A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal [Poem] Summary & Analysis

Summaey & Analysis of A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

"A slumber did my spirit seal" is a poem written by William Wordsworth in 1798 and published in the 1800 edition of Lyrical Ballads. It is usually included as one of his The Lucy poems, although it is the only poem of the series not to mention her name. The poem is a mere eight lines long; two "stanzas."

Main Summary

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Summary talks about the death of the author's beloved Lucy This poem reflects on the thinking and feeling of the author regarding his beloved's death. Her death has made the soul of the author a seal. Furthermore, the author was in a state of deep sleep.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal [Poem]  Summary & Analysis 

Introduction

“Slumber did my Spirit Seal'' is another successful work of William Wordsworth which brings out the Universal truth to the world. A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Summary talks about the death of the author's beloved Lucy. This poem reflects on the thinking and feeling of the author regarding his beloved's death. Her death has made the soul of the author a seal. Furthermore, the author was in a state of deep sleep.

The poet refers to death that fills his heart after the demise of his beloved.  He is full of pain and grief. He suffers a lot with pain. He could not escape from his sorrows, sufferings and depressions.  His body refuses to move as he is numb to the core due to his mental agony. He soon realizes the reality of life. He shows a different approach to the reality of life and death.  He shares his realization with his readers.  He accepts that death is inevitable and that is the eternal truth.

About the Writer of A Slumber did my Spirit Seal

William Wordsworth is the founder of the Romantic Movement of English literature and the writer of the poem.  He is one of the most remarkable English Poets. He was a great poet and Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death from Pleurisy on 23 April 1850.The word “Slumber” literally means deep sleep.  He is a poet of nature. He is known as Lakeland Poet because he lived in that area.  This place is full of beautiful landscapes, green pastures and numerous lakes.  He is called as nature poet.  For he focuses on the relationship between nature and humans.  He became the Poet Laureate of England in 1843.  His lyrical Ballads are well known in the literature world.  

Stanza-Wise Summary & Analysis

Stanza 1

This first stanza with four lines expresses the grief of the poet over the demise of his beloved.  He is shocked and could not accept the death of his beloved.   He feels the pain and says that his soul has gone into a deep sleep.  “Slumber” is the word used to describe his situation. The deep sleep keeps him calm, and he feels he is free from all fears of human life and death.  He has become completely numb to the core.  He has no feeling or fear for the materialistic world.  The death of his beloved makes him senseless.  His beloved after her death becomes a thing to him as the dead body could not feel anything on Earth.  She has no fear for life or death now.  She is now beyond physical existence. For she is no more in this world and has no connection to the human bonds.  He sees her as eternal and has no end to her spirit.

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Stanza 2

In the second stanza the poet has given a frightening description of his beloved’s situation.  She is dead and has no life in her.  She is blind and deaf as she is lifeless.   She is beyond existence.  She has no movement or energy.  By the description, the poet expresses how the lady was active in the past.  Maybe she was full of life.  But now she has become part of the rocks, stones and the trees.  She is rolling with it in its course. Stones and the rocks have no difference.  They both refer to her gravestones.  She is a dead thing on living things like trees.  Non-living over the living thing brings out the view of the poet over the situation.  She has become an integral part of nature.  Now she is seen in nature, and could be felt.

Detail Analysis of the Poem

The title 'A Slumber did my Spirit Seal', says the situation of the poet.  Slumber keeps his calm due to his acceptance of the reality of life and death. The form of the poem is two stanzas which consist of four lines in each. Tone of the poem is sad and it shifts from pain to the acceptance of the reality of life. The main theme of the poem 'A Slumber did My Spirit Seal' is human bondage with nature, human life cycle, accepting the natural course of life. The poem is in first person narration. Poems communicate with its readers through the figure of speech or its literary devices. Some of the important features are: 

Metaphor

Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word refers to one kind of object to another. There is a comparison between the speaker’s refusal to accept his beloved death and the sleep which sealed his spirit.   “A slumber did my spirit seal” which refers to his mental condition.

Alliteration

Repeating the same letter or sound.  In the first line the “s” is repeated in “slumber, spirit, and seal).  “R” sound in “Roll’d round in earth’s diurnal course” is a good example.

Image

Image refers to a verbal description to bring out the actual event to the senses of the readers. The description of the death of his beloved as “Roll’d round in earth’s diurnal course with rocks, and stones, and trees” gives a vivid picture to the readers.  The body and soul of the demised beloved become one with nature.

Irony

The different meanings for one word give a humorous effect. “ no motion or force and she is revolving with the earth around the sun'' refers to her death.   She is one with nature without life in her.  but the poet is alive but he is  in half sleep and he is away from nature

Symbol

Word or image used to represent an object or something other than itself.  “Slumber” refers to half sleep which closes his spirit. The poem is an “elegy” in which the poet laments the death of his beloved.  The language used to express the grief of the poet is quite complex.  It differs from ordinary language.  Thus the two stanzas describe the pain, suffering and grief of the poet who is numb to see the death of his beloved in the first stanza and realizes the eternal truth of the human cycle. Life and death cannot be separated; they are part of human life.

Detailed Summary of A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Summary talks about the death of the author’s beloved Lucy. This poem reflects on the thinking and feeling of the author regarding his beloved’s death. Her death has made the soul of the author a seal. Furthermore, the author was in a state of deep sleep. This is because the author didn’t think about the harsh reality of life.  Life was taken for granted here. Most noteworthy, the author came to this realisation regarding this harsh truth of life only after her death. However, by this time it was too late. Now Lucy is buried within the Earth. Furthermore, dead Lucy now rotates along with the Earth. One day she will become part of the Earth itself.

There is drifting of the poet’s soul into a deep sleep. This is because he didn’t have any realisation of the truth. He had taken life for granted and had never thought that Lucy could go away from him. The author certainly never ever had any imagination of death overcoming her beloved Lucy. Naturally, when Lucy died, the author was unable to bear the loss.

The poet comes to the acceptance of the truth that his beloved Lucy is no more. Surely, this acceptance was not an easy process. This is because it is very difficult to accept the death of a person whom one dearly loves. Accepting this bitter truth is a sign of bravery.  The author says that her beloved is now motionless. Furthermore, Lucy is now lifeless. She is now in a state where she could no longer hear. Moreover, she is buried deep inside the Earth.  She cannot see nor hear. She is now within the earth.

Lucy is within the Earth now. The author says that Lucy will certainly become part of the Earth by assimilating into it. What the author is talking about here is the process of decomposition. When any living creature dies, then its body decomposes. Decomposition is the process in which organic bodies get broken into simpler organic matter. This is the ultimate fate of every living creature of the world. Lucy was no exception to this.

On the decomposition of her body, her body will become a part of the world. Moreover, she will be one and united with rocks, stones and trees. Rocks, stones, and trees are part of the Earth itself. So, in a way, Lucy will always remain but in a different form. The author may look at her when he looks at the rocks or the trees.  The only difference will be that she will not talk to him or smile at him or touch him. This is because her form has now changed.

This way of thinking can certainly provide relief to an individual who is dealing with sadness due to the death of a loved one. This is because one would not think their loved one has left them, rather they would think that their loved one is still present on Earth in a different form. So, one can look at the rock or trees and imagine that they are looking at their loved one.

Conclusion

A slumber did my spirit seal summary tells us about the pain of the author due to his beloved’s death and how he comes to the acceptance of this harsh reality.