The Retreat by Henry Vaughan | Summary, Analysis

 Hello and welcome to the Discourse.

The Retreat is a much talked about a metaphysical poem by Henry Vaughan whose title itself is a prime example of metaphysical conceit. A retreat can have two meanings, the first is to hide or run away from one’s life, and the other is to go back to a happier place. The poet means both at different stages of the poem. The theme of the poem is the purity of childhood and infancy. The poet glorifies infancy as the purest stage of a man’s life. The poet mourns for the lost days of his childhood and wishes to return to older times of his ‘angel infancy when he was far away from the dark forces of the world.

Currently, he is worried about his own life, emotions, and sinful behavior. He is concerned about his sinful behavior that was not even thought of when he was a child.

In the final lines of the poem, the poet describes his probable death and how he will return to the dust of the earth. It won’t be a disaster as the poet suggests that it will be a penultimate ending before he could return to his angelic innocent previous life.

Structure of the poem

This is a short 32 lines poem arranged in a single stanza. The alternative lines are arranged in iambic and trochaic meters. The poem uses rhetoric, conceit, metaphors, metonymy, alliteration, and paradox.

Summary

Lines 1–6

Happy those early days! when I

Shined in my angel infancy.

Before I understood this place

Appointed for my second race,

Or taught my soul to fancy aught

But a white, celestial thought;

The poet begins with appreciating his childhood days as he remembers the old time. He represents his infancy, his childhood as angelic. Then he explains his current situation. He says that the place he now shows him all the dark sinful corners of the world. When he was young, he used to cherish his angelic thoughts and he never even realized that those were celestial, divine. But now it takes strong efforts to think as clearly as he used to.

Lines 7-14

When yet I had not walked above

A mile or two from my first love,

And looking back, at that short space,

Could see a glimpse of His bright face;

When on some gilded cloud or flower

My gazing soul would dwell an hour,

And in those weaker glories spy

Some shadows of eternity;

The poet continues to describe the happiness that he cherished during his childhood. During his younger age when he hadn’t walked more than a mile or two away from his home, his first love, the poet says that he was able to see the almighty’s face and grace. It was a period when his mind remained calm and he never worried about anything. He could spend hours while praising the natural beauty of some white fluffy cloud or a flower.

In the next two lines, the poet suggests that in those moments of calmness when he could feel no worries, though those moments were short, they appeared like an eternity. They were only shadows, but very precious.

Lines 15-20

Before I taught my tongue to wound

My conscience with a sinful sound,

Or had the black art to dispense

A several sin to every sense,

But felt through all this fleshly dress

Bright shoots of everlastingness.

The poet further describes the goodness of childhood. When he was young, he didn’t need to worry much about what he spoke or express as he hardly said anything that would harm his own conscience, he cherished that innocence. He never cared about what is morally right or wrong, he just lived as a free soul. However, as he grew up, the ‘black art’ tainted his emotions. As a young person, he didn’t worry about whatever he experienced and felt and if it was sinful. Now when he has grown up, he is aware of the nature of his own emotions and it bothers him. When he was young, he never felt any guilty thoughts about his body his existence (fleshy dress), rather he thought that he will always remain young and invigorating as if his youth is everlasting.

Lines 21-26

O, how I long to travel back,

And tread again that ancient track!

That I might once more reach that plain

Where first I left my glorious train,

From whence th’ enlightened spirit sees

That shady city of palm trees.

In these lines, the poet expresses his strong desire to return to the good old days of his childhood, youth. He makes an exclamation “O, how I long to travel back” (to the past). The poet is convinced that his past life was way better. So he would like to relive while giving up his current life. While it is impossible, the poet says that if it could be possible, that he will be able to reach the place where he left his ‘glorious train,’ his previous innocent carefree being. The poet is aware of the exact position of place where he left it too. He knows that he left his previous being on the hillside where his ‘enlightened spirit’ resides. ‘Enlightened spirit’ is his innocent angelic childhood which can see the city of palm trees where his previous being rests.

Lines 27-32

But, ah! my soul with too much stay

Is drunk, and staggers in the way.

Some men a forward motion love;

But I by backward steps would move,

And when this dust falls to the urn,

In that state I came, return.

In the next lines, the poet laments his inability to return to the past and achieve his previous self when he was innocent youth. The memories of the good old days have affected him much and he feels as if he is drunk. Even if he tries to turn back to his youth, he will stagger and fail. The poet then says that some people prefer moving forward but he wants to go back and attain his innocence again. In the last two lines, the poet describes how he will die and how his death will bring him closer to his innocent being as he will return to the same innocence that he has when he was an infant. These lines support the idea of Afterlife.

