Poetry · Chapter
A Vision of Resurrection explained
The narrator dreams of a desolate earth where all graves but one are open, having disgorged their dead for judgment.
What happens
The narrator dreams of a desolate earth where all graves but one are open, having disgorged their dead for judgment. A voice explains that a million years have passed since the resurrection began, and only one soul remains. The final grave opens, revealing Deacon George K. Fitch, who rises with a superior smile and ascends to heaven.
Themes in this chapter
Mortality and Regret
The dream depicts the aftermath of death on a cosmic scale, with all graves emptied and only the final sinner's trial lingering, emphasizing the finality and judgment of mortal life.
Hypocrisy and Corruption
Deacon Fitch, a holy man by his epitaph, rises with a 'superior' smile, hinting at a gap between public piety and true virtue, a common satirical target.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The dreamer who witnesses the post-resurrection landscape and the final rising of Deacon Fitch.
- Deacon Fitch
The last soul to rise from the grave, a deacon and editor whose headstone proclaims him a holy man who 'fell asleep in Jesus.'
Key passages
“A million years have rolled away since here / His sheeted multitudes (save only some / Whose dark misdeeds required a separate / And individual arraigning) rose / To judgment at the trumpet’s summoning”
A million years have passed since most of humanity rose for judgment, except for a few whose sins were so great they needed a separate trial.
The voice explains the timeline of the resurrection, highlighting the exceptional delay for the most sinful.
“That single rounded mound cracked lengthliwise / And one came forth in grave-clothes. For a space / He stood and gazed about him with a smile Superior”
The last grave split open and a figure in burial clothes emerged, pausing to look around with a smug expression.
The final resurrection of Deacon Fitch, depicted with a condescending demeanor.
“Sacred to memory of George K. Fitch, / Deacon and Editor—a holy man / Who fell asleep in Jesus, full of years / And blessedness. The dead in Christ rise first.”
The headstone reads: In memory of George K. Fitch, a deacon and editor, a holy man who died peacefully in faith, full of years and blessing. The dead in Christ rise first.
The epitaph on Fitch's tombstone, which ironically contrasts with his smug behavior.