Poems (Tennyson, 1833)/A Dream of Fair Women
For other versions of this work, see A Dream of Fair Women.
A DREAM OF FAIR WOMEN.
i.
As when a man, that sails in a balloon,
Downlooking sees the solid shining ground
Stream from beneath him in the broad blue noon,—
Tilth, hamlet, mead and mound:
As when a man, that sails in a balloon,
Downlooking sees the solid shining ground
Stream from beneath him in the broad blue noon,—
Tilth, hamlet, mead and mound:
ii.
And takes his flags and waves them to the mob,
That shout below, all faces turned to where
Glows rubylike the far-up crimson globe,
Filled with a finer air:
And takes his flags and waves them to the mob,
That shout below, all faces turned to where
Glows rubylike the far-up crimson globe,
Filled with a finer air:
iii.
So, lifted high, the Poet at his will
Lets the great world flit from him, seeing all,
Higher thro' secret splendours mounting still,
Selfpoised, nor fears to fall,
So, lifted high, the Poet at his will
Lets the great world flit from him, seeing all,
Higher thro' secret splendours mounting still,
Selfpoised, nor fears to fall,
iv.
Hearing apart the echoes of his fame.
While I spoke thus, the seedsman, memory,
Sowed my deepfurrowed thought with many a name,
Whose glory will not die,
Hearing apart the echoes of his fame.
While I spoke thus, the seedsman, memory,
Sowed my deepfurrowed thought with many a name,
Whose glory will not die,
v.
I read, before my eyelids dropt their shade,
"The legend of good women," long ago
Sung by the morningstar of song, who made
His music heard below,—
I read, before my eyelids dropt their shade,
"The legend of good women," long ago
Sung by the morningstar of song, who made
His music heard below,—
vi.
Dan Chaucer, the first warbler, whose sweet breath
Preluded those melodious bursts, that fill
The spacious times of great Elizabeth
With sounds that echo still.
Dan Chaucer, the first warbler, whose sweet breath
Preluded those melodious bursts, that fill
The spacious times of great Elizabeth
With sounds that echo still.
vii.
And, for awhile, the knowledge of his art
Held me above the subject, as strong gales
Hold swollen clouds from raining, tho’ my heart,
Brimful of those wild tales,
And, for awhile, the knowledge of his art
Held me above the subject, as strong gales
Hold swollen clouds from raining, tho’ my heart,
Brimful of those wild tales,
viii.
Charged both mine eyes with tears. In every land
I saw, wherever light illumineth,
Beauty and anguish walking hand in hand
The downward slope to death.
Charged both mine eyes with tears. In every land
I saw, wherever light illumineth,
Beauty and anguish walking hand in hand
The downward slope to death.
ix.
In every land I thought that, more or less,
The stronger sterner nature overbore
The softer, uncontrolled by gentleness
And selfish evermore:
In every land I thought that, more or less,
The stronger sterner nature overbore
The softer, uncontrolled by gentleness
And selfish evermore:
x.
And whether there were any means whereby,
In some far aftertime, the gentler mind
Might reassume its just and full degree
Of rule among mankind.
And whether there were any means whereby,
In some far aftertime, the gentler mind
Might reassume its just and full degree
Of rule among mankind.
xi.
Those far-renownèd brides of ancient song
Peopled the hollow dark, like burning stars,
And I heard sounds of insult, shame, and wrong,
And trumpets blown for wars;
Those far-renownèd brides of ancient song
Peopled the hollow dark, like burning stars,
And I heard sounds of insult, shame, and wrong,
And trumpets blown for wars;
xii.
And clattering flints battered with clanging hoofs:
And I saw crowds in columned sanctuaries;
And forms that screamed at windows and on roofs
Of marble palaces;
And clattering flints battered with clanging hoofs:
And I saw crowds in columned sanctuaries;
And forms that screamed at windows and on roofs
Of marble palaces;
xiii.
Corpses across the threshold; heroes tall
Dislodging pinnacle and parapet
Upon the tortoise creeping to the wall;
Lances in ambush set;
Corpses across the threshold; heroes tall
Dislodging pinnacle and parapet
Upon the tortoise creeping to the wall;
Lances in ambush set;
xiv.
And high shrinedoors burst thro' with heated blasts
That run before the fluttering tongues of fire,
White surf windscattered over sails and masts,
And ever climbing higher,
And high shrinedoors burst thro' with heated blasts
That run before the fluttering tongues of fire,
White surf windscattered over sails and masts,
And ever climbing higher,
xv.
Squadrons and squares of men in brazen plates,
Scaffolds, still sheets of water, divers woes,
Ranges of glimmering vaults with iron grates,
And hushed seraglios.
Squadrons and squares of men in brazen plates,
Scaffolds, still sheets of water, divers woes,
Ranges of glimmering vaults with iron grates,
And hushed seraglios.
xvi.
So shape chased shape as swift as, when to land
Bluster the winds and tides the selfsame way,
Crisp foamflakes scud along the level sand,
Torn from the fringe of spray.
So shape chased shape as swift as, when to land
Bluster the winds and tides the selfsame way,
Crisp foamflakes scud along the level sand,
Torn from the fringe of spray.
xvii.
I started once, or seemed to start in pain,
Resolved on noble things, and strove to speak,
As when a great thought strikes along the brain,
And flushes all the cheek.
I started once, or seemed to start in pain,
Resolved on noble things, and strove to speak,
As when a great thought strikes along the brain,
And flushes all the cheek.
xviii.
And once my arm was lifted to hew down
A cavalier from off his saddlebow,
That bore a lady from a leaguered town;
And then, I know not how,
And once my arm was lifted to hew down
A cavalier from off his saddlebow,
That bore a lady from a leaguered town;
And then, I know not how,
xix.
All those sharp fancies, by downlapsing thought
Streamed onward, lost their edges, and did creep
Rolled on each other, rounded, smoothed, and brought
Into the gulfs of sleep.
All those sharp fancies, by downlapsing thought
Streamed onward, lost their edges, and did creep
Rolled on each other, rounded, smoothed, and brought
Into the gulfs of sleep.
xx.
At last methought that I had wandered far
In an old wood: freshwashed in coolest dew,
The maiden splendours of the morningstar
Shook in the stedfast blue.
At last methought that I had wandered far
In an old wood: freshwashed in coolest dew,
The maiden splendours of the morningstar
Shook in the stedfast blue.
xxi.
Enormous elmtree-boles did stoop and lean
Upon the dusky brushwood underneath
Their broad curved branches, fledged with clearest green,
New from its silken sheath.
Enormous elmtree-boles did stoop and lean
Upon the dusky brushwood underneath
Their broad curved branches, fledged with clearest green,
New from its silken sheath.
xxii.
The dim red morn had died, her journey done,
And with dead lips smiled at the twilight plain,
Half-fall'n across the threshold of the sun,
Never to rise again.
The dim red morn had died, her journey done,
And with dead lips smiled at the twilight plain,
Half-fall'n across the threshold of the sun,
Never to rise again.
xxiii.
There was no motion in the dumb dead air,
Not any song of bird or sound of rill.
Gross darkness of the inner sepulchre
Is not so deadly still
There was no motion in the dumb dead air,
Not any song of bird or sound of rill.
Gross darkness of the inner sepulchre
Is not so deadly still
xxiv.
As that wide forest. Clasping jasmine turned
Its twinèd arms festooning tree to tree,
And at the root thro' lush green grasses burned
The red anemone.
As that wide forest. Clasping jasmine turned
Its twinèd arms festooning tree to tree,
And at the root thro' lush green grasses burned
The red anemone.
xxv.
I knew the flowers, I knew the leaves, I knew
The tearful glimmer of the languid dawn
On those long, rank, dark woodwalks drenched in dew,
Leading from lawn to lawn.
I knew the flowers, I knew the leaves, I knew
The tearful glimmer of the languid dawn
On those long, rank, dark woodwalks drenched in dew,
Leading from lawn to lawn.
xxvi.
The smell of violets, hidden in the green,
Poured back into my empty soul and frame
The times when I remember to have been
Joyful and free from blame.
The smell of violets, hidden in the green,
Poured back into my empty soul and frame
The times when I remember to have been
Joyful and free from blame.
xxvii.