The Retreat is a religious poem in which the poet suggests that the societal norms have corrupted his soul and he longs to attain the purity of innocent spirituality again.

This is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse! Thanks and regards!

Kate Chopin The Story of An Hour | Characters, Summary, Analysis

 Kate Chopin The Story of An Hour | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse.

Kate Choplin was an American author of short stories and novels. Some of her most acclaimed short stories are The Storm (1898), The Story of An Hour (1894), Desirable Baby (1893). The collection of her stories was published by the title Bayou Folk.

Kate Chopin was born on February 8, 1850, and she died on August 22, 1904. Kate Chopin lost her father at the age of five and she was raised by her mother and grandmother. She was influenced by the nuns of her school. As she grew among strong women leading an independent life without the help of any male partner, individual liberty among women became a prominent theme of her writing. Though Kate Chopin denied being a feminist or suffragist, she rather proclaimed the idea of individual liberty and suggested that it was only a chance that the protagonists happen to be strong female characters. Chopin herself was an individual spirit. Kate married Oscar Chopin in 1870. Oscar died unexpectedly in 1882. Kate mourned her husband’s death deeply but she recovered soon as she had to take care of her kids. She was an unusual lady who used to smoke cigarettes, discuss politics and take part in social activities. After her husband’s death, she also got romantically involved with a married man but didn’t carry the affair for long. Her sense of individual liberty, the meaning of marriage, and female sexuality is expressed in her short stories and novels.

The Story of An Hour

Kate Chopin wrote The Story of An Hour on April 19, 1894. It was published in the Vogue Magazine on December 6, 1894, by the title The Dream of an Hour. Later on, Kate changed the title to The Story of An Hour and it was republished in the magazine St. Louis Life on January 5, 1895.

Characters

This is a short story and hence the list of characters is also very short. Louise Mallard is a middle-aged married woman with a weak heart problem. Her husband is Brentley Mallard. The couple is leading a calm yet mundane life. They admire each other and are loyal to each other. Both husband and wife take good care of each other. Despite this, Louise feels that she is being oppressed by her marriage. She is an independent lady who fails to conform to the norms of marriage. As a result, she falls sick with heart problems. Josephine is Louise’s younger sister. She knows about her sickness and when she learns about Brentley’s death in an accident, she tries to inform Louise carefully to avoid any shock to her. Richard is Brentley Mallard’s friend. He learns about the death of Brentley in a newspaper. He visits Brentley’s house and Josephine informs Louise about Brentley’s death in Richard’s presence.

Summary of The Story of An Hour

As the title suggests, this story tells about the happenings that occurred within an hour.

Louise Mallard is suffering from heart ailments. Her husband Brentley Mallard has gone out. Her sister Josephine learns that Brentley died in a rail accident. She is sad and nervous as she fears that this news may break Louise’s heart who is already sick and may kill her too. Richards is a close friend of Brentley. He learned about Brentley’s death in a newspaper as he checked the list of casualties in the railroad disaster. He visits Brentley’s house and Josephine decides to inform Louise about her husband’s demise in presence of Richards.

Josephine tells her about Brentley’s death calmly and carefully. Louise is shocked and sad as she starts sobbing when Josephine tells her about Brentley’s death and goes upstairs to be alone in her room.

Louise sits down in her room near an open window and sees the flying birds, bright sun, green trees, smell of approaching rain. All this soothes her heart. She hears the yelling of a street peddler selling his goods. She observes that someone is singing a song nearby and she also hears the chirping of sparrows. She sees the fluffy white clouds floating in the sky. She is still crying for the loss of her husband whom she dearly loved. But she remembers how both of them were feeling oppressed by the marriage though they loved each other. She remembers how a couple of days ago she exclaimed what a long life she has to live with Brently, expressing her depression and wishing to die soon. She is still sobbing but she realizes that she is now free of marriage. She is a middle-aged woman with lines around her eyes, yet, she feels young and invigorated. She tries to suppress her feelings but the word ‘Free’ resounds in her heart. She starts preparing herself for the life ahead without her husband. Though she is still sobbing, she starts feeling a strange warmth in herself. ‘Body and Soul Free’, she repeats to herself.

