Poetry · Chapter
IV explained
Endymion confesses his love to the lady in the forest, who responds with a song about Sorrow.
What happens
Endymion confesses his love to the lady in the forest, who responds with a song about Sorrow. The Carian witnesses his lady's fading form and enters the Cave of Quietude. A vision of celestial beings celebrating Dian's wedding passes by. Peona finds Endymion, and the dark-eyed stranger reveals herself as Phoebe, who spiritualizes Endymion and departs with him, leaving Peona in wonder.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Loss
Endymion's passionate confession and the Carian's loss of his lady highlight the pain and transience of love.
Sorrow and Melancholy
The lady's song personifies Sorrow as a constant companion, and the Cave of Quietude offers a dark refuge from woe.
Mythology and Classical Reference
References to Bacchus, Phoebus, Cynthia, and the celestial wedding of Dian weave classical myth into the narrative.
Characters to notice
- Endymion
Confesses his love to the lady and later is spiritualized by Phoebe.
- Peona
Finds Endymion and witnesses his transformation and departure with Phoebe.
- The Carian
Watches his lady fade and enters the Cave of Quietude, finding contentment.
- Phoebus
Mentioned in the celestial vision as Apollo.
- Cynthia
Kisses Peona and blesses her before departing with Endymion.
- Bacchus
Appears in the lady's song as part of a revelry that scares Melancholy.
Key passages
“I have a triple soul! O fond pretence— For both, for both my love is so immense, I feel my heart is cut for them in twain.”
Endymion claims to have a threefold soul, but admits his love for two beings is so great that his heart feels split in two.
Endymion expresses his conflicted and overwhelming love.
“O Sorrow, Why dost borrow The natural hue of health, from vermeil lips?— To give maiden blushes To the white rose bushes?”
The lady sings to Sorrow, asking why it takes the healthy color from lips to give blushes to white roses.
The song personifies Sorrow as a force that borrows beauty from life.
“Happy gloom! Dark Paradise! where pale becomes the bloom Of health by due; where silence dreariest Is most articulate; where hopes infest;”
The Cave of Quietude is a dark paradise where paleness is healthy, silence speaks loudly, and hopes are troubling.
Describes the paradoxical comfort found in the Cave of Quietude.