And from within me a clear undertone
Thrilled thro' mine ears in that unblissful clime:
"Pass freely thro'! the wood is all thine own,
Until the end of time."
And from within me a clear undertone
Thrilled thro' mine ears in that unblissful clime:
"Pass freely thro'! the wood is all thine own,
Until the end of time."
xxviii.
At length I saw a lady within call,
Stiller than chiselled marble standing there,
A daughter of the gods, divinely tall,
And most divinely fair.
At length I saw a lady within call,
Stiller than chiselled marble standing there,
A daughter of the gods, divinely tall,
And most divinely fair.
xxix.
Her loveliness with shame and with surprise
Froze my swift speech: she turning on my face
The starlike sorrows of immortal eyes,
Spoke slowly in her place.
Her loveliness with shame and with surprise
Froze my swift speech: she turning on my face
The starlike sorrows of immortal eyes,
Spoke slowly in her place.
xxx.
"I had great beauty: ask thou not my name:
No one can be more wise than destiny.
Many drew swords and died. Where'er I came
I brought calamity."
"I had great beauty: ask thou not my name:
No one can be more wise than destiny.
Many drew swords and died. Where'er I came
I brought calamity."
xxxi.
"No marvel, sovran lady! in fair field,
Myself for such a face had boldly died,"
I answered free, and turning I appealed
To one that stood beside.
"No marvel, sovran lady! in fair field,
Myself for such a face had boldly died,"
I answered free, and turning I appealed
To one that stood beside.
xxxii.
But she, with sick and scornful looks averse,
To her full height her stately stature draws;
"My youth," she said, "was blasted with a curse:
This woman was the cause.
But she, with sick and scornful looks averse,
To her full height her stately stature draws;
"My youth," she said, "was blasted with a curse:
This woman was the cause.
xxxiii.
"I was cut off from hope in that sad place,
Which yet to name my spirit loathes and fears:
My father held his hand upon his face;
I, blinded with my tears,
"I was cut off from hope in that sad place,
Which yet to name my spirit loathes and fears:
My father held his hand upon his face;
I, blinded with my tears,
xxxiv.
"Still strove to speak—my voice was thick with sighs
As in a dream. Dimly I could descry
The stern blackbearded kings with wolfish eyes,
Waiting to see me die.
"Still strove to speak—my voice was thick with sighs
As in a dream. Dimly I could descry
The stern blackbearded kings with wolfish eyes,
Waiting to see me die.
xxxv.
"The tall masts quivered as they lay afloat,
The temples and the people and the shore.
One drew a sharp knife thro' my tender throat
Slowly,—and nothing more."
"The tall masts quivered as they lay afloat,
The temples and the people and the shore.
One drew a sharp knife thro' my tender throat
Slowly,—and nothing more."
xxxvi.
Whereto the other with a downward brow:
"I would the white cold heavyplunging foam,
Whirled by the wind, had rolled me deep below,
Then when I left my home."
Whereto the other with a downward brow:
"I would the white cold heavyplunging foam,
Whirled by the wind, had rolled me deep below,
Then when I left my home."
xxxvii.
Her slow full words sank thro' the silence drear,
As thunderdrops fall on a sleeping sea:
Sndden I heard a voice that cried, "Come here,
That I may look on thee."
Her slow full words sank thro' the silence drear,
As thunderdrops fall on a sleeping sea:
Sndden I heard a voice that cried, "Come here,
That I may look on thee."
xxxviii.
I turning saw, throned on a flowery rise,
One sitting on a crimson scarf unrolled;
A queen, with swarthy cheeks and bold black eyes,
Browbound with burning gold.
I turning saw, throned on a flowery rise,
One sitting on a crimson scarf unrolled;
A queen, with swarthy cheeks and bold black eyes,
Browbound with burning gold.
xxxix.
She, flashing forth a haughty smile, began:
"I govern'd men by change, and so I sway'd
All moods. 'Tis long since I have seen a man.
Once, like the moon, I made
She, flashing forth a haughty smile, began:
"I govern'd men by change, and so I sway'd
All moods. 'Tis long since I have seen a man.
Once, like the moon, I made
xl.
"The evershifting currents of the blood
According to my humour ebb and flow.
I have no men to govern in this wood:
That makes my only woe.
