Second assignment

THE RETREAT

by Henry Vaughan

HAPPY those early days, when I

Shin'd in my angel-infancy !

Before I understood this place

Appointed for my second race,

Or taught my soul to fancy ought

But a white, celestial thought ;

When yet I had not walk'd above

A mile or two from my first love,

And looking back—at that short space—

Could see a glimpse of His bright face ;

When on some gilded cloud, or flow'r,

My gazing soul would dwell an hour,

And in those weaker glories spy

Some shadows of eternity ;

Before I taught my tongue to wound

My conscience with a sinful sound,

Or had the black art to dispense

A sev'ral sin to ev'ry sense,

But felt through all this fleshly dress

Bright shoots of everlastingness.

O how I long to travel back,

And tread again that ancient track !

That I might once more reach that plain,

Where first I left my glorious train ;

From whence th' enlighten'd spirit sees

That shady City of palm-trees.

But ah ! my soul with too much stay

Is drunk, and staggers in the way !

Some men a forward motion love,

But I by backward steps would move ;

And when this dust falls to the urn,

In that state I came, return.

ANALYSIS

1.-Who's the speaker and who's speaking to?

Speaker: The writer

he's speaking to: no one in special, he is talking about his childhood and life in general.

2.-Type of vocabulary

In some way he used a reflexive vocabulary (memories), not angry or violent, just reflexive about his life.

He went back to his earlier days, remembering.

3.-Literary figures founded.

*Angel infancy

*Or taught my soul to a fancy ought

*My gazing soul would dwell an hour

*My conscience with a sinful sound

*fleshly dress

*But my soul too much stay, is drunk and staggers in the way

4.- What's the poem about?

The poem is about writer's life, childhood, his personal experiences, for example his first love, his thoughts, memories and finally, if i understood he spoke about life after life at the end of the poet:

"And when this dust falls to the urn,

in that state i came, return."

5.-Opinion about the poem

I think that the poem maybe is talking about Youth, because his drescriptions are related with his childhood, his early days, and how in some way he comes back to life..., for me, it was a little bit confusing.