O Raging Fortune's Withering Blast

O Raging Fortune's Withering Blast - meaning Summary

Fortune's Destructive Power

The poem voices a speaker lamenting abrupt misfortune that destroys a promising life. Using a plant's life cycle as plain metaphor, the speaker describes healthy youth and flourishing prospects—stem, bud, blossom, dew, sun—then a sudden, harsh force called Fortune that lays those blossoms low. The repeated lines reinforce shock and ongoing grief. The tone is mournful and resigned, portraying fate as impersonal and overpowering, turning growth into ruin and leaving the speaker to register loss rather than explain or resist it.