Poetry · Chapter
Hymn to Apollo explained
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.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Mythology and Classical Reference
The poem is a direct hymn to Apollo, invoking classical imagery of the god's attributes and the Pleiades.
Mortality and the Sublime
The speaker contrasts his own insignificance ('a worm') with Apollo's immense power, exploring themes of humility and divine awe.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“God of the golden bow, And of the golden lyre, And of the golden hair, And of the golden fire, Charioteer Of the patient year”
Apollo is the god of archery, music, beauty, and the sun, who drives the chariot of the seasons.
Opening invocation establishes Apollo's domains.
“Where—where slept thine ire, When like a blank idiot I put on thy wreath, Thy laurel, thy glory, The light of thy story, Or was I a worm—too low crawling, for death?”
Why did your anger not strike me when I foolishly wore your laurel crown? Was I too insignificant even to be destroyed?
Speaker questions why Apollo did not punish his presumption.
“O why didst thou pity, and for a worm Why touch thy soft lute Till the thunder was mute, Why was not I crush'd—such a pitiful germ?”
Why did you take pity on me, a mere worm, and play your lute to silence the thunder? Why wasn't I destroyed, insignificant as I am?
Apollo's mercy is contrasted with his power to destroy.
“The Pleiades were up, Watching the silent air; The seeds and roots in the Earth Were swelling for summer fare; The Ocean, its neighbour, Was at its old labour”
The Pleiades constellation shone in the night sky, the earth prepared for summer growth, and the ocean continued its eternal work.
A peaceful natural scene contrasts with the speaker's earlier turmoil.