Poetry · Chapter
The New Remorse explained
The speaker reflects on a personal sin and misunderstanding, now experiencing a desolate landscape where music is imprisoned and summer has died.
What happens
The speaker reflects on a personal sin and misunderstanding, now experiencing a desolate landscape where music is imprisoned and summer has died. A new lord arrives from the South to claim the beloved's affection, leaving the speaker to weep and worship as before.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Redemption
The speaker's sin and subsequent remorse, along with the arrival of a new lord, suggests a cycle of suffering and potential redemption.
Transience and Mortality
Imagery of summer digging a grave and the withered hollow of the land emphasizes the fleeting nature of life and beauty.
Characters to notice
- Love
Addressed as 'love' in the line 'Nay, love, look up and wonder!'
Key passages
“The sin was mine; I did not understand.”
I alone am guilty of the sin, for I failed to comprehend.
Opening confession of personal fault and ignorance.
“So now is music prisoned in her cave, Save where some ebbing desultory wave Frets with its restless whirls this meagre strand.”
Music is now trapped in its cave, except for occasional aimless waves that disturb the barren shore.
Describes a stifled, desolate atmosphere.
“And in the withered hollow of this land Hath Summer dug herself so deep a grave, That hardly can the leaden willow crave One silver blossom from keen Winter’s hand.”
In this dried-up hollow, summer has buried itself so deeply that even the willow can barely ask winter for a single blossom.
Metaphor for the death of warmth and life.
“It is thy new-found Lord, and he shall kiss The yet unravished roses of thy mouth, And I shall weep and worship, as before.”
This is your newly discovered lord, who will kiss your untouched lips, while I will weep and adore you as I always have.
The beloved is claimed by a new figure, leaving the speaker in a state of sorrowful devotion.