Poetry · Chapter
Canzonet explained
A pastoral love song that contrasts the speaker's lack of material wealth with the beauty of nature and classical mythology, invoking figures like Hyacinth, Pan, Hylas, and dryads to evoke a sense of loss and the fleeting nature of youth an
What happens
A pastoral love song that contrasts the speaker's lack of material wealth with the beauty of nature and classical mythology, invoking figures like Hyacinth, Pan, Hylas, and dryads to evoke a sense of loss and the fleeting nature of youth and love.
Themes in this chapter
Classical Mythology and Antiquity
The poem is steeped in classical references: Hyacinth, Pan, Hylas, Faun, and dryads, evoking a lost mythological world.
Transience and Mortality
The repeated deaths of mythological figures (Hyacinth, Hylas) and the fading of the season ('sad autumn day') underscore the theme of impermanence.
Characters to notice
- Young Hylas
Mentioned as dead, his lips compared to rose-petals.
- Pan
Invoked as absent, no longer present in the landscape.
- Faun
Referenced as no longer treading the leas.
- The Dryads
Mentioned as ivory dryads who no longer play on the hill.
Key passages
“I have no store Of gryphon-guarded gold;”
I possess no treasure protected by mythical beasts.
The speaker declares his lack of material wealth.
“Young Hyacinth is slain, Pan is not here, And will not come again.”
The youth Hyacinth has died, and the god Pan is absent forever.
Invokes the death of Hyacinth and the permanent departure of Pan.
“Hylas is dead, Nor will he e'er divine Those little red Rose-petalled lips of thine.”
Hylas is dead and will never again admire your rose-like lips.
Connects the death of Hylas to the beloved's beauty.