Poetry · Chapter
To the Life Eternal explained
The speaker declares that the divine is their central thought, heart, and being, framing the search for God as the defining purpose of their existence from its earliest conscious moment.
What happens
The speaker declares that the divine is their central thought, heart, and being, framing the search for God as the defining purpose of their existence from its earliest conscious moment. They express a complete dependence on the divine, who is both their origin and ultimate destiny.
Themes in this chapter
Longing for Immortality
The speaker's search for the eternal life and divine origin reflects a deep longing for what transcends mortal existence.
Love as Ultimate Strength
The speaker's total devotion and importuning of the divine suggests love as the driving force behind their quest.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Thou art my thought, my heart, my being’s fortune, The search for thee my growth’s first conscious date; For nought, for everything, I thee importune; Thou art my all, my origin and fate!”
You are my every thought, the core of my heart, and the purpose of my existence; seeking you has been my goal since I first became aware. I beg you for nothing and everything; you are my everything, my beginning and my end.
The speaker expresses total dependence on and devotion to the divine.