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1. “A slumber did my spirit seal,” says the poet. ... - Beehive
1. “A slumber did my spirit seal,” says the poet. That is, a deep sleep ‘closed off’ his soul (or mind). How does the poet react to his loved one’s death? Does he feel bitter grief ? Or does he feel a great peace?
2. The passing of time will no longer affect her, says the poet. Which lines of the poem say this?
3. How does the poet imagine her to be, after death? Does he think of her as a person living in a very happy state (a ‘heaven’)? Or does he see her now as a part of nature? In which lines of the poem do you find your answer?
The poet’s reaction is one of numbness or a deep "slumber" of the soul. He does not express bitter grief; instead, he seems to feel a sense of great peace or a calm realization that his loved one is now beyond the reach of human fears and earthly troubles.
The lines that indicate time will no longer affect her are:
"She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years."The poet sees her now as a part of nature, rather than a person living in a heavenly state. He imagines her merged with the earth and its daily movements. The lines are:
"Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course,
With rocks, and stones, and trees."