Josephine knocks at the door of her room and tells her that she should not be alone or she will get sick. Louise tells her not to disturb her and go away. She thinks about the years ahead without the presence of her husband. She will be living an independent life without any oppression or objection from her husband. She starts feeling ecstatic in her newfound sense of freedom. She hopes that she lives a long life now as she is independent.

Louise composes herself and opens the door where Josephine is still waiting for her. Both sisters come downstairs where Richards is still present.

Suddenly, the front door opens and Brentley enters the house. He was not on the train when the railroad disaster occurred. In fact, Brentley has no knowledge of any such accident as he missed the train. When Josephine sees him, she screams of shock and happiness. Richards tries to block Louise from seeing Brentley as he fears this sudden shock may break her, but he fails. Louise sees Brentley and stumbles on stairs and falls.

The doctor arrives at their home and pronounces Louise’s death and declares that Louise died of a heart attack brought on by happiness.

The story ends with a paradoxical irony. The doctor declares that Louise died of a heart attack brought on by happiness at seeing Brentley alive. However, she didn’t feel any heart problems when she heard of Brentley death. She actually felt strong, healthy, and willing to lead and enjoy the nectar of independent life. Her joy of being free is lost when she sees Brentley alive and her heart problem reoccurs and with such a strength that she dies of a heart attack. It was not happiness, but the sorrow of losing the independence again, that killed her.

Themes

The Story of An Hour tells about the forbidden joy of independence that can be felt only in private. When Louise hears about her husband’s death, she cries and mourns and acts appropriately in a natural manner. However, when she is alone, she realizes the newfound freedom in her life as she will no longer be oppressed by her husband. When Josephine tells her that she should not be alone as it will make her sick, Louise tells her to go away as she wants to enjoy her newfound freedom alone.

The story also indicates the inherently oppressive nature of marriage. Though Louise and Brentley are a loving couple with no altercation or disagreement between them, yet Louise feels oppressive though she accepts that Brentley is a loving husband. Kate Choppin suggests that marriages are oppressive by nature, no matter how kind and loving the couple are. When Louise learns of her husband’s death, she cries, but when alone, she feels happy as she will be living an independent life now. She knows that she will again weep at her husband's funeral who was a loving husband, yet she feels freedom from the oppression of marriage. She fails to recall how Brentley oppressed her, but she feels no wrong or malice in her newly-found happiness in freedom.

So this is it about The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin. We will continue to discuss English Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

They Are All Gone into The World of Light by Henry Vaughan | Summary, Analysis

 They Are All Gone into The World of Light by Henry Vaughan | Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse.

They Are All Gone into The World of Light is a metaphysical poem by Henry Vaughan who expressed his personal loss and ensuing feelings in this poem. He wrote this poem after the death of one of his close friends and he expresses his sadness and loneliness.

The poem begins with the pronoun ‘They’ followed by ‘all.’ It suggests that the poet may be talking about anyone. He may be talking about great saints and prophets, lost kings and soldiers, known and unknown faces, friends and foes. Thus, the reader is drawn into an act of mourning.

Poem Structure

The poem contains 40 lines arranged in 10 stanzas. Each stanza contains four lines or quatrains. The rhyming scheme is simple and clear abab. Most of the lines of the poem are arranged in an iambic pentameter scheme however, some of the lines are in iambic trimeter.

The main expression of the poem is loneliness and sadness as the poet has lost his close ones to death and he is mourning his loss. The poem is a meditation on death. The poet juxtaposes the blissful world of light that follows death against the world of darkness and confusion and loneliness that is the fate of living beings. Thus, the poem has the theme of the afterlife.

First Stanza

They are all gone into the world of light!

And I alone sit ling’ring here;

Their very memory is fair and bright,

And my sad thoughts doth clear.

The poet begins with a remembrance of those that he lost to death. He describes them as having gone to the world of light, that is heaven or the ring of eternity. The poet is feeling lonely, sad, and aimless, ‘ling’ring’ here in the living world. The poet is not sad because his close friends are dead now, but he is sad because he is still unable to join them in the world of light. The memories he has are soothing and they clear his mind and thoughts.

Second Stanza

It glows and glitters in my cloudy breast,

Like stars upon some gloomy grove,

Or those faint beams in which this hill is drest,

After the sun’s remove.

The poet continues to describe the good memories of his old friends and close relatives that he has lost. He suggests that their memories are so soothing and strong that they invigorate him. Those visions follow him throughout the day and appear like stars removing the darkness of a dense forest. Those memories are like those rays of light that manages to reach the hilltop even after the sunset.

