Ravenna explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Nature and the Seasons

  The poem traces the cycle of seasons from spring to winter, using natural imagery to reflect on time and change.

• Transience and Mortality

  The tombs of Dante, Gaston de Foix, and Theodoric emphasize the fleeting nature of glory and the inevitability of death.

• Suffering and Redemption

  Dante's exile and suffering are redeemed by his immortal poetry; Byron's sacrifice for liberty is honored.

• Love and Loss

  The poet's passionate love for Ravenna endures beyond seasons and time, though the city itself is lost to decay.

Characters to notice

• Dante

  Dante's tomb in Ravenna is honored; the poet reflects on his exile and suffering, and his soul now walks beside Beatrice.

• Byron

  Byron lived in Ravenna for two years in love and revelry, later leaving to fight for Greek liberty; the poet praises his sacrifice.

• Gaston de Foix

  The bravest knight of France, slain near Ravenna; his tomb is marked by a lonely pillar on the plain.

• Theodoric

  The Gothic king sleeps in a lordly tomb near Ravenna, a ruin weathered by time.

• Proserpine

  Ravenna is likened to Proserpine with poppy-laden head, guarding the holy ashes of the dead.

• Pan

  The poet hopes to see goat-foot Pan making merry minstrelsy amid the reeds in the forest.

• Huntress Dian

  Imagined as Queen Dian in the chase, white-limbed and terrible, with boar-hounds.

• Young Hylas

  Mentioned as Hylas mirrored in the perfect stream, part of the poet's Hellenic dream.

Key passages

• “Now is the Spring of Love, yet soon will come On meadow and tree the Summer’s lordly bloom; And soon the grass with brighter flowers will blow, And send up lilies for some boy to mow. Then before long the Summer’s conqueror, Rich Autumn-time, the season’s usurer, Will lend his hoarded gold to all the trees, And see it scattered by the spendthrift breeze; And after that the Winter cold and drear. So runs the perfect cycle of the year.”

  The poet describes the progression of seasons from spring to winter, using metaphors of wealth and loss, and notes that love alone is eternal and unaffected by time.

  This passage illustrates the theme of nature and seasons, and the enduring power of love.

• “O mightiest exile! all thy grief is done: Thy soul walks now beside thy Beatrice; Ravenna guards thine ashes: sleep in peace.”

  The poet addresses Dante, saying his suffering as an exile is over, his soul is reunited with Beatrice, and his ashes rest safely in Ravenna.

  This reflects the theme of suffering and redemption, and Dante's character check-in.

• “Byron dwelt here in love and revelry For two long years—a second Anthony, Who of the world another Actium made!— Yet suffered not his royal soul to fade, Or lyre to break, or lance to grow less keen, ’Neath any wiles of an Egyptian queen.”

  Byron lived in Ravenna in love and celebration, compared to Mark Antony, but unlike him, Byron did not let his spirit or art be diminished by a queen's charms.

  This highlights Byron's character and his dedication to liberty over personal indulgence.

• “Alas! alas! these sweet and honied hours Had whelmed my heart like some encroaching sea, And drowned all thoughts of black Gethsemane.”

  The poet's joyful moments in the forest overwhelmed him, making him forget the sorrow of Christ's agony in Gethsemane.

  This contrasts pagan nature worship with Christian spirituality, touching on the theme of spirituality and doubt.