Sonnet VI. by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Poem, Summary, & Analysis)

 

Sonnet VI.

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(Poem, Summary, & Analysis) 

Sonnet VI.

Pale Roamer thro' the Night! thou poor forlorn!

Remorse that man on his death-bed possess,

Who in the credulous hour of tenderness

Betrayed, then cast thee forth to Want and scorn!

The World is pityless; the Chaste one's pride,

Mimic of Virtue, scowls on thy distress;

Thy kindred, when they see thee, turn aside,

And Vice alone will shelter Wretchedness!

O! I am sad to think, that there should be

Men, born of woman, who endure to place

Foul offerings on the shrine of Misery,

And force from Famine the caress of Love!

Man has no feeling of thy sore Disgrace:

Keen blows the blast upon the moulting dove!

 

Summary

The speaker addresses a sorrowful and forsaken figure wandering through the night, calling her a “Pale Roamer” and expressing sympathy for her misery. This figure is likely a woman who has been betrayed and abandoned—once loved during a moment of emotional vulnerability, she was then discarded, left to face poverty and public shame. The speaker compares her sorrow to the remorse felt by a dying man who regrets betraying someone during a moment of trust and tenderness.

He laments how society responds to her suffering: the world shows no compassion. Even those who outwardly display chastity and moral virtue, instead of helping her, look upon her suffering with disdain and self-righteous scorn. Her own family turns away from her, refusing to acknowledge her plight, and ironically, only the company of vice—those who live in sin—offers her any shelter from her wretched condition.

The speaker feels deep sadness at the thought that there are men, born of women themselves, who are capable of exploiting such misery. These men, lacking in human feeling, commit despicable acts by taking advantage of women in desperate situations. They demand affection and intimacy from women driven to hunger and despair—not out of love, but survival.

The sonnet concludes with a vivid image of cruelty: humanity has no true sense of her disgrace, and the cold wind (the “blast”) blows harshly on the “moulting dove”—a delicate bird losing its feathers—symbolizing her vulnerability and the mercilessness of the world around her.

 

Analysis in Detail

Overview

Sonnet VI is a deeply emotional and socially conscious poem in which Coleridge presents a scathing critique of societal hypocrisy, moral judgment, and the mistreatment of women—particularly those who have been cast aside by society due to sexual transgressions, betrayal, or unfortunate circumstances. The speaker expresses sympathy for a woman who has been abandoned and reduced to a life of hardship and shame, and condemns those who exploit or shun her.

 

Line-by-Line Analysis

Lines 1–4:

Pale Roamer thro' the Night! thou poor forlorn!

Remorse that man on his death-bed possess,

Who in the credulous hour of tenderness

Betrayed, then cast thee forth to Want and scorn!

 

The poem opens with a direct address to a “Pale Roamer,” likely a fallen woman, possibly a prostitute, wandering alone at night—a symbol of both physical and emotional exile.

She is “forlorn,” meaning utterly abandoned and desolate.

Coleridge compares her suffering to the remorse a man might feel on his deathbed—indicating he once loved her in a moment of vulnerability but later betrayed and discarded her.

“Credulous hour of tenderness” suggests a time when she believed in his love or promises.

The betrayal leads to “Want and scorn”—material poverty and social contempt.

 

Lines 5–6:

The World is pityless; the Chaste one's pride,

Mimic of Virtue, scowls on thy distress;

 

These lines condemn the cruelty and judgment of society.

“The World is pitiless”—there is no empathy for the outcast.

The “Chaste one’s pride” refers to people who pretend moral superiority, particularly women who pride themselves on chastity.

Coleridge harshly calls them a “Mimic of Virtue”—they imitate virtue but lack true compassion.

Their pride causes them to scowl at the woman’s suffering instead of helping her.

 

Lines 7–8:

Thy kindred, when they see thee, turn aside,

And Vice alone will shelter Wretchedness!

 

Even her own family (“kindred”) turns away from her in shame or rejection.

