God of the Meridian
God of the Meridian - meaning Summary
Soul Torn Between Realms
The speaker describes a painful split between soul and body: the soul has flown upward while the body remains earthbound, creating a fearful gulf that can lead to madness. Using the image of a mother watching an eagle carry her child, the speaker appeals to a divine God of Song for help. He asks to be borne through overpowering visions and given a tempering balance between fiery inspiration and calm philosophy.
Read Complete AnalysesGod of the meridian! And of the east and west! To thee my soul is flown, And my body is earthward press’d: It is an awful mission, A terrible division, And leaves a gulf austere To be fill’d with worldly fear. Aye, when the soul is fled Too high above our head, Affrighted do we gaze After its airy maze – As doth a mother wild When her young infant child Is in an eagle’s claws. And is not this the cause Of madness? – God of Song, Thou bearest me along Through sights I scarce can bear; O let me, let me share With the hot lyre and thee The staid philosophy. Temper my lonely hours And let me see thy bowers More unalarmed!
Written on 31 January 1818. First published in 1848.
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