Shall I Take Thee, the Poet Said
Shall I Take Thee, the Poet Said - meaning Summary
A Test of the Word
The poem presents a speaker (the Poet) debating whether to present someone to a standard or exam of language and meaning. The Poet evaluates candidates and consults philology, expecting a formal selection. Instead, an unexpected vision bestows the destined word directly, bypassing nomination. The poem contrasts measured, scholarly testing with sudden, revelatory authority, suggesting poetic vocation comes from inward revelation rather than institutional approval.
Read Complete AnalysesShall I take thee, the Poet said To the propounded word? Be stationed with the Candidates Till I have finer tried The Poet searched Philology And when about to ring For the suspended Candidate There came unsummoned in That portion of the Vision The Word applied to fill Not unto nomination The Cherubim reveal
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