Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MIDNIGHT, by ALFRED TENNYSON Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Tis midnight o'er the dim mere's lonely bosom Last Line: Winds his broad stream majestic, deep, and slow. Alternate Author Name(s): Tennyson, Lord Alfred; Tennyson, 1st Baron; Tennyson Of Aldworth And Farringford, Baron Subject(s): Night | ||||||||
'T IS midnight o'er the dim mere's lonely bosom, Dark, dusky, windy midnight: swift are driven The swelling vapours onward: every blossom Bathes its bright petals in the tears of heaven. Imperfect, half-seen objects meet the sight, The other half our fancy must pourtray; A wan, dull, lengthen'd sheet of swimming light Lies the broad lake: the moon conceals her ray, Sketch'd faintly by a pale and lurid gleam Shot thro' the glimmering clouds: the lovely planet Is shrouded in obscurity; the scream Of owl is silenc'd; and the rocks of granite Rise tall and drearily, while damp and dank Hang the thick willows on the reedy bank. Beneath, the gurgling eddies slowly creep, Blacken'd by foliage; and the glutting wave, That saps eternally the cold grey steep, Sounds heavily within the hollow cave. All earth is restless -- from his glossy wing The heath-fowl lifts his head at intervals; Wet, driving, rainy, come the bursting squalls; All nature wears her dun dead covering. Tempest is gather'd, and the brooding storm Spreads its black mantle o'er the mountain's form; And, mingled with the rising roar, is swelling, From the far hunter's booth, the blood hound's yelling. The water-falls in various cadence chiming, Or in one loud unbroken sheet descending, Salute each other thro' the night's dark womb; The moaning pine-trees to the wild blast bending, Are pictured faintly thro' the chequer'd gloom; The forests, half-way up the mountain climbing, Resound with crash of falling branches; quiver Their aged mossy trunks: the startled doe Leaps from her leafy lair: the swelling river Winds his broad stream majestic, deep, and slow. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BREATH OF NIGHT by RANDALL JARRELL HOODED NIGHT by ROBINSON JEFFERS NIGHT WITHOUT SLEEP by ROBINSON JEFFERS WORKING OUTSIDE AT NIGHT by DENIS JOHNSON POEM TO TAKE BACK THE NIGHT by JUNE JORDAN COOL DARK ODE by DONALD JUSTICE POEM TO BE READ AT 3 A.M by DONALD JUSTICE ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT by BOB KAUFMAN A CHARACTER by ALFRED TENNYSON |
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