# Epigraph explained — The House of the Wolfings

> Chapter companion for The House of the Wolfings by William Morris.

## What happens

The epigraph reflects on the bittersweet memory of a lost homestead, using the metaphor of a traveler passing a former home to evoke themes of nostalgia, loss, and the passage of time. It sets a melancholic tone for the story, hinting at the cycle of departure and return.

## Themes in this chapter

### Sacrifice and Loss

The poem evokes the loss of a former home and the pain of being unable to return, reflecting on the sacrifices inherent in the passage of time.

### The Cycle of War and Return

The imagery of passing a homestead in the dark and the 'ancient glimmer' suggests a cyclical journey of departure and the faint hope of return, mirroring the cycle of war and homecoming.

## Key lines

> Whiles in the early Winter eve We pass amid the gathering night Some homestead that we had to leave Years past; and see its candles bright Shine in the room beside the door Where we were merry years agone But now must never enter more, As still the dark road drives us on.

Sometimes on a winter evening, we travel through the dark and pass a home we left long ago, seeing its warm lights where we once were happy, but we can never go back, and the dark road pushes us forward.

_This stanza establishes the central metaphor of the poem: the lost home as a symbol of irretrievable past joy._

> E’en so the world of men may turn At even of some hurried day And see the ancient glimmer burn Across the waste that hath no way; Then with that faint light in its eyes A while I bid it linger near And nurse in wavering memories The bittersweet of days that were.

So too, humanity might look back at the end of a rushed day and see a distant, ancient light shining across a pathless wilderness; with that faint light in view, I ask it to pause and cherish the bittersweet memories of days gone by.

_The final stanza extends the personal loss to a universal human experience, urging a moment of reflection on the past._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_of_the_wolfings_se/chapters/epigraph
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_of_the_wolfings_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_of_the_wolfings_se/chapters