"The evershifting currents of the blood
According to my humour ebb and flow.
I have no men to govern in this wood:
That makes my only woe.
xli.
"Nay—yet it chafes me that I could not bend
One will; nor tame and tutor with mine eye
That dull coldblooded Cæsar. Prythee, friend,
Where is Mark Antony?
"Nay—yet it chafes me that I could not bend
One will; nor tame and tutor with mine eye
That dull coldblooded Cæsar. Prythee, friend,
Where is Mark Antony?
xlii.
"By him great Pompey dwarfs and suffers pain,
A mortal man before immortal Mars;
The glories of great Julius lapse and wane,
And shrink from suns to stars.
"By him great Pompey dwarfs and suffers pain,
A mortal man before immortal Mars;
The glories of great Julius lapse and wane,
And shrink from suns to stars.
xliii.
"That man, of all the men I ever knew,
Most touched my fancy. O! what days and nights
We had in Egypt, ever reaping new
Harvest of ripe delights.
"That man, of all the men I ever knew,
Most touched my fancy. O! what days and nights
We had in Egypt, ever reaping new
Harvest of ripe delights.
xliv.
"Realm-draining revels! Life was one long feast.
What wit! what words! what sweet words, only made
Less sweet by the kiss that broke 'em, liking best
To be so richly stayed!
"Realm-draining revels! Life was one long feast.
What wit! what words! what sweet words, only made
Less sweet by the kiss that broke 'em, liking best
To be so richly stayed!
xlv.
"What dainty strifes, when fresh from war's alarms,
My Hercules, my gallant Antony,
My mailèd captain leapt into my arms,
Contented there to die!
"What dainty strifes, when fresh from war's alarms,
My Hercules, my gallant Antony,
My mailèd captain leapt into my arms,
Contented there to die!
xlvi.
"And in those arms he died: I heard my name
Sighed forth with life: then I shook off all fear:
Oh what a little snake stole Cæsar's fame!
What else was left? look here!"
"And in those arms he died: I heard my name
Sighed forth with life: then I shook off all fear:
Oh what a little snake stole Cæsar's fame!
What else was left? look here!"
xlvii.
(With that she tore her robe apart, and half
The polished argent of her breast to sight
Laid bare. Thereto she pointed with a laugh,
Showing the aspick's bite.)
(With that she tore her robe apart, and half
The polished argent of her breast to sight
Laid bare. Thereto she pointed with a laugh,
Showing the aspick's bite.)
xlviii.
"I died a Queen. The Roman soldier found
Me lying dead, my crown about my brows,
A name for ever!—lying robed and crowned,
Worthy a Roman spouse."
"I died a Queen. The Roman soldier found
Me lying dead, my crown about my brows,
A name for ever!—lying robed and crowned,
Worthy a Roman spouse."
xlix.
Her warbling voice, a lyre of widest range
Touched by all passion, did fall down and glance
From tone to tone, and glided thro' all change
Of liveliest utterance.
Her warbling voice, a lyre of widest range
Touched by all passion, did fall down and glance
From tone to tone, and glided thro' all change
Of liveliest utterance.
l.
When she made pause I knew not for delight;
Because with sudden motion from the ground
She raised her piercing orbs, and filled with light
The interval of sound.
When she made pause I knew not for delight;
Because with sudden motion from the ground
She raised her piercing orbs, and filled with light
The interval of sound.
li.
Still with their fires Love tipt his keenest darts;
As once they drew into two burning rings
All beams of Love, melting the mighty hearts
Of captains and of kings.
Still with their fires Love tipt his keenest darts;
As once they drew into two burning rings
All beams of Love, melting the mighty hearts
Of captains and of kings.
lii.
Slowly my sense undazzled. Then I heard
A noise of some one coming thro' the lawn,
And singing clearer than the crested bird,
That claps his wings at dawn.
Slowly my sense undazzled. Then I heard
A noise of some one coming thro' the lawn,
And singing clearer than the crested bird,
That claps his wings at dawn.
liii.
"The torrent brooks of hallowed Israel
From craggy hollows pouring, late and soon,
Sound all night long, in falling thro' the dell,
Far-heard beneath the moon.
