# The Burden of Itys explained — Poetry > Chapter companion for Poetry by Oscar Wilde. ## What happens The speaker wanders through the English countryside along the Thames, contrasting its pastoral beauty with the grandeur of Rome and the ancient myths of Greece. He hears a nightingale's song and reflects on the sorrow of Philomel, the transient beauty of nature, and the enduring presence of classical gods and figures in the landscape. The poem weaves together themes of memory, art, and the intersection of the natural world with mythological past. ## Themes in this chapter ### Nature and the Seasons The poem richly describes the English countryside—harebells, poppies, beanfields, daffodils—and the seasonal cycle of summer evening, dew, and harvest. ### Classical Mythology and Antiquity The speaker invokes numerous classical figures and myths: Philomel, Endymion, Artemis, Narcissus, Salmacis, Ariadne, Dionysos, and the gods of Grecian poesy. ### Transience and Mortality The nightingale's song is a requiem; the speaker reflects on fleeting beauty, the passing of day, and the ephemeral nature of life and art. ### Art and Immortality Music is described as 'the Art which is most nigh to tears and memory,' and the ancient myths are said to be 'not dead at all' but asleep, awaiting revival through song. ## Character check-ins ### Antinous Wandered through the vale with sad voluptuous smile, the red lotus of the Nile leaning from his hair. ### Artemis Unravished Artemis bade her hounds give tongue and roused the deer from his green ambuscade. ### O Melancholy Addressed directly: 'O Melancholy, fold thy raven wing!' ### Endymion The moon knows Endymion is not far away. ### Narcissus Lies on the clear river's marge at Tempe, wooing his own drifting image. ### Salmacis Who is not boy nor girl and yet is both, fed by two fires and unsatisfied. ### Bacchus Young Bacchus fled from the copse, but is invoked to return astride his Indian throne. ### Faun Might raise his head by the green water-flags with reeded flute. ## Key lines > Lie still, lie still, O passionate heart, lie still! O Melancholy, fold thy raven wing! Calm down, my passionate heart; let sorrow be still and quiet. _The speaker commands his own emotions to be at peace._ > This English Thames is holier far than Rome The River Thames in England is more sacred than the city of Rome. _The speaker elevates the local English landscape above the religious grandeur of Rome._ > God is likelier there / Than hidden in that crystal-hearted star the pale monks bear! God is more likely present in the natural English scene than in the consecrated host carried by monks. _A critique of institutional religion in favor of nature's divinity._ > Sing on! sing on! let the dull world grow young, / Let elemental things take form again Keep singing, so that the weary world becomes youthful and the basic elements of nature are reborn. _The speaker invokes the nightingale's song to rejuvenate the world and revive ancient myths._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/the-burden-of-itys - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters