The Luzumiyat · Chapter
LXXXV explained
The speaker reflects on the bitterness of his years, comparing them to vapid verses, and contemplates the role of Fate in bringing both winter and spring.
What happens
The speaker reflects on the bitterness of his years, comparing them to vapid verses, and contemplates the role of Fate in bringing both winter and spring.
Themes in this chapter
Fate and Destiny
The chapter explicitly invokes Fate as the arbiter of life's bitter and sweet moments.
Mortality and Transience
The speaker's years are described as vapid and bitter, emphasizing the fleeting and unsatisfying nature of life.
Characters to notice
- Fate
Fate is personified as carrying both December snows and May flowers, symbolizing the duality of life's experiences.
Key passages
“And all my years, as vapid as my lay, Are bitter morsels of a mystic day— The day of Fate, who carries in his lap December snows and snow-white flowers of May.”
All my years, as empty as my poem, are bitter pieces of a mysterious day—the day of Fate, who holds both winter snows and spring flowers.
The speaker laments the emptiness of his life and poem, attributing the mixture of hardship and beauty to Fate.