manner of ancient bards who died content, leaving great verse to a small audience. He asks for their old vigor, wishing his song to die away content, rich in the simple worship of a day, heard only by the quiet primrose and the span of heaven.
Chapter 95
Isabella, or the Pot of Basil
Isabella and Lorenzo fall deeply in love, but her brothers murder Lorenzo out of greed. Isabella's ghost reveals the crime, and she exhumes his head, burying it in a basil pot. She tends the plant obsessively until her brothers steal it, and she dies of grief.
Chapter 96
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 97
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 98
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 99
IV
The emperor sends an embassy to Pigmio to secure the hand of Bellanaine, who is brought away weeping with a single attendant, accompanied by music from little harps.
Chapter 100
V
The princess journeys through a real heaven, carried by cherubim-like figures on a feathered bed, with her hair flowing in the wind. She travels while sleeping or awake, occasionally taking exercise or playful somersaults on a pigeon for sport.
Chapter 101
Chapter VI
Corallina warns Princess Bellanaine to be cautious of Crafticant, the state-spy, who is lurking nearby and could report her words to Elfinan.
Chapter 102
VII
The princess rebukes a speaker for his cynical and manipulative reasoning, declaring her determination to escape a hated marriage.
Chapter 103
Chapter VIII
A tense exchange occurs between Coralline and the mistress, where the mistress's anger threatens physical punishment, causing the nurse to back down in fear.
Chapter 104
Chapter IX
Bellanaine is silenced but continues to lament her forced marriage, feeling that her lowland match is a poison to her true-born Imaian blood.
Chapter 105
Chapter X
The narrator describes a sorrowful figure grieving and wetting rose-leaves with tears, but reveals that her sadness has deeper reasons, as recorded in ancient memoirs by Crafticant and published by Parpaglion and Co.
Chapter 106
XI
The speaker launches into a hypercritical attack on the vices of the age, condemning everything from general immorality to the specific, absurd crime of fairies kissing mortals, all while displaying a pedantic and learned structure.
Chapter 107
XII
The speaker directs the reader to an index entry for Bellanaine, where a slanderous article criticizes her for adopting a fashionable vice, which the speaker condemns as a moral failing.
Chapter 108
XIII
The speaker reveals plainly that Bellanaine loved a man before her marriage to Elfinan, and even after marriage she never found joy with her husband, instead using her wits to escape to Angle-land where the youth who fanned her heart's warm ardours lived.
Chapter 109
XIV
The narrator dismisses idle gossip and turns attention back to Elfinan, who is distressed and curses a bride he cannot have.
Chapter 110
XV
The emperor, following the departure of the bridal embassy, retreats to his cabinet in a state of vexation and spleen, damning his House of Commons in complete chagrin.
Chapter 111
XVI
The Emperor Elfinan, enraged by opposition to his desires, threatens to punish those who thwart him and expresses disbelief that even his ministers would conspire against him. He laments his own power and considers drastic actions.
Chapter 112
XVII
The speaker expresses a vengeful and spiteful resolve to thwart the ambitions of various court figures, including the chancellor's son, the nephew of old Palfior, the tiptoe marquis, and the Speaker's second cousin's aunt, denying them positions and privileges.
Chapter 113
XVIII
The speaker expresses a desire to snub the Duke of A. and his family, as well as the Viscount B., but is particularly vexed by the persistent and irritating voice of Esquire Biancopany, a commoner who treats every sovereign as a fool.
Chapter 114
XIX
Elfinan laments his impending marriage to a bride from Imaus, expressing his weariness and longing for the human beauty of Bertha, whom he desires to be near.
Chapter 115
Chapter XX
A brief moment of vulnerability gives way to a vengeful and passionate outburst, leading to a cruel order for death warrants.
Chapter 116
Chapter XXI
The emperor commands his page Eban to go to Hum the soothsayer, who has recently arrived in the empire.
Chapter 117
XXII
The speaker demands that Hum be brought to him, providing a ring as a pledge of favor to avoid suspicion. He threatens severe punishment if Hum delays, including execution or being fed to an asp, and mentions the torture of the wasp.
Chapter 118
XXIII
The Prince, in a petulant mood, gives orders and then lounges on the sofa. A slave retreats and goes to find old Hum, who knows the city's shortcuts well.
Chapter 119
XXIV
The chapter describes the evening time when wholesale dealers close their shutters with a moody sense of wealth, while retail dealers let loose gas lighting in brilliant forms to repel the powers of darkness, harming the oil trade and superseding the glow-worm.
Chapter 120
XXV
Eban, disdainful of the common entertainments and pastry-cooks, sets out incognito on his errand with a cloak and smelling-bottle. He passes the hurdy-gurdies with contempt, vowing to have them sent to the galleys, but is interrupted by rain and calls a coach to drive swiftly.
Chapter 121
XXVI
Madeline undresses for bed, her heart revived after vespers. She removes her jewels and attire, dreaming awake of St. Agnes, but dares not look behind lest the charm vanish.
Chapter 122
XXVII
The speaker addresses a carriage or coach, personifying it as an inconvenience and a hungry crop for all corn. It is described as a snail-creeper that moves to and fro, appearing to stop while moving and fiddle-faddle while standing still. In the morning, it carries a weight of woe to a lazar-house, and in the evening, it transports a double row of dowdies dressed for a dance or party, while also moving goods east and west.
Chapter 123
XXVIII
The speaker addresses a horse or carriage animal, criticizing its sluggish and ungraceful demeanor, yet acknowledging its patient and obedient nature as it responds to the slightest cues from its driver, enduring the bustling traffic of various carriages without complaint.
Chapter 124
Chapter XXIX
The protagonist philosophizes and instructs the coachman to turn onto a street. The coachman, bowing low and greeting hoarsely, advises that it would be best to proceed on foot due to the heavy press of coaches, which are as numerous as bees diving into flowers for April honey.
Chapter 125
Eban's Arrival at Hum's Hotel
Eban pays his fare and proceeds to Hum's hotel, his appearance vividly reflected in the pearl-paved street and mirrored walls, highlighting his rich attire.
Chapter 126
XXXI
The chapter describes a character who admires his own reflection, smiling repeatedly at his teeth and appearance, before knocking at a magician's door. While waiting for the porter, he continues to gaze at his own image in a clear panel, taking delight in his ornate turban, mustachios, ear-ring, nose-ring, and sabre.
Chapter 127
XXXII
A dark page asks the Swiss if his master is hosting a rout that night. The Swiss replies that his master finds the Magazin des Modes, opened against the Emperor's wedding next door, a monstrous bore, and has retired to his second floor to explore and cast a quiet figure.
Chapter 128
XXXIII
A speaker comments on the rising costs of various goods, including chalk, aqua vitae, and mice teeth, while noting the instability of the stars and zodiac.
Chapter 129
XXXIV
Servants gossip about Venus and the master's peculiar habit of descending stairs backwards with one shoe on and one off, prompting a humorous exchange.
Chapter 130
XXXV
The great Magician, Feeling, carefully navigates the stairs, moving backwards and downwards. Hum exclaims about a dog being in the way, and the Swiss replies that the dog is in the kitchen. Hum tells the Swiss not to beat the dog, and then something falls to the floor.
Chapter 131
XXXVI
The sage and Eban flee from the Page, fearing the Emperor's rage, and stop at the Emperor's chamber door where Eban hears a soft snore.
Chapter 132
XXXVII
A page and Hum debate the Emperor's state of mind, with the page revealing that the buzzing noise comes from a Man-Tiger-Organ, a toy of the Emperor's choice.
Chapter 133
XXXVIII
Eban ushers in the learned Seer while the Emperor, Elfinan, turns his back in bitterness. Both Eban and the Seer prostrate themselves on the carpet in fear, waiting in distress as they know the Emperor's moody bitterness. Eban trembles and quakes, fearing the Emperor's Man-Tiger-Organ more than senna-tea or a nightmare Gorgon.
Chapter 134
XXXIX
A passionate moment is described where a kiss is shared upon a luxurious carpet, followed by a sudden outburst of emotion that results in the destruction of glassware and an inkstand.
Chapter 135
XL
The Emperor dismisses Eban and commands the Chaldean to remain, offering him a choice of wine to fortify his spirits.
Chapter 136
XLI
Hum requests a small measure of old Jamaica rum, but the Emperor Elfinan offers him Nantz instead. Hum accepts, asking for it to be mixed with a drop of crème de citron, though he worries his boldness may be misplaced.
Chapter 137
XLII
At a feast, the Emperor pledges his love to Bertha, prompting the sage Hum to list many Berthas he knows, including Bertha Watson, Miss Bertha Page, Bertha Blount of York, and Bertha Knox of Perth.
Chapter 138
XLIII
Hum reveals to the Emperor that he is in love with a girl named Bertha Pearl, who lives in Canterbury with her grandmother. The Emperor reacts with passionate admiration for her beauty.
Chapter 139
XLIV
Hum speaks of Bertha, claiming to have known her since childhood. He describes her birth in an Indian wilderness, amidst the sounds of her mother's screams mingling with a tiger's roar, as torch-bearing slaves sent a halloo into the jungles. Her palanquin rested in the dreary desert, shaking with her agony, until little Bertha's eyes opened upon the serene stars.
Chapter 140
XLV
The monarch speaks to the son of Cham, expressing his love and asking for advice on how to bring the lady to him. The son of Cham claims she is his changeling, though her story seems strange.
Chapter 141
XLVI
The Emperor threatens Hum to bring the lady to him, but Hum deflects with wordplay and suggests she is in Canterbury, offering to cool the Emperor's brandy with wine.
Chapter 142
XLVII
A character takes a narrow Flemish glass that once belonged to Admiral De Witt, admires it with a connoisseur's eye, fills it with fine claret, and drinks it in one swift motion, savoring the taste and declaring it the best in town.
Chapter 143
XLVIII
The Emperor, in distress over his love, is comforted by Hum who offers wine and remedies, urging him to weep not and to rest.
Chapter 144
XLIX
The Mago advises the Emperor to forget Bellanaine and instead consider Bertha, producing a sampler as evidence of his counsel.
Chapter 145
L
Elfinan receives a piece of embroidery from Bertha Pearl, dated Midsummer, ninety-one, and reacts with intense emotion, weeping over the humble, handcrafted cloth adorned with whimsical and grand designs.
Chapter 146
LI
The monarch reads over the day-school hieroglyphics with a mix of sadness and pleasure, but is astounded by a couplet that defies Cupid. He faints in shock, but Hum reassures him that it is not meant seriously.
Chapter 147
LII
A speaker addresses a highness, arguing against marrying Miss Bellanaine due to conscience and confessing love for a mortal, while warning of potential retribution.
Chapter 148
LIII
A speaker defends a prince's love for Bertha, arguing that it is no crime to indulge one's affections, especially given her delicate and fairy-like qualities.
Chapter 149
LIV
The Emperor speaks to Hum, asking about the time and how to embrace a sweet girl. Hum notes the early hour and advises the Emperor to act like a true lover.
Chapter 150
LV
A brief dialogue where a speaker proposes to fetch a lady for the king, suggesting she be brought in a swoon to avoid fright, and insists the king must depart for Kent by noon.
Chapter 151
LVI
Caesar is instructed to travel to Canterbury by St. Mark's Eve to secure Bertha as a prize, with a specific date and directive given.
Chapter 152
LVII
The magician frowns solemnly, his frost-white eyebrows shading his deep green eyes, and from his hood he lifts a bright gold casket. He touches a spring-lock, revealing an old, legend-leaved book charmed into ever freezing.
Chapter 153
LVIII
A speaker offers a magic book to the Emperor, promising it will charm Bertha into a fainting fit and advising him to carry her back to his palace without alarm.
Chapter 154
LIX
The Emperor prepares to depart, instructing that a book be placed on Bertha's table to aid his purpose. He promises his new bride as a reward and expresses his burning desire to leave, spurning a troublesome figure.
Chapter 155
LX
The magian reassures the fay that he will handle her absence from court by claiming she is ill, and humorously suggests that if the archbishops mention extreme unction, he will say she dislikes cold pig with Latin phrases, which should only be used in alarming cases.
Chapter 156
LXI
Hum opens the window for the Emperor, who observes a crowd gathered to see Bellanaine. The Emperor prepares himself, asking for his belt tightened, his book, and his wand, ensuring nothing is forgotten.
Chapter 157
LXII
Hum observes the morning landscape, noting the return of an ambassador from Pigmio and the beautiful play of light and color across the sky, clouds, and forest.
Chapter 158
LXIII
The Emperor Hum is praised for his poetic skill and invited to share more of his work, as he observes the bustling activity around him.
Chapter 159
An Extempore
The Princess and her servants—a Dwarf, a Fool, and an Ape—arrive at the Faery's Court only to find no one home. The Princess threatens them with a switch, but the Dwarf explains the three great crimes in Faeryland that led to their transformations. Despite the warning, the Princess decides to break in using a picklock from the Ape. Left alone, the Mule (formerly a Prince) frees himself from his tack with the help of thievish Monkey-men and escapes.
Chapter 160
Canto the XII
The Princess and her retinue arrive at the Faery's Court only to find it empty, as the faeries are away at sport and love. Frustrated by the wasted journey, the Princess threatens her servants—a Dwarf, an Ape, and a Fool—who reveal they are transformed princes punished for crimes in Faeryland. Despite their warnings, the Princess uses a picklock to enter the court, leaving only her mule outside.
Chapter 161
Canto the XIII
The Mule, left alone, celebrates his freedom from the Princess and plots to rid himself of his bridle by pretending to sleep, tricking thieving monkey-men into removing it.
Chapter 162
Spenserian Stanzas on Charles Armitage Brown
The poem describes Charles Armitage Brown as a melancholy, abstemious man who shuns city vices, alcohol, and worldly pleasures, instead finding solace in nature and simple fare.
Chapter 163
Two or Three Posies
A playful, repetitive poem that enumerates various pairs and trios of everyday items, people, and actions, culminating in a whimsical turn toward poetic creation.
Chapter 164
Acrostic
The speaker addresses his sister Georgiana Augusta Keats, crafting an acrostic of her name and invoking Apollo for poetic inspiration. He reflects on the nature of true poetic mastery, valuing love and brotherhood above grand verse, and offers this humble poem as a sincere gift, wishing her happiness and a fruitful home.
Chapter 165
A Song About Myself
A playful poem about a mischievous boy who runs away from home, carrying a knapsack with books and supplies, scribbling poetry, catching fish, and traveling to Scotland only to find that everything is essentially the same as in England.
Chapter 166
On Visiting the Tomb of Burns
The speaker reflects on a visit to the tomb of Robert Burns, describing the landscape as beautiful yet cold and dreamlike. The summer is fleeting, and the stars do not shine warmly. The speaker questions who can perceive true beauty without the sickly hues of imagination and pride, and expresses a sense of sin against Burns' native skies.
Chapter 167
Meg Merrilies
A poetic portrait of Old Meg, a Gipsy woman who lives freely on the moors, subsisting on wild berries and dew, finding family in nature, and crafting garlands and rush mats. She is described as brave and tall, clad in a red blanket coat and chip hat, and is remembered long after her death.
Chapter 168
To Ailsa Rock
The speaker addresses Ailsa Rock, a craggy ocean pyramid, questioning its ancient origins and its current state of deathlike sleep. The rock is described as having lived two dead eternities—first submerged in the deep with whales, then exposed to the sky with eagles—until an earthquake raised it. The poem concludes that nothing can awaken its giant form.
