The
Hour When We Shall Meet Again
by
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
(Poem, Summary, & Analysis)
The
Hour When We Shall Meet Again
Dim
hour! that sleep'st on pillowing clouds afar,
O
rise and yoke the turtles to thy car!
Bend
o'er the traces, blame each ligering dove!
And
give me to the bosom of my love!
My
gentle love, caressing and carest,
With
heaving heart shall cradle me to rest!
Shed
the warm tear-drop from her smiling eyes,
Lull
with fond woe, and med'cine me with sighs!
Chilled
by the night, the drooping rose of May
Mourns
the long absence of the lovely day;
Young
day returning at her promised hour
Weps
o'er the sorrows of her fav'rite flower;
Weeps
the soft dew, the balmy gale she sighs,
And
darts a trembling lustre from her eyes.
New
life and joy th' expanding floweret feels:
His
pitying mistress mourns, and mourning heals!
Summary
The
poem opens with the speaker addressing the approaching hour of reunion with
deep yearning. He refers to it as the "dim hour"—a poetic way of
speaking to the soft, dreamy time when he hopes to be reunited with his
beloved. This hour, though distant and still hidden in the clouds, is asked to
rise and prepare for the journey. The speaker imagines this moment as a
mythical chariot drawn by turtledoves, symbols of love and fidelity. He calls
upon the hour to urge the doves forward, gently chiding them for any delay, so
that he may be swiftly carried into the embrace of his beloved.
He
then envisions the tender moment of reunion: his beloved will welcome him with
love and gentleness. Her heart will rise and fall with emotion as she cradles
him, providing comfort and rest. Her tears, though warm and affectionate, will
be mingled with smiles—a sign of joy mixed with sorrow. She will soothe him
with sighs, as if her very breath can act as a healing balm for his emotional
wounds.
The
next few lines introduce a symbolic comparison to express the depth of
separation and the longing for reunion. The speaker compares his beloved to the
day and himself to a drooping rose of May—wilted and saddened by the long
absence of light and warmth. Just as the rose mourns the delay of its
life-giving sun, the speaker suffers in the absence of his beloved.
But
with the return of the day—that is, with the beloved's return—the flower
(representing the speaker) feels revived. The day, personified as a caring
mistress, also mourns for the rose and shows sympathy. She sheds dew as tears,
sighs through the balmy wind, and casts a soft glow from her eyes, symbolizing
her love and concern.
In
this moment of reunion, both the rose and the day are transformed. The flower
blooms once more, filled with renewed life and happiness, and the sorrow of the
mistress, though expressed in mourning, is healing and comforting. Her grief
becomes an act of love, and in grieving together, they begin to heal each
other.
Analysis
in Detail
1.
Romantic and Emotional Tone
The
poem is suffused with intense longing, tenderness, and romantic yearning. The
speaker anxiously awaits the moment of reunion with his beloved, portraying
that hour not just as a moment in time but as a divine event worthy of
invocation. The tone is one of gentle pleading, hope, and emotional
vulnerability.
2.
Invocation and Personification of Time
In
the opening lines:
"Dim
hour! that sleep'st on pillowing clouds afar, / O rise and yoke the turtles to
thy car!"
Coleridge
personifies the hour as a drowsy figure sleeping on clouds and implores it to
awaken and bring about the long-awaited meeting. The hour is depicted as a kind
of mythical charioteer, asked to yoke turtledoves—symbols of love, loyalty, and
gentleness—to its celestial vehicle. This image is rich in classical and
romantic symbolism, evoking a magical, dreamlike quality to the passage of time
and the idea of reunion.
3.
Urgency and Tenderness
"Bend
o'er the traces, blame each ligering dove! / And give me to the bosom of my
love!"
Here,
Coleridge continues the personification, urging the hour to be swift, even
scolding the slow-moving doves for delaying. The line expresses both a
desperate urgency and a tender emotional pull towards the beloved. The phrase
"bosom of my love" suggests a longing not only for physical closeness
but also emotional and spiritual comfort.
4.
Fusion of Physical and Emotional Healing
"My
gentle love, caressing and carest, / With heaving heart shall cradle me to
rest!"
This
couplet shows the beloved as a nurturing figure, combining the roles of a lover
and a caregiver. The act of cradling evokes maternal imagery, and the “heaving
heart” suggests her emotional involvement and empathy. She becomes a source of
rest and healing, emphasizing that love has the power to soothe emotional pain.
"Shed
the warm tear-drop from her smiling eyes, / Lull with fond woe, and med'cine me
with sighs!"
Coleridge
captures the complex interplay of joy and sorrow—tears shed not from despair
but from deep, affectionate emotion. The beloved's sighs and tears are like a
balm, a medicine that restores the speaker's soul, making grief itself an
expression of love.
5.
Symbolism of the Rose and the Day
"Chilled
by the night, the drooping rose of May / Mourns the long absence of the lovely
day;"
The
rose represents the speaker—drooping, saddened, and emotionally wilted in the
absence of his beloved, who is metaphorically portrayed as the “lovely day.”
The imagery reflects how love brings life, and its absence causes sorrow. This
connection to nature is typical of Romantic poetry, drawing emotional parallels
between human feelings and the natural world.
"Young
day returning at her promised hour / Weeps o’er the sorrows of her fav’rite
flower;"
The
day, personified as a caring woman, returns and expresses sympathy for the
suffering rose. Her tears and sighs—manifested through dew and gentle
breezes—demonstrate that love, even when painful, is an act of connection and
healing.
6.
Healing through Mutual Sorrow
"New
life and joy th' expanding floweret feels: / His pitying mistress mourns, and
mourning heals!"
In
this final image, the flower (symbolizing the speaker) feels revived,
reenergized by the return of his beloved. Her mourning becomes medicinal, a
paradox where grief becomes a healing force. It suggests that the shared
emotional experience—of pain, reunion, and empathy—can restore what was broken
or wounded.
Themes
in the Poem
Love
and Longing: The dominant emotion is the speaker’s intense longing for reunion.
Time
and Delay: The delay in meeting creates emotional strain, and time is
personified as a force that can either hinder or bring joy.
Nature
and Emotion: Nature is a mirror of the speaker’s feelings—roses, day, dew, and
doves reflect human emotions.
Healing
through Love: Love is shown as a restorative force, capable of soothing even
the deepest emotional wounds.
Joy
in Sorrow: Coleridge explores how sorrow, when rooted in love, can carry beauty
and emotional depth.
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