Shall Earth No More Inspire Thee
Emily Brontë
About the Author
Emily Bronte is an English author famous for her novel Wuthering Heights as well as multiple poems. She was the sister famous writers Anne and Charlotte Bronte. From a young age she was faced with the death of two of her family members. This prevented her from finished school and it caused her father to reach severe poverty. She then began teaching and started writing. She first wrote her novel Wuthering Heights based upon two families of elite status. After her success she began to write poems including Shall Earth No More Inspire Thee.
Shall Earth No More Inspire Thee
Shall earth no more inspire thee,
Thou lonely dreamer now?
Since passion may not fire thee
Shall Nature cease to bow?
Thy mind is ever moving
In regions dark to thee;
Recall its useless roving—
Come back and dwell with me.
I know my mountain breezes
Enchant and soothe thee still—
I know my sunshine pleases
Despite thy wayward will.
When day with evening blending
Sinks from the summer sky,
I’ve seen thy spirit bending
In fond idolatry.
I’ve watched thee every hour;
I know my mighty sway,
I know my magic power
To drive thy griefs away.
Few hearts to mortals given
On earth so wildly pine;
Yet none would ask a heaven
More like this earth than thine.
Then let my winds caress thee;
Thy comrade let me be—
Since nought beside can bless thee,
Return and dwell with me.
NC Poetry Out Loud 2009 - "Shall earth no more inspire thee" by Emily Jane Bronte
Theme
Shall nature no more inspire thee speaks of how nature is able to soothe troubled spirits.
Interpretation of Key Lines/Poem
The poem speaks of an individual who lost the interest in nature. She no longer finds love and beauty in nature and earth. Instead she chooses to live her life gloomily and find herself out of place in her world. The writer chooses to narrate the poem as nature itself. As shown in the line "I know my mountain breezes/ Enchant and soothe thee still" the author is explaining how nature is not able to "soothe" her. Instead she is needed of an outside force.
2013 - 05 UWEC Singing Statesmen - Shall Earth No More Inspire Thee