A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
By William Wordsworth
A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears:
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course,
With rocks, and stones, and trees.
Summary of A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
- Popularity of “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal”: First written in 1798 by the great poet of nature, William Wordsworth, this short poem of just two stanzas is one of the best Lucy poems. It appeared in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads in 1800 and became an instant hit at that time. The poem presents ignorance of Lucy about this earthly time and her innocence. Despite its conciseness, the poem often wins popularity as a textual piece used in classrooms across the globe.
- “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” As a Representative of Innocence and Reality of Death: The poet, who happens to be the speaker of the poem, states that he has slept deeply which has closed his soul to the realities of life. And to top it all, the poet has no fears of these realities. However, Lucy seemed to him so much divine that she could not feel the earthly time passing by. After her death, the poet recalls that now that she is gone, she has no power left like other earthly human beings. Actually, she has become a part of the earthly diurnal course with other inanimate objects. This shows the innocence of Lucy as well as the reality of death.
- Major Themes in “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal”: Death, innocence, and memory of major themes of this poem. Although the poet does not name the lady and only refers to her in the third person, his love for that lady is clear from the fact that he laments her. It is because his spirit could not sense the arrival of her death. Now that it has become clear to him, he feels that the lady has no human fears, the reason that neither she nor the poet could sense that she would become part of the earthly diurnal circle. It means that as she is now very much above time and space after her death, the poet recalls her saying that she does not have the power to see or hear because of her departure from this earthly life. This shows immortality and death as intertwined.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
William Wordsworth’s skill of using various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of this poem is apparent. Some of the major literary devices are analyzed below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “A slumber did my spirit seal” and the sound of /o/ in “No motion has she now, no force.”
- Alliteration: It means to use initial consonant sounds in two or more consecutive words. The poem shows the use of alliteration, such as the sound of /m/ in “mighty murmuring” and /r/ in “rolled round” or /s/ in “spirit seal.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r / in “Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course” and the sound of /s/ in “A slumber did my spirit seal.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. William Wordsworth used imagery in this poem, such as “She seemed a thing that could not feel”, “No motion has she now, no force” and “Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet used the metaphor such as of a thing for his beloved.
- Polysyndeton: This device shows the connection of the repeated nouns of verbs with the same conjunction. The poem shows the use of polysyndeton, such as “With rocks, and stones, and trees.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as spirit, fears, humans, and years to show the earthly life and its outcome of death.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and melodic diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words. William Wordsworth used end rhymes, such as seal/feel and fears/years.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem shows the rhyme scheme of ABAB in all of its stanzas.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas, with each comprising just four verses which means that every stanza is a quatrain.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a thoughtful, metaphysical, and nostalgic tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about the love that has departed from this earth.
A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears:
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.
