Poetry · Chapter
The Watcher explained
A mysterious, divine watcher gazes upon the turmoil of nations from a windy cleft.
What happens
A mysterious, divine watcher gazes upon the turmoil of nations from a windy cleft. The watcher's eyes grow holier, resembling those of one in prayer, and their clasped hands tremble with cosmic power, blessing the world until a final, terrible awakening shakes humanity from its conscious nightmare.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Purification
The nations' conflict and the 'conscious nightmare' reflect suffering, while the watcher's blessing and the final awakening suggest purification.
Redemption and Grace
The watcher's blessing and the hope of waking from the nightmare imply a redemptive grace.
Characters to notice
- God
The watcher's eyes and hands suggest a divine presence observing and blessing humanity.
Key passages
“From out a windy cleft there comes a gaze Of eyes unearthly, which go to and fro Upon the people’s tumult, for below The nations smite each other”
From a windy gap, an otherworldly gaze scans the chaotic crowds as nations war below.
Describes the watcher's perspective on human conflict.
“And if those clasped hands tremble, comes a power As of the might of worlds, and they are holden Blessing above us in the sunrise golden”
If the watcher's clasped hands shake, a world-shaking power steadies them, and they remain raised in blessing over us in the golden sunrise.
Illustrates the watcher's immense power and benevolent posture.
“And they will be uplifted till that hour Of terrible rolling which shall rise and shake This conscious nightmare from us, and we wake.”
The hands will stay uplifted until the hour of dreadful upheaval that will shake away our waking nightmare and bring true awakening.
Foreshadows a final, apocalyptic awakening from suffering.