Chambers’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Art
As through the poplar’s gusty spire, the March wind sweeps and sings, I sit beside the hollow fire, and dream of familiar things. Old memories wake, faint echoes make a murmur of dead spring.
Photo: Clark Young. 📝 Meaning: This fragment evokes a strong atmosphere of melancholy and nostalgia. The Setting: The poem begins with a description of the bleak outside world. The “March wind” blows through the “windy spire of the poplar” (or “gusty spire”). This creates a contrast with the interior space. The Mood: The speaker sits inside by a “hollow fire” and dreams of “familiar things”. The fire is described as ‘hollow’, which could indicate a fire that is nearly extinguished, or symbolically represent a sense of emptiness or loneliness. The Memory: The bleak wind outside and the silence inside cause “old memories to awaken”. These memories are described as “vague echoes” that make the “murmur of dead springs”. This suggests a longing for the past, for times (“springs”) that have passed and will never return. It is a musing on transience and lost time. 🏛️ Origin:Title: The poem is known by the title “Long Ago”. Publication: It was published in 1868. Source: It appeared in Chambers’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art. This was a very popular and widely read British journal during the Victorian era, edited by William and Robert Chambers. 👤 Author: Unknown: The author of the poem has not been definitively identified. Anonymous Contributions: It was a very common practice at the time for Victorian journals, including Chambers’s Journal, to publish contributions anonymously. No sources have been found attributing this poem to a specific, well-known poet.
Door Pieter
Mensenmens, zoon, echtgenoot, vader, opa.
Spiritueel, echter niet religieus.
Ik hou van golf, wandelen, lezen en de natuur in veel opzichten.
Onderzoeker, nieuwsgierig, geen fan van de mainstream media (MSM).
