# Opium explained — The Book of Jade

> Chapter companion for The Book of Jade by David Park Barnitz.

## What happens

The speaker extols the sweetness of dreaming away life in an opium-induced haze, where the senses are steeped in myrrh-scented air and the body lies in disarray. The poem contrasts the fleeting gold of today with the forgotten ages of the dead, and envisions Night pouring out primordial dreams that predate the world itself, only to be scattered by the vain morning.

## Themes in this chapter

### Death and Decay

The poem dwells on the 'pallid flower of life asleep alway' and the 'dead ages gray,' linking the opium dream to death and oblivion.

### Nihilism and Spiritual Emptiness

The dismissal of 'life’s mournful loud processional' and the scattering of dreams by 'vain morning gold' suggests a nihilistic view of existence and meaning.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who addresses the 'pallid maiden vesperal' and reflects on the ephemeral nature of life and dreams.

## Key lines

> Naught is more sweet than gently to let dream The pallid flower of life asleep alway

Nothing is sweeter than to let the pale flower of life dream forever in sleep.

_The speaker idealizes a permanent dreamlike state as the ultimate sweetness._

> We were, O pallid maiden vesperal, Before the world; we also in our turn By the vain morning gold scatter’d away.

We existed, pale evening maiden, before the world itself, and we too are scattered by the futile gold of morning.

_The dreams claim a primordial origin, only to be destroyed by the vanity of daylight._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters/part-i-opium
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters