Poetry · Chapter
LXII explained
Isabel, in her grief, piteously searches for her lost basil plant, speaking to it amorously and lamenting its theft.
What happens
Isabel, in her grief, piteously searches for her lost basil plant, speaking to it amorously and lamenting its theft.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Loss
Isabel's desperate mourning for her basil plant reflects deep love and profound loss.
Sorrow and Melancholy
The chapter is steeped in Isabel's sorrowful lament and melancholic search for the stolen basil.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Piteous she look’d on dead and senseless things, Asking for her lost Basil amorously”
She looked sadly at lifeless objects, lovingly asking for her missing basil.
Isabel's grief is so intense that she addresses inanimate things in search of her basil.
“And with melodious chuckle in the strings Of her lorn voice, she oftentimes would cry After the Pilgrim in his wanderings, To ask him where her Basil was”
With a musical yet sorrowful tone, she would call out to travelers, asking if they knew where her basil had gone.
Her voice blends melody with despair as she seeks help from passersby.
“For cruel ’tis,” said she, “To steal my Basil-pot away from me.””
She declared that it was cruel to take her basil pot from her.
Isabel directly expresses the injustice and pain of the theft.