Third Stanza

I see them walking in an air of glory,

Whose light doth trample on my days:

My days, which are at best but dull and hoary,

Mere glimmering and decays.

The poet suggests that the good old memories of his friends and relatives that he has lost to death are so strong that they appear real to him. He sees them walking in an air of glory as if they are alive while he, even though he is alive, appears dead to himself. He expresses his current situation as dull days that are gradually losing their light and are decaying.

Fourth Stanza

O holy Hope! and high Humility,

High as the heavens above!

These are your walks, and you have show’d them me

To kindle my cold love.

The poet changes the narrative in the fourth stanza as he addresses the divine power that has made it possible for him to observe these outward visions, experience these memories or dreams that are more real than real. He addresses God as holy Hope and high Humility. The poet mentions that this Godly act has saved his heart by warming it up.

The poet suggests that God is responsible for the ‘walks’ that he observes in his visions. The poet isn’t thanking God for this miracle, but he acknowledges it. For him, these visions are like a mirage that he wants to achieve, but cannot.

Fifth Stanza

Dear, beauteous Death! the jewel of the just,

Shining nowhere, but in the dark;

What mysteries do lie beyond thy dust

Could man outlook that mark!

In the fifth stanza, the poet addresses Death as the beautiful glorious jewel of right and just. The poet is enchanted by the mysteries beyond death, that is, the Afterlife. The poet asks if a living man can anyhow, come to know the secrets of Afterlife, life beyond death? Death is beauteous for the poet that shines in the dark because it is the boundary beyond which lies the treasure of mysteries that he wants to explore.

Sixth Stanza

He that hath found some fledg’d bird’s nest, may know

At first sight, if the bird be flown;

But what fair well or grove he sings in now,

That is to him unknown.

In the previous stanza, the poet described the death as a beautiful glorious jewel of justice. In the sixth stanza, the poet uses a metaphor to explain the beauty of death and man’s inability to see it.

The poet compares the search for the quest of death to looking into a bird’s nest to find the bird. But when the man looks into the nest, he finds that the bird has already flown away.

Just a glance at the nest will inform the man that the bird is no more in the nest, but he cannot get the answer for the quest, where the bird is singing now? The poet is enamored by the bliss of Afterlife that he can observe in his vision but cannot achieve.

Seventh Stanza

And yet as angels in some brighter dreams

Call to the soul, when man doth sleep:

So some strange thoughts transcend our wonted themes

And into glory peep.

The poet explains that one cannot feel the bliss of Afterlife without encountering death, a man can't understand the nature of death. Yet, there are moments when one gets a feeling of Divine. It happens when Angels help man by bringing some divine dreams and vision during his sleep. The angels bring some strange thoughts into the mind of a man as he sleeps. These unknown thoughts or visions transcend the normal life of a person to the glory of the afterlife.

Eighth Stanza

If a star were confin’d into a tomb,

Her captive flames must needs burn there;

But when the hand that lock’d her up, gives room,

She’ll shine through all the sphere.

The poet again uses a metaphor to explain how God helps men and allows them to flourish or die. He talks of a ‘star’ confined in a tomb. If the star is given the freedom to burn and thrive, it will shine throughout the sphere and will not remain confined within the tomb.

Ninth Stanza

O Father of eternal life, and all

Created glories under thee!

Resume thy spirit from this world of thrall

Into true liberty.

In the ninth quatrain, the poet starts developing the conclusion. He again addresses God as ‘Father of eternal life.’ He begs God to allow him and those like him to let them experience true liberty within this world. The liberty that his friend and relatives enjoy in the afterlife, he begs to have it while he is alive. He compares himself to the star confined in the tomb. The poet feels trapped by his life and he asks for more room to breathe, shine, and thrall. He begs God to bring him closer to the Divine to experience true liberty.

Tenth Stanza

Either disperse these mists, which blot and fill

My perspective still as they pass,

Or else remove me hence unto that hill,

Where I shall need no glass.

In the tenth stanza, the poet concludes his lamentation. He begs God to either clear the haze and confusion in his life and allow him to experience the bliss of true freedom. If it is not possible for a man to experience the divine without confronting death, the poet then asks God to let him in the Afterlife where everything will be clear and bright.

So this is it about They Are All Gone to The World of Light. We will continue to discuss a few more poems by Henry Vaughan. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The World by Henry Vaughan | Metaphysical Poets

 

The World by Henry Vaughan | Metaphysical Poets

Hello and welcome to the Discourse.

