Raving Winds Around Her Blowing
written in 1788
Raving Winds Around Her Blowing - meaning Summary
Despair Mirrored in Nature
This short poem presents a speaker overcome by sorrow and longing. Stormy natural images—raving winds, yellow leaves, a roaring river—reflect Isabella’s inner desolation as she wanders and laments lost happiness. The poem moves from memory of past joy to an anxious, bleak view of the future, where grief chills the speaker and despair seizes the imagination. It culminates in a wish to abandon life and join oblivion, making the poem a compact meditation on mourning, resignation, and the conflation of external landscape with internal despair.
Read Complete AnalysesRaving winds around her blowing, Yellow leaves the woodlands strowing, By a river hoarsely roaring Isabella stray'd deploring. Farewell, hours that late did measure Sunshine days of joy and pleasure; Hail, thou gloomy night of sorrow, Cheerless night that knows no morrow. O'er the Past too fondly wandering, On the hopeless Future pondering; Chilly Grief my life-blood freezes, Fell Despair my fancy seizes. Life, thou soul of every blessing, Load to Misery most distressing, Gladly how would I resign thee, And to dark Oblivion join thee!
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