Poetry · Chapter
Chapter XX explained
The speaker asks for pardon before continuing the tale, acknowledging the attempt to honor a departed spirit through verse, likening the effort to an echo in the north wind.
What happens
The speaker asks for pardon before continuing the tale, acknowledging the attempt to honor a departed spirit through verse, likening the effort to an echo in the north wind.
Themes in this chapter
Art and Poetry
The speaker reflects on the act of writing verse as a means to honor and echo a gone spirit.
Sorrow and Melancholy
A tone of mourning and gentle apology pervades the request to continue the tale.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The speaker who seeks pardon and addresses the departed spirit.
Key passages
“Grant thou a pardon here, and then the tale Shall move on soberly, as it is meet; There is no other crime, no mad assail To make old prose in modern rhyme more sweet: But it is done—succeed the verse or fail— To honour thee, and thy gone spirit greet; To stead thee as a verse in English tongue, An echo of thee in the north-wind sung.”
Please forgive me, and then the story will continue calmly and properly. There is no other wrongdoing, no wild attack to make old prose sweeter in modern rhyme. It is finished—whether the verse succeeds or fails—to honor you and greet your departed spirit; to serve as a verse in English, an echo of you sung in the north wind.
The speaker humbly asks for forgiveness before proceeding, explaining the poem's purpose is to honor a lost spirit.