Henry Vaughan was a Welsh, English metaphysical poet, author, translator, and medical practitioner. He took birth on 17^th April 1621 and died on 23^rd April 1695. Just like Richard Crawshaw, Henry Vaughan was also inspired by George Herbert. His religious verse collection titled Silex Schintillans appears to be highly influenced by Herbert’s The Temple. Silex Scintillans was first published in 1650 and it was republished with a second volume and a new preface in 1655. Silex Scintillans borrows the same themes, experiences, and beliefs as mentioned in George Herbert’s The Temple.

Before his inclination towards religious writings, Henry Vaughan took inspiration for his poetic writings through nature. In 1645, he published ‘Poems with The Tenth Satire of Juvenal Englished.’ One of his popular secular works was Olor Iscanus that he wrote in 1647. However, it was published in 1651. In Olor Iscanus, Vaughan discussed the Civil War and its effect on every man’s life.

It appears that Vaughan fell seriously ill during 1650-1651 and during this period, he read The Temple. His near-to-death experience because of illness, and the influence of The Temple prompted him to change from a secular writer to a religious author. Later on, he described his early life as ‘misspent youth.’ He described his conversion from a secular to a religious writer as ‘moriendo revixi’, which means, ‘by dying, I gain new life.’

Followed by Silex Scintillans, his second major religious work was Mount of Olives or Solitude Devotions. It was a prose work, a book of devotions in which he provided prayers for different stages of the day. This work appears to be much inspired by the Book of Common Prayer and was regarded as a ‘companion volume’ for the Book of Common Prayer.

Along with his religious tone, his writings and poetry show a strong inclination towards nature and mysticism. One of the very popular poems by Henry Vaughan is The World in which he described his personal loss.

The World Poem Structure

The World was published in 1650. It is a four stanza metaphysical poem with eleven lines in each stanza. The rhyme scheme of each stanza is consistent and it follows the pattern of aaabbccddeeffgg. Each line is written in iambic pentameter. The poet uses the imagery of a ring with no beginning and no end to represent eternity.

Summary of The World

The main idea of the poem The World by Henry Vaughan is striving to attain spirituality with the help of God while rejecting the trivial, unreal, sensual worldly objects and pleasures as they lack true happiness. The intelligent metaphysical use of similes, alliteration, conceit, and wit heightens the main theme and concerns of the poem.

Stanza 1

I saw Eternity the other night,

Like a great ring of pure and endless light,

All calm, as it was bright;

And round beneath it, Time in hours, days, years,

Driv’n by the spheres

Like a vast shadow mov’d; in which the world

And all her train were hurl’d.

The doting lover in his quaintest strain

Did there complain;

Near him, his lute, his fancy, and his flights,

Wit’s sour delights,

With gloves, and knots, the silly snares of pleasure,

Yet his dear treasure

All scatter’d lay, while he his eyes did pour

Upon a flow’r.

The narrator of the poem begins with a description of a previous night when he felt the vision of ‘Eternity.’ He describes eternity as a bright endless ring of pure light. He observes a great calmness and divine brightness is incomparable as nothing in the mortal earthly world is as pure and bright. He realizes that no matter what humans do, they cannot create anything comparable to Eternity's bright ring of light.

The ring of bright pure light that represents Eternity contains in itself all the time in all its forms, short and long moments. While it is believed that the heavenly spheres or astronomical bodies control the short and long moments, all those heavenly bodies and all the time is encompassed by that bright ring of pure light. The poet is not overwhelmed by the enormity of the ring of light representing Eternity, rather he is surprised how easily everything is compressed in this ring of Eternity. The Eternity encompasses past, present, and future. It contains everything that is known to the poet and everything else that will be. Just like everything else, the earth itself is being hurled along within Eternity.

In the next lines of the first stanza, the poet describes a man, a dotting lover, who is very attractive. He is complaining about his possessions and his lover. The quaint lover is holding his lute (a musical instrument like a guitar) and is singing, explaining his dreams, wishes, and his struggles. The man is praising his possessions and he is worried about how ephemeral his possessions are and how they will be destroyed. He is so sad that he is weeping. The poet suggests that all of it that concerns the man, for which the quaint lover is concerned, is trivialized, it is has no real value in the realms of eternity.

Stanza 2

The darksome statesman hung with weights and woe,

Like a thick midnight-fog mov’d there so slow,

He did not stay, nor go;

Condemning thoughts (like sad eclipses) scowl

Upon his soul,

And clouds of crying witnesses without

Pursued him with one shout.

