Classic and Contemporary Poetry
BLUEBEARD'S CLOSET, by ROSE TERRY COOKE Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Fasten the chamber! Last Line: The chamber is there! Variant Title(s): Blue Beard's Closet Subject(s): Murder; Pirates; Silence; Piracy; Buccaneers | ||||||||
FASTEN the chamber! Hide the red key; Cover the portal, That eyes may not see. Get thee to market, To wedding and prayer; Labor or revel, The chamber is there! In comes a stranger -- "Thy pictures how fine, Titian or Guido, Whose is the sign?" Looks he behind them? Ah! have a care! "Here is a finer." The chamber is there! Fair spreads the banquet, Rich the array; See the bright torches Mimicking day; When harp and viol Thrill the soft air, Comes a light whisper: The chamber is there! Marble and painting, Jasper and gold, Purple from Tyrus, Fold upon fold, Blossoms and jewels, Thy palace prepare: Pale grows the monarch; The chamber is there! Once it was open As shore to the sea; White were the turrets, Goodly to see; All through the casements Flowed the sweet air; Now it is darkness; The chamber is there! Silence and horror Brood on the walls; Through every crevice A little voice calls: "Quicken, mad footsteps, On pavement and stair; Look not behind thee, The chamber is there!" Out of the gateway, Through the wide world, Into the tempest Beaten and hurled, Vain is thy wandering, Sure thy despair, Flying or staying, The chamber is there! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SACK OF BALTIMORE by THOMAS OSBORNE DAVIS HOW WE BURNED THE 'PHILADELPHIA' by BARRETT EASTMAN THE LAST BUCCANEER by CHARLES KINGSLEY THE TARRY BUCCANEER by JOHN MASEFIELD REUBEN JAMES by JAMES JEFFREY ROCHE PIRATE STORY by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON BLOUDIE JACKE OF SHREWSBERRIE; THE SHROPSHIRE BLUEBEARD by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM THE WEDDING DAY; OR, THE BUCCANEER'S CURSE; A FAMILY LEGEND by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM |
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