Chapter 169
Written in the Cottage Where Burns Was Born
The speaker reflects on being in the very cottage where Robert Burns once lived, feeling a deep connection through shared drink and imagination, and toasts to Burns's enduring fame.
Chapter 170
Lines Written in the Highlands After a Visit to Burns's Country
The speaker reflects on the profound and solemn joy of walking through landscapes steeped in history and memory, particularly those associated with the birthplace of a great poet (Robert Burns). The poem explores the tension between losing oneself in reverie and the danger of losing one's mind or connection to the familiar world, ultimately affirming the power of memory and the soul's anchor to reality.
Chapter 171
At Fingal's Cave
The speaker describes the awe-inspiring, otherworldly beauty of Fingal's Cave, comparing it to the magical creations of Aladdin, the wizard of the Dee, and St. John's vision of heaven. Inside the cave, he encounters a sleeping spirit who identifies himself as Lycidas, the pontiff-priest of this sea cathedral. Lycidas explains that the cave was built by Oceanus and is a sacred place where dolphins pay devotion. He laments that mortals now dare to enter, and declares he will leave and unravel the magic of the place before diving back into the sea.
Chapter 172
Written Upon the Top of Ben Nevis
The speaker stands atop Ben Nevis, enveloped in mist, and reflects on the limits of human knowledge. The mist obscures the chasms below (like hell), the sky above (like heaven), and the earth around, symbolizing how little mankind can truly know of the afterlife, the world, or even themselves. Only the solid crag beneath the feet offers certainty, yet even that is a poor comfort for a 'witless elf' lost in a fog of thought.
Chapter 173
The Gadfly
The speaker, having been stung by a gadfly, humorously and satirically imagines the gadfly's sting as a remedy for various annoyances and social ills, from a lame mare to a verbose parliamentarian, a lawyer's suit, a daughter's romantic fancies, and a scolding spouse, before returning to his main theme.
Chapter 174
To Thomas Keats
In a letter to his brother Thomas, Keats describes a chance encounter with a wedding party in the Scottish Highlands, capturing the joy of the procession and his own contrasting melancholy.
Chapter 175
On Hearing the Bag-Pipe and Seeing “The Stranger” Played at Inverary
The speaker describes being torn between two exquisite pleasures: the mournful sound of the bag-pipe and the sorrowful sighs of a stranger in a play. Each alternately captivates and charms him, leaving his heart unable to choose and ultimately forced to part with both.
Chapter 176
Mrs. Cameron and Ben Nevis
A humorous poem describing the encounter between Mrs. Cameron, a stout 50-year-old woman, and Ben Nevis, the ancient mountain. After climbing the mountain, she scolds it for its lack of gratitude, while the mountain, awakened from a thousand-year slumber, threatens to embrace her with volcanic force. She faints, the mountain returns to sleep, and she is rescued by her servants, descending with great difficulty.
Chapter 177
Translation from a Sonnet of Ronsard
The speaker describes how Nature spent a thousand years perfecting Cassandra's beauty, and how Love nurtured her until even the gods sighed for her. Upon seeing her descend from the heavens, the speaker's heart caught fire, and the ensuing burning pains became both his pleasures and his life's sad end.
Chapter 178
A Prophecy
The speaker invokes the moon, stars, and sky to listen to a lullaby for an infant. The child is prophesied to become a poet, as a flaming lyre appears above the cradle and the infant touches it unharmed, signaling a destined poetic future.
Chapter 179
Song
The speaker mourns the death of a pet dove, reflecting on its possible grief and the irony of its captivity despite loving care.
Chapter 180
Fancy
The poem celebrates the power of fancy or imagination to transcend the fleeting and cloying nature of sensory pleasures. It urges the reader to let fancy roam freely, as it can summon all the delights of the seasons—summer, spring, autumn, and winter—at once, offering a perpetual and varied joy that reality cannot sustain. The speaker warns that pleasure fades with use, but fancy renews beauty and wonder endlessly.
Chapter 181
Ode
The speaker addresses the 'Bards of Passion and of Mirth,' celebrating their dual existence—souls left on earth through their art and souls in heaven communing with celestial and natural wonders. The poem reflects on how these poets, though gone, continue to teach mortals about human experience and wisdom.
Chapter 182
Modern Love
The speaker critiques the romantic idealization of love, comparing it to a doll dressed up for idle amusement. They argue that youthful infatuation transforms mundane objects into symbols of romance, and that historical passions of queens and soldiers do not justify the common agony of love. The speaker challenges the notion that love can thrive in modern, ordinary circumstances.
Chapter 183
Fragment of “The Castle Builder”
The speaker imagines a richly decorated room in a castle, filled with luxurious and melancholic objects, including a guitar-ribband, a lady's glove, a tambour-frame, a viol, a skull, an hour-glass, and a looking-glass inscribed with 'Mene, Mene, Tekel Upharsin.' The room blends Gothic and classical elements, and the speaker plans to dine with a friar.
Chapter 184
Song: Spirit Here That Reignest!
The speaker invokes a multifaceted spirit that reigns, pains, burns, mourns, laughs, quaffs, and dances, expressing a deep emotional and ecstatic communion with this entity, culminating in a Bacchanalian flush.
Chapter 185
Spenserian Stanza
A sage named Typographus refits a giant, trains him in learned books and goodly themes, causing him to forsake his brutishness, and then blinds Artegall and dims Talus's eyes.
Chapter 186
Hyperion
In a deep, shadowy vale, the fallen god Saturn sits motionless and desolate, stripped of his power. The goddess Thea mourns over him, and together they lament the loss of their divine reign. Hyperion, the Titan of the sun, struggles against his impending fall but ultimately descends into the darkness to join the other defeated Titans in their cavern of sorrow.
Chapter 187
Book I
The chapter opens with the fallen Saturn, gray-haired and motionless in a sunken vale, stripped of his divinity. The goddess Thea comes to him, mourning their lost reign. Saturn laments his fall and questions his identity, then rises in a passionate outburst, vowing to create a new universe. Thea leads him away to rally the other Titans. Meanwhile, Hyperion, the only Titan still retaining his sovereignty, sits on his fiery throne but is plagued by omens and unease, foreshadowing his own impending doom.
Chapter 188
Book II
Saturn enters the fallen Titans' realm and rallies them, but Oceanus argues that their defeat is a natural progression of beauty and power. Clymene recounts hearing Apollo's divine music, and Enceladus incites rebellion. Hyperion appears, radiating sorrowful light, as the Titans grapple with their dethronement.
Chapter 189
Book III
The Muse is called to leave the Titans' sorrow and turn to Apollo, who wanders in Delos and encounters Mnemosyne. In their dialogue, Apollo expresses his anguish and ignorance, and through Mnemosyne's silent presence, he undergoes a transformative experience that deifies him with knowledge.
Chapter 190
The Eve of St. Agnes
On a bitterly cold St. Agnes' Eve, Madeline, a young maiden, is consumed by the superstition that if she performs certain rituals, she will dream of her future lover. Meanwhile, her beloved Porphyro, an enemy of her family, risks his life to enter the castle, aided by the old nurse Angela. He hides in Madeline's chamber, watches her undress and fall asleep, then awakens her with a feast and a song. They declare their love, flee the castle into a storm, and the poem ends with the death of Angela and the Beadsman.
Chapter 191
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 192
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 193
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 194
IV
The emperor sends an embassy to Pigmio to secure the hand of Bellanaine, who is brought away weeping with a single attendant, accompanied by music from little harps.
Chapter 195
V
The princess journeys through a real heaven, carried by cherubim-like figures on a feathered bed, with her hair flowing in the wind. She travels while sleeping or awake, occasionally taking exercise or playful somersaults on a pigeon for sport.
Chapter 196
Chapter VI
Corallina warns Princess Bellanaine to be cautious of Crafticant, the state-spy, who is lurking nearby and could report her words to Elfinan.