"The torrent brooks of hallowed Israel
From craggy hollows pouring, late and soon,
Sound all night long, in falling thro' the dell,
Far-heard beneath the moon.
liv.
The balmy moon of blessèd Israel
Floods all the deepblue gloom with beams divine:
All night the splintered crags that wall the dell
With spires of silver shine."
The balmy moon of blessèd Israel
Floods all the deepblue gloom with beams divine:
All night the splintered crags that wall the dell
With spires of silver shine."
lv.
As one, that museth where broad sunshine laves
The lawn by some cathedral, thro' the door
Hearing the holy organ rolling waves
Of sound on roof and floor
As one, that museth where broad sunshine laves
The lawn by some cathedral, thro' the door
Hearing the holy organ rolling waves
Of sound on roof and floor
lvi.
Within, and anthem sung, is charmed and tied
To where he stands,—so stood I, when that flow
Of music left the lips of her that died
To save her father's vow;
Within, and anthem sung, is charmed and tied
To where he stands,—so stood I, when that flow
Of music left the lips of her that died
To save her father's vow;
lvii.
The daughter of the warrior Gileadite,
A maiden pure; as when she went along
From Mizpeh's towered gate with welcome light,
With timbrel and with song.
The daughter of the warrior Gileadite,
A maiden pure; as when she went along
From Mizpeh's towered gate with welcome light,
With timbrel and with song.
lviii.
My words leapt forth: "Heaven heads the count of crimes
With that wild oath." She render'd answer high:
"Not so, nor once alone; a thousand times
I would be born and die.
My words leapt forth: "Heaven heads the count of crimes
With that wild oath." She render'd answer high:
"Not so, nor once alone; a thousand times
I would be born and die.
lix.
"Single I grew, like some green plant, whose root
Creeps to the garden waterpipes beneath,
Feeding the flower; but ere my flower to fruit
Changed, I was ripe for death.
"Single I grew, like some green plant, whose root
Creeps to the garden waterpipes beneath,
Feeding the flower; but ere my flower to fruit
Changed, I was ripe for death.
lx.
"My God, my land, my father—these did move
Me from my bliss of life, that Nature gave,
Lowered softly with a threefold cord of love
Down to a silent grave.
"My God, my land, my father—these did move
Me from my bliss of life, that Nature gave,
Lowered softly with a threefold cord of love
Down to a silent grave.
lxi.
"And I went mourning, 'no fair Hebrew boy
Shall smile away my maiden blame among
The Hebrew mothers'—emptied of all joy,
Leaving the dance and song,
"And I went mourning, 'no fair Hebrew boy
Shall smile away my maiden blame among
The Hebrew mothers'—emptied of all joy,
Leaving the dance and song,
lxii.
"Leaving the olivegardens far below,
Leaving the promise of my bridal bower,
The valleys of grapeloaded vines that glow
Beneath the battled tower.
"Leaving the olivegardens far below,
Leaving the promise of my bridal bower,
The valleys of grapeloaded vines that glow
Beneath the battled tower.
lxiii.
"The light white cloud swam over us. Anon
We heard the lion roaring from his den:
We saw the large white stars rise one by one,
Or, from the darkened glen,
"The light white cloud swam over us. Anon
We heard the lion roaring from his den:
We saw the large white stars rise one by one,
Or, from the darkened glen,
lxiv.
"Saw God divide the night with flying flame,
And thunder on the everlasting hills.
I heard Him, for He spake, and grief became
A solemn scorn of ills.
"Saw God divide the night with flying flame,
And thunder on the everlasting hills.
I heard Him, for He spake, and grief became
A solemn scorn of ills.
lxv.
"When the next moon was rolled into the sky,
Strength came to me that equalled my desire.
How beautiful a thing it was to die
For God and for my sire!
"When the next moon was rolled into the sky,
Strength came to me that equalled my desire.
How beautiful a thing it was to die
For God and for my sire!
lxvi.
"It comforts me in this one thought to dwell—
That I subdued me to my father's will;
Because the kiss he gave me, ere I fell,
Sweetens the spirit still.
"It comforts me in this one thought to dwell—
That I subdued me to my father's will;
Because the kiss he gave me, ere I fell,
Sweetens the spirit still.
lxvii.
