Poetry · Chapter
XXXV explained
In a vision at midnight, the ghost of Lorenzo appears at Isabel's bedside, his appearance marred by his burial in the forest tomb, his hair and lips decayed, and tears streaming down his face.
What happens
In a vision at midnight, the ghost of Lorenzo appears at Isabel's bedside, his appearance marred by his burial in the forest tomb, his hair and lips decayed, and tears streaming down his face.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Loss
The ghostly visitation of Lorenzo underscores the enduring love and profound loss felt by Isabel.
Mortality and the Sublime
The decayed appearance of Lorenzo's body and the supernatural vision evoke the sublime horror of mortality.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“It was a vision.—In the drowsy gloom, The dull of midnight, at her couch’s foot Lorenzo stood, and wept: the forest tomb Had marr’d his glossy hair which once could shoot Lustre into the sun, and put cold doom Upon his lips, and taken the soft lute From his lorn voice, and past his loamed ears Had made a miry channel for his tears.”
It was a vision: in the sleepy darkness of midnight, Lorenzo stood at the foot of her bed and wept. His burial in the forest had ruined his once glossy hair that used to shine in the sunlight, had chilled his lips with death, silenced his sweet voice, and carved muddy tracks for his tears across his dirt-filled ears.
Describes the ghostly appearance of Lorenzo, highlighting the physical decay caused by his death.