The Day Dream Part IV The Arrival - Analysis

Introduction

This excerpt from Tennyson’s The Day-Dream presents a luminous, fairy-tale arrival charged with expectation. The tone is at once celebratory and contemplative, opening with quiet assurance and moving into a breathless moment of discovery. A subtle shift runs from observing past failure to the singular triumph of a new seeker. The poem balances wonder with moral reflection.

Historical and Authorial Context

Written by Alfred Lord Tennyson in the Victorian era, the poem reflects Romantic and medieval revival interests common to his work: chivalric image, moral reflection, and an idealized view of love and destiny. Tennyson often blends personal feeling with mythic atmosphere, producing moralized lyric narratives that resonated with his contemporaries.

Main Themes: Fate, Love, and Singular Success

The poem develops fate as a force that unfolds for persistent seekers: “For love in sequel works with fate.” Love is the motivating power, described as charm and whispering promise that guides the traveler. A moral of individual triumph appears in the contrast between the scattered dead—“They perish’d in their daring deeds”—and the proverb “The many fail: the one succeeds,” which celebrates the lone successful quester.

Recurring Images and Symbolism

Key images reinforce the themes: the veil reveals hidden worth, suggesting discovery and unveiling; the fairy Prince’s glittering mantle and lighter foot evoke otherworldly favor and agility; the thorny close and blanching bones symbolize past failure and danger. The “Magic Music in his heart” and the charm that “hover[s] near” function as inner guides—intangible aids that steer the protagonist toward his prize.

Tone, Mood, and Moment of Revelation

The mood shifts from reflective to euphoric as the seeker approaches the chamber. Early stanzas record past losses with sober distance; by stanza four the speaker’s body responds—“The colour flies into his cheeks,” “His spirit flutters like a lark”—culminating in the intimate act of kneeling to kiss. This motion from observation to embodied passion underscores the poem’s faith in personal encounter.

Conclusion

Tennyson’s fragment celebrates perseverance, the power of inner guidance, and the singular joy of discovery. Through vivid symbols—the veil, the mantle, the Magic Music—and a tonal arc from detached moralizing to immediate rapture, the poem argues that love allied with fate rewards the one who endures and dares to enter the thorny close.