Poetry · Chapter
VI explained
The poet addresses Ravenna, lamenting its fall from ancient glory while celebrating its enduring beauty.
What happens
The poet addresses Ravenna, lamenting its fall from ancient glory while celebrating its enduring beauty. He contrasts its silent ruin with the resurgence of other Italian cities, and expresses a deep personal love for the city, returning to it like a dove to its nest.
Themes in this chapter
Transience and Mortality
Ravenna's fallen greatness and ruined palaces illustrate the impermanence of human glory.
Nature and the Seasons
Imagery of the sun setting, fields of asphodel, and the cycle of seasons (winter to spring) contrasts with the city's decay.
Suffering and Redemption
Ravenna's misery and the hope of awakening like a rose from snows suggest a redemptive future.
Characters to notice
- Dante
Mentioned as a symbol of Italy's dream of unity and liberty, now realized.
Key passages
“O fair! O sad! O Queen uncomforted! In ruined loveliness thou liest dead, Alone of all thy sisters; for at last Italia’s royal warrior hath passed Rome’s lordliest entrance, and hath worn his crown In the high temples of the Eternal Town!”
Ravenna, beautiful and sorrowful, lies dead in its ruins, unique among Italian cities, while the king of Italy has triumphantly entered Rome and been crowned.
The poet contrasts Ravenna's desolation with the unification of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel II.
“Yet back to thee returns my perfect love, As to its forest-nest the evening dove.”
My love for you returns completely, like a dove returning to its nest in the forest at dusk.
The poet expresses his deep, instinctual attachment to Ravenna.