Chapter 197
VII
The princess rebukes a speaker for his cynical and manipulative reasoning, declaring her determination to escape a hated marriage.
Chapter 198
Chapter VIII
A tense exchange occurs between Coralline and the mistress, where the mistress's anger threatens physical punishment, causing the nurse to back down in fear.
Chapter 199
Chapter IX
Bellanaine is silenced but continues to lament her forced marriage, feeling that her lowland match is a poison to her true-born Imaian blood.
Chapter 200
Chapter X
The narrator describes a sorrowful figure grieving and wetting rose-leaves with tears, but reveals that her sadness has deeper reasons, as recorded in ancient memoirs by Crafticant and published by Parpaglion and Co.
Chapter 201
XI
The speaker launches into a hypercritical attack on the vices of the age, condemning everything from general immorality to the specific, absurd crime of fairies kissing mortals, all while displaying a pedantic and learned structure.
Chapter 202
XII
The speaker directs the reader to an index entry for Bellanaine, where a slanderous article criticizes her for adopting a fashionable vice, which the speaker condemns as a moral failing.
Chapter 203
XIII
The speaker reveals plainly that Bellanaine loved a man before her marriage to Elfinan, and even after marriage she never found joy with her husband, instead using her wits to escape to Angle-land where the youth who fanned her heart's warm ardours lived.
Chapter 204
XIV
The narrator dismisses idle gossip and turns attention back to Elfinan, who is distressed and curses a bride he cannot have.
Chapter 205
XV
The emperor, following the departure of the bridal embassy, retreats to his cabinet in a state of vexation and spleen, damning his House of Commons in complete chagrin.
Chapter 206
XVI
The Emperor Elfinan, enraged by opposition to his desires, threatens to punish those who thwart him and expresses disbelief that even his ministers would conspire against him. He laments his own power and considers drastic actions.
Chapter 207
XVII
The speaker expresses a vengeful and spiteful resolve to thwart the ambitions of various court figures, including the chancellor's son, the nephew of old Palfior, the tiptoe marquis, and the Speaker's second cousin's aunt, denying them positions and privileges.
Chapter 208
XVIII
The speaker expresses a desire to snub the Duke of A. and his family, as well as the Viscount B., but is particularly vexed by the persistent and irritating voice of Esquire Biancopany, a commoner who treats every sovereign as a fool.
Chapter 209
XIX
Elfinan laments his impending marriage to a bride from Imaus, expressing his weariness and longing for the human beauty of Bertha, whom he desires to be near.
Chapter 210
Chapter XX
A brief moment of vulnerability gives way to a vengeful and passionate outburst, leading to a cruel order for death warrants.
Chapter 211
Chapter XXI
The emperor commands his page Eban to go to Hum the soothsayer, who has recently arrived in the empire.
Chapter 212
XXII
The speaker demands that Hum be brought to him, providing a ring as a pledge of favor to avoid suspicion. He threatens severe punishment if Hum delays, including execution or being fed to an asp, and mentions the torture of the wasp.
Chapter 213
XXIII
The Prince, in a petulant mood, gives orders and then lounges on the sofa. A slave retreats and goes to find old Hum, who knows the city's shortcuts well.
Chapter 214
XXIV
The chapter describes the evening time when wholesale dealers close their shutters with a moody sense of wealth, while retail dealers let loose gas lighting in brilliant forms to repel the powers of darkness, harming the oil trade and superseding the glow-worm.
Chapter 215
XXV
Eban, disdainful of the common entertainments and pastry-cooks, sets out incognito on his errand with a cloak and smelling-bottle. He passes the hurdy-gurdies with contempt, vowing to have them sent to the galleys, but is interrupted by rain and calls a coach to drive swiftly.
Chapter 216
XXVI
Madeline undresses for bed, her heart revived after vespers. She removes her jewels and attire, dreaming awake of St. Agnes, but dares not look behind lest the charm vanish.
Chapter 217
XXVII
The speaker addresses a carriage or coach, personifying it as an inconvenience and a hungry crop for all corn. It is described as a snail-creeper that moves to and fro, appearing to stop while moving and fiddle-faddle while standing still. In the morning, it carries a weight of woe to a lazar-house, and in the evening, it transports a double row of dowdies dressed for a dance or party, while also moving goods east and west.
Chapter 218
XXVIII
The speaker addresses a horse or carriage animal, criticizing its sluggish and ungraceful demeanor, yet acknowledging its patient and obedient nature as it responds to the slightest cues from its driver, enduring the bustling traffic of various carriages without complaint.
Chapter 219
Chapter XXIX
The protagonist philosophizes and instructs the coachman to turn onto a street. The coachman, bowing low and greeting hoarsely, advises that it would be best to proceed on foot due to the heavy press of coaches, which are as numerous as bees diving into flowers for April honey.
Chapter 220
Eban's Arrival at Hum's Hotel
Eban pays his fare and proceeds to Hum's hotel, his appearance vividly reflected in the pearl-paved street and mirrored walls, highlighting his rich attire.
Chapter 221
XXXI
The chapter describes a character who admires his own reflection, smiling repeatedly at his teeth and appearance, before knocking at a magician's door. While waiting for the porter, he continues to gaze at his own image in a clear panel, taking delight in his ornate turban, mustachios, ear-ring, nose-ring, and sabre.
Chapter 222
XXXII
A dark page asks the Swiss if his master is hosting a rout that night. The Swiss replies that his master finds the Magazin des Modes, opened against the Emperor's wedding next door, a monstrous bore, and has retired to his second floor to explore and cast a quiet figure.
Chapter 223
XXXIII
A speaker comments on the rising costs of various goods, including chalk, aqua vitae, and mice teeth, while noting the instability of the stars and zodiac.
Chapter 224
XXXIV
Servants gossip about Venus and the master's peculiar habit of descending stairs backwards with one shoe on and one off, prompting a humorous exchange.
Chapter 225
XXXV
The great Magician, Feeling, carefully navigates the stairs, moving backwards and downwards. Hum exclaims about a dog being in the way, and the Swiss replies that the dog is in the kitchen. Hum tells the Swiss not to beat the dog, and then something falls to the floor.
Chapter 226
XXXVI
The sage and Eban flee from the Page, fearing the Emperor's rage, and stop at the Emperor's chamber door where Eban hears a soft snore.
Chapter 227
XXXVII
A page and Hum debate the Emperor's state of mind, with the page revealing that the buzzing noise comes from a Man-Tiger-Organ, a toy of the Emperor's choice.
Chapter 228
XXXVIII
Eban ushers in the learned Seer while the Emperor, Elfinan, turns his back in bitterness. Both Eban and the Seer prostrate themselves on the carpet in fear, waiting in distress as they know the Emperor's moody bitterness. Eban trembles and quakes, fearing the Emperor's Man-Tiger-Organ more than senna-tea or a nightmare Gorgon.
Chapter 229
XXXIX
A passionate moment is described where a kiss is shared upon a luxurious carpet, followed by a sudden outburst of emotion that results in the destruction of glassware and an inkstand.
Chapter 230
XL
The Emperor dismisses Eban and commands the Chaldean to remain, offering him a choice of wine to fortify his spirits.
Chapter 231
XLI
Hum requests a small measure of old Jamaica rum, but the Emperor Elfinan offers him Nantz instead. Hum accepts, asking for it to be mixed with a drop of crème de citron, though he worries his boldness may be misplaced.
Chapter 232
XLII
At a feast, the Emperor pledges his love to Bertha, prompting the sage Hum to list many Berthas he knows, including Bertha Watson, Miss Bertha Page, Bertha Blount of York, and Bertha Knox of Perth.
Chapter 233
The Eve of St. Mark
On a holy Sabbath evening, the city streets are filled with pious folk heading to evening prayer. Inside her home, Bertha is absorbed in an ancient, patchwork volume of religious lore, reading by the window until dusk leaves her in darkness. She lights a lamp and continues reading, her shadow casting eerie shapes around the room. The book contains legends of Saint Mark, including his martyrdom and the shrine at Venice, interspersed with marginal notes and pious verses.
Chapter 234
Ode on Indolence
The speaker describes a morning vision of three figures—Love, Ambition, and Poesy—who pass before him like figures on a marble urn. He resists their call, preferring the blissful cloud of summer indolence, and ultimately bids them farewell, choosing idle dreams over their pursuits.
Chapter 235
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 236
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 237
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 238
IV
The emperor sends an embassy to Pigmio to secure the hand of Bellanaine, who is brought away weeping with a single attendant, accompanied by music from little harps.
Chapter 239
V
The princess journeys through a real heaven, carried by cherubim-like figures on a feathered bed, with her hair flowing in the wind. She travels while sleeping or awake, occasionally taking exercise or playful somersaults on a pigeon for sport.
Chapter 240
Chapter VI
Corallina warns Princess Bellanaine to be cautious of Crafticant, the state-spy, who is lurking nearby and could report her words to Elfinan.
Chapter 241
Ode on a Grecian Urn
The speaker contemplates a Grecian urn, marveling at its frozen scenes of life, love, and ritual. He reflects on the eternal beauty captured in art, where unheard melodies and unchanging love transcend mortal experience. The poem concludes with the urn's message that 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty' as the ultimate knowledge.
Chapter 242
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 243
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 244
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 245
IV
The emperor sends an embassy to Pigmio to secure the hand of Bellanaine, who is brought away weeping with a single attendant, accompanied by music from little harps.
Chapter 246
V
The princess journeys through a real heaven, carried by cherubim-like figures on a feathered bed, with her hair flowing in the wind. She travels while sleeping or awake, occasionally taking exercise or playful somersaults on a pigeon for sport.
Chapter 247
Ode on Melancholy
The speaker warns against seeking oblivion through Lethe or poisonous plants, urging instead to embrace melancholy when it comes by engaging with beauty and joy, for Melancholy dwells with Beauty and Joy, and only those who fully experience joy can truly know sorrow.
Chapter 248
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 249
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 250
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 251
Sonnet: Why Did I Laugh To-Night?
The speaker questions why he laughed tonight, but receives no answer from God, Demon, or his own heart. He reflects on the lease of life and the pursuit of bliss, yet concludes that death is more intense than verse, fame, or beauty, and is life's highest reward.
Chapter 252
A Dream, After Reading Dante’s Episode of “Paolo and Francesca”
The speaker describes a dreamlike flight inspired by Hermes, moving from a tranquil, enchanted state into the second circle of Dante's hell, where lovers are swept in a storm. There, the speaker kisses pale lips and floats with a fair form amid the melancholy tempest.
Chapter 253
Ode to Fanny
The speaker implores Nature for poetic inspiration and then addresses his beloved Fanny, expressing intense love, fear of losing her affection, and jealousy. He pleads for her constancy and fidelity, warning against any rival's intrusion.
Chapter 254
La Belle Dame Sans Merci
A knight-at-arms recounts his encounter with a beautiful, supernatural lady who lures him into an idyllic romance, only to abandon him on a cold hillside after he dreams of pale kings and warriors warning him that he is in her thrall.
Chapter 255
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 256
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 257
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 258
IV
The emperor sends an embassy to Pigmio to secure the hand of Bellanaine, who is brought away weeping with a single attendant, accompanied by music from little harps.
Chapter 259
V
The princess journeys through a real heaven, carried by cherubim-like figures on a feathered bed, with her hair flowing in the wind. She travels while sleeping or awake, occasionally taking exercise or playful somersaults on a pigeon for sport.
Chapter 260
Chapter VI
Corallina warns Princess Bellanaine to be cautious of Crafticant, the state-spy, who is lurking nearby and could report her words to Elfinan.
Chapter 261
VII
The princess rebukes a speaker for his cynical and manipulative reasoning, declaring her determination to escape a hated marriage.
Chapter 262
Chapter VIII
A tense exchange occurs between Coralline and the mistress, where the mistress's anger threatens physical punishment, causing the nurse to back down in fear.
Chapter 263
Chapter IX
Bellanaine is silenced but continues to lament her forced marriage, feeling that her lowland match is a poison to her true-born Imaian blood.
Chapter 264
Chapter X
The narrator describes a sorrowful figure grieving and wetting rose-leaves with tears, but reveals that her sadness has deeper reasons, as recorded in ancient memoirs by Crafticant and published by Parpaglion and Co.
Chapter 265
XI
The speaker launches into a hypercritical attack on the vices of the age, condemning everything from general immorality to the specific, absurd crime of fairies kissing mortals, all while displaying a pedantic and learned structure.
Chapter 266
XII
The speaker directs the reader to an index entry for Bellanaine, where a slanderous article criticizes her for adopting a fashionable vice, which the speaker condemns as a moral failing.
Chapter 267
Chorus of Fairies
Four elemental spirits—Salamander (Fire), Zephyr (Air), Dusketha (Earth), and Breama (Water)—engage in a lyrical dialogue, each extolling their own domain and vying for companionship. Salamander revels in fiery, solitary spaces; Zephyr and Breama express mutual affection and invite each other to their cool, fragrant realms; Dusketha ultimately chooses to follow Salamander into the fiery depths, rejecting the icy spirits.
Chapter 268
To Sleep
The speaker pleads with Sleep, personified as a gentle embalmer, to close their eyes and grant forgetfulness from the troubles of the past day. They ask to be saved from the prying conscience that burrows like a mole in the darkness, and to have their soul sealed away in peaceful oblivion.
Chapter 269
Another on Fame
The speaker personifies Fame as a capricious and elusive figure, comparing her to a wayward girl and a Gipsy who scorns those who pursue her too eagerly but rewards those who are indifferent. The poem advises artists and poets to scorn her in return and walk away, suggesting that only then might she follow them.
Chapter 270
On Fame
The speaker warns against the feverish pursuit of fame, arguing that it spoils one's natural grace and salvation, much like a rose plucking itself or a plum disturbing its own bloom.
Chapter 271
Sonnet: If by Dull Rhymes
The speaker argues that if English poetry must be constrained by rhyme and meter, poets should strive for more intricate and harmonious forms to better fit the natural beauty of poetry. They advocate for careful attention to sound and syllable, comparing poets to misers of coinage, and suggest that if the Muse cannot be free, she should be bound with her own garlands.
Chapter 272
Ode to Psyche
The speaker addresses the goddess Psyche, describing a vision of her and Cupid embracing in a forest. He laments that she has no temple or worship, but vows to become her priest and build a sanctuary for her within his own mind, using imagination and thought to create a sacred space.
Chapter 273
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 274
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 275
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 276
IV
The emperor sends an embassy to Pigmio to secure the hand of Bellanaine, who is brought away weeping with a single attendant, accompanied by music from little harps.
Chapter 277
V
The princess journeys through a real heaven, carried by cherubim-like figures on a feathered bed, with her hair flowing in the wind. She travels while sleeping or awake, occasionally taking exercise or playful somersaults on a pigeon for sport.
Chapter 278
Ode to a Nightingale
The speaker, overwhelmed by a drowsy numbness and a longing to escape the pains of mortal life, listens to a nightingale's song and yearns to join the bird in its timeless, ecstatic realm. He contemplates death as a release from suffering, but ultimately recognizes the nightingale's immortality through its song, which has echoed through history. The poem ends with the speaker's return to reality, questioning whether the experience was a vision or a dream.
Chapter 279
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 280
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 281
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 282
IV
The emperor sends an embassy to Pigmio to secure the hand of Bellanaine, who is brought away weeping with a single attendant, accompanied by music from little harps.
Chapter 283
V
The princess journeys through a real heaven, carried by cherubim-like figures on a feathered bed, with her hair flowing in the wind. She travels while sleeping or awake, occasionally taking exercise or playful somersaults on a pigeon for sport.
