Poetry · Chapter
It Was Upon explained
The speaker recalls a July evening when he stood at a stile and a wandering stranger commented on the fine 'lattermath' (second growth of grass).
What happens
The speaker recalls a July evening when he stood at a stile and a wandering stranger commented on the fine 'lattermath' (second growth of grass). Twenty years later, the speaker reflects on that moment and the unfulfilled promise of the future, now that those fields are lost to him.
Themes in this chapter
Memory and Time
The speaker recalls a moment from twenty years ago, questioning the fulfillment of the prophecy implied by the stranger's words.
Place and Belonging
The fields that were once possessed are now never to be recrossed, emphasizing a lost connection to place.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The speaker who recalls the July evening and the stranger's words after twenty years.
- The Huckster
The wandering man who speaks of the lattermath, though his identity is only that of a stranger.
Key passages
“It was upon a July evening. At a stile I stood, looking along a path Over the country by a second Spring Drenched perfect green again.”
One July evening, I stood at a stile and gazed across the countryside, which was lush and green as if a second spring had arrived.
Sets the scene of a vivid, verdant July evening.
“The lattermath Will be a fine one.”
The second growth of grass will be excellent.
The stranger's comment about the aftermath or second cutting of hay.
“And as an unaccomplished prophecy The stranger’s words, after the interval Of a score years, when those fields are by me Never to be recrossed, now I recall, This July eve, and question, wondering, What of the lattermath to this hoar Spring?”
Now, twenty years later, I remember the stranger's words like an unfulfilled prophecy, since I can never walk those fields again. I wonder what the 'lattermath' of this old spring might be.
The speaker reflects on the passage of time and the lost opportunity to see the future unfold.