Yet digg’d the mole, and lest his ways be found,

Work’d under ground,

Where he did clutch his prey; but one did see

That policy;

Churches and altars fed him; perjuries

Were gnats and flies;

It rain’d about him blood and tears, but he

Drank them as free.

The narrator beings the second stanza with the description of a corrupt statesman who has caused enormous troubles and pains for common people. The poet describes this corrupt official as a ‘darksome statesman.’ His thoughts are impure and terrible and he carries with him all the woes of others. Being in a powerful authoritative position, he has caused trouble for others. The poet infers all these follies of this corrupt man by describing the way he moves. He is nowhere where he should be and he moves so slow as if he has no particular destination to go as if he has no desire to help those who need his help, who are dependent on him.

Vaughan’s narrator also says that he can observe the intention of the ‘darksome statesman’ on his face. He is harboring further dark intentions and planning to create more troubles and tragedies for other people, his dependents. He defines this corrupt official as a mole who digs a hole and works underground, away from the eyes of others. He is fed by gnats and flies and he freely drinking the blood and tears of his dependents. The poem's narrator describes how corrupt people in powerful positions exploit common men and rob others while improving their own position.

Stanza 3

The fearful miser on a heap of rust

Sate pining all his life there, did scarce trust

His own hands with the dust,

Yet would not place one piece above, but lives

In fear of thieves;

Thousands there were as frantic as himself,

And hugg’d each one his pelf;

The downright epicure plac’d heav’n in sense,

And scorn’d pretence,

While others, slipp’d into a wide excess,

Said little less;

The weaker sort slight, trivial wares enslave,

Who think them brave;

And poor despised Truth sate counting by

Their victory.

In the third stanza, the narrator describes a miser, a man who wasted his life on a heap of rust. This man is very fearful of theives who may steal the belonging that he has saved through his struggles of misery. This man trusts no one. He even distrusts his own hands and fears that he may misplace or destruct some of his precious possessions. He is frantically concerned about his belongings. The narrator suggests that there are thousands of people just like this miser who waste their life while distrusting everyone and remaining in fear of losing their possessions.

In the next lines of the stanza, the narrator describes people like epicure (someone who takes great pleasure in good food and drink). They are gluttonous, they place great importance on physical appearances. The narrator further describes people who have slopped into wide excess, they have devoted themselves to materialistic things and they are leading a hedonistic lifestyle. The narrator then describes the weaker sort who are enslaved by the powerful people.

4th Stanza

Yet some, who all this while did weep and sing,

And sing, and weep, soar’d up into the ring;

But most would use no wing.

O fools (said I) thus to prefer dark night

Before true light,

To live in grots and caves, and hate the day

Because it shews the way,

The way, which from this dead and dark abode

Leads up to God,

A way where you might tread the sun, and be

More bright than he.

But as I did their madness so discuss

One whisper’d thus,

“This ring the Bridegroom did for none provide,

But for his bride.”

In the last stanza, the narrator summarizes all sorts of people he has described and how they strive to attain happiness in their life. The narrator suggests that true happiness lies in the realm of the ring of bright and pure light representing Eternity. Every person, the dotting lover, the darksome statesman, the miser, the epicure, the gluttonous, the hedonist, and the weakling tries to attain the pleasure and calm of that ring of Eternity. They sing and weep and strive to soar up into the ring. But they continue to fail to attain happiness as they use no wings to reach eternity. The wing required to reach the calmness of Eternity is the help of God. People continue to waste their life on their trivial concerns of life while ignoring the divine presence of God and thus, they fail to attain the true happiness and pleasure of the ring of Eternity.

The narrator says that no matter what a man does to attain calmness and happiness in their life, they will never reach eternal happiness unless they devote themselves to God. The narrator further says that those who do not have faith in God often turn away from the right path as the path shown by God is just opposite to the path of their choice.

In the last lines, the narrator uses the first-person narrative to explain his inability in understanding why the people he has described took these wrong paths to attain happiness, why they opted for these wrong choices. The poet suggests that all these corrupt people have an inherent madness that restricts them from seeing the bright path that leads to Eternity. In the end, the poet suggests that Eternity itself chooses the person who deserves eternal happiness while all others remain aloof and waste their life in worldly pleasures.

So this is it about Henry Vaughan’s The World. We will discuss a few more poems by him. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!