Chapter 284
Chapter VI
Corallina warns Princess Bellanaine to be cautious of Crafticant, the state-spy, who is lurking nearby and could report her words to Elfinan.
Chapter 285
VII
The princess rebukes a speaker for his cynical and manipulative reasoning, declaring her determination to escape a hated marriage.
Chapter 286
Chapter VIII
A tense exchange occurs between Coralline and the mistress, where the mistress's anger threatens physical punishment, causing the nurse to back down in fear.
Chapter 287
Lamia
Lycius encounters the enchanting Lamia, who reveals her mortal guise and wins his love. They plan a wedding, but Lycius insists on inviting guests, including his old tutor Apollonius. At the feast, Apollonius sees through Lamia's illusion, denounces her as a serpent, and she vanishes, leaving Lycius dead.
Chapter 288
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 289
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 290
A Party of Lovers
A satirical depiction of a group of lovers at a tea party, listless and distracted, engaged in trivial concerns and awkward social exchanges.
Chapter 291
To Autumn
The poem celebrates the richness and beauty of autumn, personifying the season as a close friend of the sun who conspires to bring fruitfulness and ripeness to the land. It depicts autumn's idyllic scenes of harvest, rest, and the gentle passing of time, then contrasts the songs of spring with autumn's own unique music—the mournful gnats, bleating lambs, singing crickets, whistling redbreast, and twittering swallows—all contributing to a serene and melancholic beauty.
Chapter 292
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 293
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 294
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 295
Sonnet: The Day Is Gone
The speaker mourns the passing of a day filled with sensory delights and the presence of a beloved, now faded into memory. As evening falls, the speaker hopes that love, having observed a day of devotion, will grant restful sleep.
Chapter 296
To Fanny
The speaker passionately implores Fanny for her complete love and devotion, begging for her whole self—body and soul—threatening that without it he will either die or become a wretched thrall, losing all purpose and ambition.
Chapter 297
Lines to Fanny
The speaker laments the haunting memory of his beloved Fanny, struggling to free himself from the grip of love and remembrance. He rejects wine as a false remedy and bitterly describes a hateful land that holds his friends captive. The poem concludes with a desperate plea to once again embrace his beloved and dream of her.
Chapter 298
Hyperion: A Vision
The speaker describes a dream-vision where he consumes a mysterious feast and drink, then awakens in an ancient sanctuary. He encounters Moneta, the sole goddess of a desolate temple, who reveals the fallen state of Saturn and the Titans. Through her, he witnesses the sorrow of Saturn and the Titans in a hidden vale, gaining a godlike perception of their tragedy.
Chapter 299
Canto I
The narrator describes a dream where he stands in a lush garden, eats and drinks from a mystical feast, and falls into a swoon. He awakens in an ancient sanctuary where he encounters a veiled female figure (Moneta) and a sacrificial flame. He hears Saturn's lament over his lost kingdom and witnesses Thea leading him away. The narrator is challenged to ascend immortal steps or die, and after a near-death experience, he succeeds and is saved. Moneta explains that only those who feel the world's miseries can enter this place, and she reveals that the narrator is a 'dreaming thing' admitted for his unworthiness.
Chapter 300
Canto II
The speaker is guided through a celestial realm where the Titans lament their lost glory, Hyperion still clings to power but is plagued by dread, and the goddess Mnemosyne appears as a silent witness. Hyperion's fiery passage through the palace terrifies the ethereal hours.
Chapter 301
The Cap and Bells
Emperor Elfinan, ruler of a faery city in Ind, defies faery law by loving mortal women. His court and priesthood protest, so he promises to marry an immaterial wife. He sends an embassy to Pigmio to secure the hand of Princess Bellanaine. The princess is brought weeping to Elfinan, accompanied by her nurse Corallina. They are spied upon by Crafticant, Elfinan's state-spy. Bellanaine laments the match, and the narrative includes excerpts from Crafticant's memoirs detailing their journey, including a flight over the Gobi Desert and arrival at Panthea. Elfinan, meanwhile, broods in his cabinet, threatening revenge on his ministers and longing for a mortal woman named Bertha.
Chapter 302
I
The chapter introduces a faery city in India near the Hydaspes river, under the rule of Emperor Elfinan, who is known for his love of mortal women and disdain for mere shades.
Chapter 303
II
The chapter describes a prince's forbidden crime that defies the law, causing the priesthood to weep in fear of ruin and dismay. Despite their warnings and dreams of sin, the prince continues his transgressions, rendering all forms of rebuke—from the pulpit to caricature and lampoon—ineffective.
Chapter 304
III
The emperor's high court of parliament presents a remonstrance, urging him to be content with what is sweet in faery land and to retreat from mortal tempters. To calm their fears, he promises to take an immaterial wife on the first of the new moon as a heavenly boon.
Chapter 305
IV
The emperor sends an embassy to Pigmio to secure the hand of Bellanaine, who is brought away weeping with a single attendant, accompanied by music from little harps.
Chapter 306
V
The princess journeys through a real heaven, carried by cherubim-like figures on a feathered bed, with her hair flowing in the wind. She travels while sleeping or awake, occasionally taking exercise or playful somersaults on a pigeon for sport.
Chapter 307
Chapter VI
Corallina warns Princess Bellanaine to be cautious of Crafticant, the state-spy, who is lurking nearby and could report her words to Elfinan.
Chapter 308
VII
The princess rebukes a speaker for his cynical and manipulative reasoning, declaring her determination to escape a hated marriage.
Chapter 309
Chapter VIII
A tense exchange occurs between Coralline and the mistress, where the mistress's anger threatens physical punishment, causing the nurse to back down in fear.
Chapter 310
Chapter IX
Bellanaine is silenced but continues to lament her forced marriage, feeling that her lowland match is a poison to her true-born Imaian blood.
Chapter 311
Chapter X
The narrator describes a sorrowful figure grieving and wetting rose-leaves with tears, but reveals that her sadness has deeper reasons, as recorded in ancient memoirs by Crafticant and published by Parpaglion and Co.
Chapter 312
XI
The speaker launches into a hypercritical attack on the vices of the age, condemning everything from general immorality to the specific, absurd crime of fairies kissing mortals, all while displaying a pedantic and learned structure.
Chapter 313
XII
The speaker directs the reader to an index entry for Bellanaine, where a slanderous article criticizes her for adopting a fashionable vice, which the speaker condemns as a moral failing.
Chapter 314
XIII
The speaker reveals plainly that Bellanaine loved a man before her marriage to Elfinan, and even after marriage she never found joy with her husband, instead using her wits to escape to Angle-land where the youth who fanned her heart's warm ardours lived.
Chapter 315
XIV
The narrator dismisses idle gossip and turns attention back to Elfinan, who is distressed and curses a bride he cannot have.
Chapter 316
XV
The emperor, following the departure of the bridal embassy, retreats to his cabinet in a state of vexation and spleen, damning his House of Commons in complete chagrin.
Chapter 317
XVI
The Emperor Elfinan, enraged by opposition to his desires, threatens to punish those who thwart him and expresses disbelief that even his ministers would conspire against him. He laments his own power and considers drastic actions.
Chapter 318
XVII
The speaker expresses a vengeful and spiteful resolve to thwart the ambitions of various court figures, including the chancellor's son, the nephew of old Palfior, the tiptoe marquis, and the Speaker's second cousin's aunt, denying them positions and privileges.
Chapter 319
XVIII
The speaker expresses a desire to snub the Duke of A. and his family, as well as the Viscount B., but is particularly vexed by the persistent and irritating voice of Esquire Biancopany, a commoner who treats every sovereign as a fool.
Chapter 320
XIX
Elfinan laments his impending marriage to a bride from Imaus, expressing his weariness and longing for the human beauty of Bertha, whom he desires to be near.
Chapter 321
Chapter XX
A brief moment of vulnerability gives way to a vengeful and passionate outburst, leading to a cruel order for death warrants.