This abandonment highlights the depth of her isolation.

Ironically, only “Vice” (immoral company) will take her in—suggesting that the supposedly “sinful” are more accepting than the “virtuous.”

“Wretchedness” becomes her new identity, and she finds refuge not in kindness or justice, but in a corrupt world.

 

Lines 9–12:

O! I am sad to think, that there should be

Men, born of woman, who endure to place

Foul offerings on the shrine of Misery,

And force from Famine the caress of Love!

 

The speaker expresses moral outrage.

He is “sad to think” that men, themselves born of women, can treat a woman this way.

“Foul offerings on the shrine of Misery” is a powerful image—suggesting these men exploit her suffering as if it were some ritual, offering filth to a sacred place.

“Force from Famine the caress of Love”—they take advantage of her hunger and desperation, coercing her into acts of affection for survival.

This highlights a brutal truth: some women are driven into prostitution by starvation, not choice.

 

Lines 13–14:

Man has no feeling of thy sore Disgrace:

Keen blows the blast upon the moulting dove!

 

The poem ends with a cold conclusion: society is indifferent to her disgrace.

“Man has no feeling” means that the general public (especially men) are insensitive to the pain of women like her.

The final image—“the moulting dove”—is deeply symbolic.

A dove traditionally symbolizes innocence or peace.

A moulting dove, losing its feathers, is vulnerable and exposed.

The “blast” (harsh wind) hitting this defenseless creature mirrors society’s cruel treatment of the woman.

 

Themes

Social Hypocrisy: Coleridge criticizes those who claim virtue but show no compassion.

Betrayal and Abandonment: He explores how love can be betrayed and how society compounds the betrayal by ostracizing the victim.

Exploitation of Vulnerability: The sonnet reveals the horror of exploiting the desperate—especially women forced by hunger into prostitution.

Gender and Misogyny: Men are shown to be both the cause of and indifferent to female suffering, despite their own ties to women through birth.

Compassion vs. Judgment: The poem argues for empathy and understanding over moral judgment.

 

Tone and Style

Tone: Mournful, indignant, compassionate, accusatory.

Style: A traditional Shakespearean sonnet form (14 lines, with volta or turn around line 9), though Coleridge’s content and imagery are raw and emotionally charged.

Imagery: Vivid and symbolic—the moulting dove, the shrine of misery, the pale roamer—all evoke pity and highlight suffering.

Paraphrase

1. Pale Roamer thro' the Night! thou poor forlorn!

You pale, wandering soul out in the night—so alone and abandoned!

 

2. Remorse that man on his death-bed possess,

You are like the deep regret felt by a man on his deathbed,

 

3. Who in the credulous hour of tenderness

Who, in a moment of naive affection,

 

4. Betrayed, then cast thee forth to Want and scorn!

Betrayed your trust and then threw you away, leaving you in poverty and disgrace!

 

5. The World is pityless; the Chaste one's pride,

The world has no compassion; people who boast about being morally pure

 

6. Mimic of Virtue, scowls on thy distress;

Pretend to be virtuous, but they look down on your suffering with scorn.

 

7. Thy kindred, when they see thee, turn aside,

Even your own family turns away from you when they see you,

 

8. And Vice alone will shelter Wretchedness!

And only immoral people will give you a place among them in your misery!

 

9. O! I am sad to think, that there should be

It saddens me deeply to think there are people

 

10. Men, born of woman, who endure to place

Men—who themselves were born of women—who are willing to

 

11. Foul offerings on the shrine of Misery,

Offer disgusting things at the altar of someone’s suffering,

 

12. And force from Famine the caress of Love!

And who take advantage of starving women, forcing them to show love just to survive!

 

13. Man has no feeling of thy sore Disgrace:

Human beings have no sense of how deeply you're humiliated:

 

14. Keen blows the blast upon the moulting dove!

The cold wind cruelly strikes the defenseless dove that is losing its feathers!