"Moreover it is written that my race
Hewed Ammon, hip and thigh, from Aroer
On Arnon unto Minneth." Here her face
Glowed, as I looked at her.
"Moreover it is written that my race
Hewed Ammon, hip and thigh, from Aroer
On Arnon unto Minneth." Here her face
Glowed, as I looked at her.
lxviii.
She locked her lips: she left me where I stood:
"Glory to God," she sang, and past afar,
Thridding the sombre boskage of the wood,
Toward the morningstar.
She locked her lips: she left me where I stood:
"Glory to God," she sang, and past afar,
Thridding the sombre boskage of the wood,
Toward the morningstar.
lxix.
Losing her carol I stood pensively,
As one that from a casement leans his head,
When midnight bells cease ringing suddenly,
And the old year is dead.
Losing her carol I stood pensively,
As one that from a casement leans his head,
When midnight bells cease ringing suddenly,
And the old year is dead.
lxx.
"Alas! alas!" a low voice, full of care,
Murmured beside me: "Turn and look on me:
I am that Rosamond, whom men call fair,
If what I was I be.
"Alas! alas!" a low voice, full of care,
Murmured beside me: "Turn and look on me:
I am that Rosamond, whom men call fair,
If what I was I be.
lxxi.
"Would I had been some maiden coarse and poor!
O me! that I should ever see the light!
Those dragon eyes of angered Eleanor
Do hunt me, day and night."
"Would I had been some maiden coarse and poor!
O me! that I should ever see the light!
Those dragon eyes of angered Eleanor
Do hunt me, day and night."
lxxii.
She ceased in tears, fallen from hope and trust:
To whom the Egyptian: "O, you tamely died!
You should have clung to Fulvia's waist, and thrust
The dagger thro' her side."
She ceased in tears, fallen from hope and trust:
To whom the Egyptian: "O, you tamely died!
You should have clung to Fulvia's waist, and thrust
The dagger thro' her side."
lxxiii.
With that sharp sound the white dawn's creeping beams,
Stol'n to my brain, dissolved the mystery
Of folded sleep. The captain of my dreams
Ruled in the eastern sky.
With that sharp sound the white dawn's creeping beams,
Stol'n to my brain, dissolved the mystery
Of folded sleep. The captain of my dreams
Ruled in the eastern sky.
lxxiv.
Morn broadened on the borders of the dark,
Ere I saw her, that in her latest trance
Clasped her dead father's heart, or Joan of Arc,
A light of ancient France;
Morn broadened on the borders of the dark,
Ere I saw her, that in her latest trance
Clasped her dead father's heart, or Joan of Arc,
A light of ancient France;
lxxv.
Or her, who knew that Love can vanquish Death,
Who kneeling, with one arm about her king,
Drew forth the poison with her balmy breath,
Sweet as new buds in Spring.
Or her, who knew that Love can vanquish Death,
Who kneeling, with one arm about her king,
Drew forth the poison with her balmy breath,
Sweet as new buds in Spring.
lxxvi.
No memory labours longer from the deep
Goldmines of thought to lift the hidden ore
That glimpses, moving up, than I from sleep
To gather and tell o'er
No memory labours longer from the deep
Goldmines of thought to lift the hidden ore
That glimpses, moving up, than I from sleep
To gather and tell o'er
lxvii.
Each little sound and sight. With what dull pain
Compassed, how eagerly I sought to strike
Into that wondrous track of dreams again!
But no two dreams are like.
Each little sound and sight. With what dull pain
Compassed, how eagerly I sought to strike
Into that wondrous track of dreams again!
But no two dreams are like.
lxviii.
As when a soul laments, which hath been blest,
Desiring what is mingled with past years,
In yearnings that can never be exprest
By signs or groans or tears;
As when a soul laments, which hath been blest,
Desiring what is mingled with past years,
In yearnings that can never be exprest
By signs or groans or tears;
lxxix.
Because all words, tho' culled with choicest art,
Failing to give the bitter of the sweet,
Wither beneath the palate, and the heart
Faints, faded by its heat.
Because all words, tho' culled with choicest art,
Failing to give the bitter of the sweet,
Wither beneath the palate, and the heart
Faints, faded by its heat.