Chapter 322
Chapter XXI
The emperor commands his page Eban to go to Hum the soothsayer, who has recently arrived in the empire.
Chapter 323
XXII
The speaker demands that Hum be brought to him, providing a ring as a pledge of favor to avoid suspicion. He threatens severe punishment if Hum delays, including execution or being fed to an asp, and mentions the torture of the wasp.
Chapter 324
XXIII
The Prince, in a petulant mood, gives orders and then lounges on the sofa. A slave retreats and goes to find old Hum, who knows the city's shortcuts well.
Chapter 325
XXIV
The chapter describes the evening time when wholesale dealers close their shutters with a moody sense of wealth, while retail dealers let loose gas lighting in brilliant forms to repel the powers of darkness, harming the oil trade and superseding the glow-worm.
Chapter 326
XXV
Eban, disdainful of the common entertainments and pastry-cooks, sets out incognito on his errand with a cloak and smelling-bottle. He passes the hurdy-gurdies with contempt, vowing to have them sent to the galleys, but is interrupted by rain and calls a coach to drive swiftly.
Chapter 327
XXVI
Madeline undresses for bed, her heart revived after vespers. She removes her jewels and attire, dreaming awake of St. Agnes, but dares not look behind lest the charm vanish.
Chapter 328
XXVII
The speaker addresses a carriage or coach, personifying it as an inconvenience and a hungry crop for all corn. It is described as a snail-creeper that moves to and fro, appearing to stop while moving and fiddle-faddle while standing still. In the morning, it carries a weight of woe to a lazar-house, and in the evening, it transports a double row of dowdies dressed for a dance or party, while also moving goods east and west.
Chapter 329
XXVIII
The speaker addresses a horse or carriage animal, criticizing its sluggish and ungraceful demeanor, yet acknowledging its patient and obedient nature as it responds to the slightest cues from its driver, enduring the bustling traffic of various carriages without complaint.
Chapter 330
Chapter XXIX
The protagonist philosophizes and instructs the coachman to turn onto a street. The coachman, bowing low and greeting hoarsely, advises that it would be best to proceed on foot due to the heavy press of coaches, which are as numerous as bees diving into flowers for April honey.
Chapter 331
Eban's Arrival at Hum's Hotel
Eban pays his fare and proceeds to Hum's hotel, his appearance vividly reflected in the pearl-paved street and mirrored walls, highlighting his rich attire.
Chapter 332
XXXI
The chapter describes a character who admires his own reflection, smiling repeatedly at his teeth and appearance, before knocking at a magician's door. While waiting for the porter, he continues to gaze at his own image in a clear panel, taking delight in his ornate turban, mustachios, ear-ring, nose-ring, and sabre.
Chapter 333
XXXII
A dark page asks the Swiss if his master is hosting a rout that night. The Swiss replies that his master finds the Magazin des Modes, opened against the Emperor's wedding next door, a monstrous bore, and has retired to his second floor to explore and cast a quiet figure.
Chapter 334
XXXIII
A speaker comments on the rising costs of various goods, including chalk, aqua vitae, and mice teeth, while noting the instability of the stars and zodiac.
Chapter 335
XXXIV
Servants gossip about Venus and the master's peculiar habit of descending stairs backwards with one shoe on and one off, prompting a humorous exchange.
Chapter 336
XXXV
The great Magician, Feeling, carefully navigates the stairs, moving backwards and downwards. Hum exclaims about a dog being in the way, and the Swiss replies that the dog is in the kitchen. Hum tells the Swiss not to beat the dog, and then something falls to the floor.
Chapter 337
XXXVI
The sage and Eban flee from the Page, fearing the Emperor's rage, and stop at the Emperor's chamber door where Eban hears a soft snore.
Chapter 338
XXXVII
A page and Hum debate the Emperor's state of mind, with the page revealing that the buzzing noise comes from a Man-Tiger-Organ, a toy of the Emperor's choice.
Chapter 339
XXXVIII
Eban ushers in the learned Seer while the Emperor, Elfinan, turns his back in bitterness. Both Eban and the Seer prostrate themselves on the carpet in fear, waiting in distress as they know the Emperor's moody bitterness. Eban trembles and quakes, fearing the Emperor's Man-Tiger-Organ more than senna-tea or a nightmare Gorgon.
Chapter 340
XXXIX
A passionate moment is described where a kiss is shared upon a luxurious carpet, followed by a sudden outburst of emotion that results in the destruction of glassware and an inkstand.
Chapter 341
XL
The Emperor dismisses Eban and commands the Chaldean to remain, offering him a choice of wine to fortify his spirits.
Chapter 342
XLI
Hum requests a small measure of old Jamaica rum, but the Emperor Elfinan offers him Nantz instead. Hum accepts, asking for it to be mixed with a drop of crème de citron, though he worries his boldness may be misplaced.
Chapter 343
XLII
At a feast, the Emperor pledges his love to Bertha, prompting the sage Hum to list many Berthas he knows, including Bertha Watson, Miss Bertha Page, Bertha Blount of York, and Bertha Knox of Perth.
Chapter 344
XLIII
Hum reveals to the Emperor that he is in love with a girl named Bertha Pearl, who lives in Canterbury with her grandmother. The Emperor reacts with passionate admiration for her beauty.
Chapter 345
XLIV
Hum speaks of Bertha, claiming to have known her since childhood. He describes her birth in an Indian wilderness, amidst the sounds of her mother's screams mingling with a tiger's roar, as torch-bearing slaves sent a halloo into the jungles. Her palanquin rested in the dreary desert, shaking with her agony, until little Bertha's eyes opened upon the serene stars.
Chapter 346
XLV
The monarch speaks to the son of Cham, expressing his love and asking for advice on how to bring the lady to him. The son of Cham claims she is his changeling, though her story seems strange.
Chapter 347
XLVI
The Emperor threatens Hum to bring the lady to him, but Hum deflects with wordplay and suggests she is in Canterbury, offering to cool the Emperor's brandy with wine.
Chapter 348
XLVII
A character takes a narrow Flemish glass that once belonged to Admiral De Witt, admires it with a connoisseur's eye, fills it with fine claret, and drinks it in one swift motion, savoring the taste and declaring it the best in town.
Chapter 349
XLVIII
The Emperor, in distress over his love, is comforted by Hum who offers wine and remedies, urging him to weep not and to rest.
Chapter 350
XLIX
The Mago advises the Emperor to forget Bellanaine and instead consider Bertha, producing a sampler as evidence of his counsel.
Chapter 351
L
Elfinan receives a piece of embroidery from Bertha Pearl, dated Midsummer, ninety-one, and reacts with intense emotion, weeping over the humble, handcrafted cloth adorned with whimsical and grand designs.
Chapter 352
LI
The monarch reads over the day-school hieroglyphics with a mix of sadness and pleasure, but is astounded by a couplet that defies Cupid. He faints in shock, but Hum reassures him that it is not meant seriously.
Chapter 353
LII
A speaker addresses a highness, arguing against marrying Miss Bellanaine due to conscience and confessing love for a mortal, while warning of potential retribution.
Chapter 354
LIII
A speaker defends a prince's love for Bertha, arguing that it is no crime to indulge one's affections, especially given her delicate and fairy-like qualities.
Chapter 355
LIV
The Emperor speaks to Hum, asking about the time and how to embrace a sweet girl. Hum notes the early hour and advises the Emperor to act like a true lover.
Chapter 356
LV
A brief dialogue where a speaker proposes to fetch a lady for the king, suggesting she be brought in a swoon to avoid fright, and insists the king must depart for Kent by noon.
Chapter 357
LVI
Caesar is instructed to travel to Canterbury by St. Mark's Eve to secure Bertha as a prize, with a specific date and directive given.
