Poetry · Chapter
Sonnet: After Dark Vapours explained
The poem describes the relief and renewal that follows a long, oppressive season of dark vapors.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Beauty and Transience
The poem juxtaposes the oppressive 'dark vapours' with the transient beauty of a clear day, ripening fruit, autumn suns, and the final image of a poet's death.
Mortality and the Sublime
The calm acceptance of death is evoked through the peaceful imagery of a sleeping infant's breath, an hourglass, and a poet's death, suggesting a sublime reconciliation with mortality.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The speaker observes the transition from oppressive vapors to a gentle, clear day and reflects on serene images.
Key passages
“After dark vapours have oppress’d our plains For a long dreary season, comes a day Born of the gentle South, and clears away From the sick heavens all unseemly stains.”
After a long, gloomy period of heavy clouds and mist, a mild southern wind brings a clear day that removes all the unpleasant marks from the ailing sky.
The opening lines describe a shift from oppressive weather to a cleansing, gentle day.
“The anxious month, relieved its pains, Takes as a long-lost right the feel of May; The eyelids with the passing coolness play, Like rose leaves with the drip of summer rains.”
The troubled month, finally free from its suffering, joyfully reclaims the sensation of May. Our eyelids flutter in the cool breeze, much like rose leaves trembling under summer raindrops.
The personification of the month and the simile of rose leaves emphasize the relief and delicate pleasure of the change.
“And calmest thoughts come round us; as, of leaves Budding,—fruit ripening in stillness,—Autumn suns Smiling at eve upon the quiet sheaves,— Sweet Sappho’s cheek,—a sleeping infant’s breath,— The gradual sand that through an hour-glass runs,— A woodland rivulet,—a Poet’s death.”
Peaceful thoughts surround us, like images of budding leaves, fruit quietly ripening, autumn sunsets smiling on harvested grain, the beauty of Sappho's cheek, the soft breath of a sleeping baby, the slow trickle of sand in an hourglass, a small stream in the woods, and the death of a poet.
The list of serene and transient images culminates in the acceptance of a poet's death as a natural, calm event.