Chapter 358
LVII
The magician frowns solemnly, his frost-white eyebrows shading his deep green eyes, and from his hood he lifts a bright gold casket. He touches a spring-lock, revealing an old, legend-leaved book charmed into ever freezing.
Chapter 359
LVIII
A speaker offers a magic book to the Emperor, promising it will charm Bertha into a fainting fit and advising him to carry her back to his palace without alarm.
Chapter 360
LIX
The Emperor prepares to depart, instructing that a book be placed on Bertha's table to aid his purpose. He promises his new bride as a reward and expresses his burning desire to leave, spurning a troublesome figure.
Chapter 361
LX
The magian reassures the fay that he will handle her absence from court by claiming she is ill, and humorously suggests that if the archbishops mention extreme unction, he will say she dislikes cold pig with Latin phrases, which should only be used in alarming cases.
Chapter 362
LXI
Hum opens the window for the Emperor, who observes a crowd gathered to see Bellanaine. The Emperor prepares himself, asking for his belt tightened, his book, and his wand, ensuring nothing is forgotten.
Chapter 363
LXII
Hum observes the morning landscape, noting the return of an ambassador from Pigmio and the beautiful play of light and color across the sky, clouds, and forest.
Chapter 364
LXIII
The Emperor Hum is praised for his poetic skill and invited to share more of his work, as he observes the bustling activity around him.
Chapter 365
LXIV
The chapter describes a festive morning filled with the sounds of bells, music, and bustling activity from the city and its suburbs, with colorful flags and rich attire adding to the celebratory atmosphere.
Chapter 366
LXV
The fairy escort is clearly seen, resembling the old pageant of Aurora's train, hovering near a pearl-built minster. First comes wily Crafticant, the chamberlain, balanced on his gray-grown pinions with his slender wand officially revealed. Then black gnomes scatter sixpences like rain, followed by pages three and three, and next, slave-held, the bright Imaian 'scutcheon with one mouse in an argent field.
Chapter 367
LXVI
A grand procession is described, featuring gentlemen pensioners, Janizaries, slaves bearing gems, physicians, a chaplain, lords, and finally the fair Princess herself, who is borne upon wings and delighted by the splendor attending her.
Chapter 368
LXVII
Elfinan, observing a grand spectacle from a window, declares his intention to leave for England and requests an invisible ring from Hocus before taking flight.
Chapter 369
LXVIII
Elfinan leaps gracefully to the window-sill, carrying the magic book under one arm. He bows to Bellanaine, delivers a dramatic farewell, then bursts into laughter and snaps his fingers.
Chapter 370
LXIX
Hum realizes that the Emperor has left the room and worries that his drinking of the Emperor's wine will be noticed by Old Crafticant. He observes that the room is filled with jewels and contemplates stealing some diamonds from the Emperor's scrutoire.
Chapter 371
LXX
Hum, intoxicated, stumbles through the corridor and falls down the stairs, resulting in his death.
Chapter 372
LXXI
The speaker describes Crafticanto's elegant and tender prose style, comparing it to Boswell's, and playfully invokes a faery Pegasus to dance through the verse.
Chapter 373
LXXII
Crafticant continues his diary entry, noting the time, weather, and coordinates. A flight of starlings is spotted heading toward Thibet, and the Princess is described as sulky and irritable, even biting her nurse.
Chapter 374
LXXIII
The speaker recounts a mundane and slightly ominous evening: he shoots a moth, makes broth from it, and dines with a princess who initially turns up her nose but then enjoys the meal. He tries to lighten the mood with a pun, but she frowns. A large owl flies by, which he interprets as a bad omen for the new match.
Chapter 375
LXXIV
The travelers make their way across the Gobi Desert from two to half-past, observing a distant mountain that erupts with a fan-shaped burst of blood-red fire, its peak turbaned with smoke that reeks away solid and black from an eternal pyre, burdening the winds so they can scarcely breathe.
Chapter 376
LXXV
At three o'clock, a falling star causes chaos among the troop, killing a man-cook and a page, breaking various dishes, and singeing the Princess's hoop. A large bat suddenly flies into the narrator's face.
Chapter 377
LXXVI
At exactly 5:13 PM, a massive fire breaks out in the west, immediately assumed to be the city of Balk. A griffin circles overhead, reconnoitering the group, doubling their guard, lighting torches, and shouting until it finally veers away. The Princess is terrified, and many prepare for death.
Chapter 378
LXXVII
At half-past three, the moon rises and briefly camps on a cloud. From the earth, a lively tune of tambourines and pipes is heard. On a flowery lawn, a brilliant crowd dances in a five-part pattern, while some rest half-asleep under green-faned cedars, others doze in silken tents amid light fragrance, and some close their eyelids on the open turf.
Chapter 379
LXXVIII
The speaker recounts a series of misadventures involving dropping a gold watch, killing a kettledrum, and attempting to curry favor with a highness by coaxing her pug-dog, only to receive a sharp rebuff. The highness then wishes to play whist, makes three revokes, and turns from her partner in a huff, with a note that His Majesty will eventually know her temper.
Chapter 380
LXXIX
The speaker recounts playing a game of chess with the Princess, who falls asleep and dreams of Master Hubert.
Chapter 381
LXXX
The speaker describes a journey approaching a city at dawn, noting a feather shed from their wing and the hopeful, hearty feeling that follows. At five, golden light appears in the east; at six, the churches of Panthea ring, and the city's inhabitants swarm out to watch and hail the speaker's grand approach.
Chapter 382
LXXXI
The speaker describes a flight observed by onlookers who gaze with hungry eyes and run with mad-cap pleasure or hand-clasped amaze. Sweet music plays in the air, and flowers such as daisy, primrose, and hyacinth are scattered or wreathed around white columns.
Chapter 383
LXXXII
The speaker describes floating over crowded streets filled with holiday celebrations, banners waving, and a thunderous roar echoing through the city, comparing the scene to the sea flooding a rocky shore.
Chapter 384
LXXXIII
The crowd shouts 'Bellanaine for ever!' as the Princess, seated in a winged chair, bows gracefully and distributes jewels from a horn of plenty. The speaker defends her against the calumny that the jewels are worthless pebbles.
Chapter 385
LXXXIV
The imperial procession glides toward a light Ionic portico, the city's delicacy and pride of the Imperial Basilic. Lords and ladies bow in obeisance as they enter, but inside everything is turned topsy-turvy in a devilish dance.
Chapter 386
LXXXV
The speaker describes the surprising scene at the court, where instead of the expected formal reception, a chaotic crowd fills the hall and the Chief Justice is seen crawling on his hands and knees.
Chapter 387
LXXXVI
A chaotic and satirical depiction of a royal procession or courtly gathering, where officials and commoners alike are jumbled together in a disorderly, violent, and absurd melee.
Chapter 388
LXXXVII
A poet, riding on the back of the Court-Clown, rushes to the Princess and recites a wedding poem, causing her to faint from distress. The crowd laughs at her weakness, and the speaker frantically searches for the King, determined to find him or die.
Chapter 389
LXXXVIII
The speaker jostles through a crowd and runs up the stairs, encountering the drunken old impostor Hum on the first landing. The narrative reflects on the Mago's innocence based on Crafticanto's evidence and resolves to continue the story in its original mood and tense, despite the immense labor.
Chapter 390
To George Keats
The speaker, writing from sickness, addresses his brother George Keats, expressing gratitude for the care and tenderness shown by friends during his illness. He reflects on the deep feelings of thankfulness that words cannot adequately convey, and hopes that if health returns, his brother's brow may retain the glow of sweet content.
Chapter 391
The Last Sonnet
The speaker expresses a desire for constancy and eternal union with their beloved, preferring to remain forever in a state of tender intimacy rather than exist in isolated, eternal watchfulness.
Chapter 392
Endnotes
The endnotes provide brief references to a Spectator article on laced coffee and to Bayle's Dictionary regarding Cham as the inventor of magic, with a note that Lucy copied a long Latin note from that work.
