DARKNESS

Written completely in free verse, Darkness by George Gordon, more commonly known as Lord Byron,
taps into a fear for the future of the human race through an almost ‘epic’ style of poetic storytelling. This
poem was written in July of 1816 runs for a total of 82 lines many of which end abruptly, allowing the
thought to go into “darkness” before being picked back up in the next line.

Summary of Darkness
Darkness”by Lord Byron serves as a warning against the growing inequality in Byron’s time and a
prediction for what will happen to the planet if the human race does not change.
This piece begins with a description of the sun, stars, and moon being extinguished and the earth being
left to stumble through space without direction. All of the people of the earth have been doomed to live
in darkness. They burn everything around them, from palaces to huts and eventually religious materials.
They are desperate for any kind of light to see by.
All are made equal by this darkness, kings are brought to the level of peasants and all suffer together. The
men burn the forests and weep as they go out. Some are driven mad by the eventual starvation they will,
and do, face. The beasts of the forest become tame but are slaughtered by the men and all “sate”
themselves for what will be one of the last times. Many men die from starvation until all the world is
reduced to two men that become enemies.
These men find themselves at the same “altar-place” amongst the ashes of religious items. They manage
to start a small fire and are horrified to see one another, dying right there of fright. The human race is now
extinct, as are herbs, animals, and all plants. All water is still and the tides no longer go in or out because
the moon is long since “extinguish’d.” The clouds are gone, useless to the darkness which is now “…the
Universe.”

Analysis of Darkness
Lines 1-5
I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
...................in the moonless air;
Byron begins this piece with a statement that must remain in the mind of the reader throughout the
entirety of the poem. His speaker states that he has “…had a dream” (1) that was not entirely a dream.
The dream can either be brushed off as only that, or considered as a premonition due to the fact that it has
a poignant message to share about the state of the human race.
The dream of the speaker revolves around one main concept, “darkness.”
In the dream, (that takes on strong religious, end of days, overtones,) the “bright sun” (2) has been put
out, and the stars in the night sky are “wander[ing] darkling,” meaning that they traverse the sky without
light, as they too have been extinguished. They are said to be “Rayless” (4) and without a path. There is
nothing to guide them, just as mankind has lost his way.
The fifth line of the poem begins to describe the state of the earth, it is “icy” (4), and due to the lack of
light from the stars and sun, it is “[swinging] blind…in the moonless air” (5). The moon too is gone, and
with no light to guide it, the earth is swinging out of control.

Lines 6-13

Morn came and went—and came, and brought no day,

...........cities were consum’d,
The darkness of this night is not broken by the coming of “Morn” (6) but continues onward endlessly.
The day does not bring with it light, as the sun too has been put out.
Men are said to have forgotten “…their passions in the dread / Of this their desolation.” There is nothing
to life aside from the dread of the darkness, all passion for worldly pursuits is lost. All of the hearts of the
world were “chill’d” or frozen (in this context meaning both stuck and cold) “into a selfish prayer for
light.” Men and women prayed for light not for the benefit of mankind, but for themselves, each wishing
to retrieve their life as it was before. But this test, most likely sent by a God bringing on the end of days,
is not going to be surmounted so easily.
The people of the world lived “by watchfires” that provided them some light in the dark, and all structures
from “palaces,” to “huts,” and “The habitations of all things which dwell” were used as kindling to create
beacons. These beacons allow communication and direction in this perpetually dark world. All have
become equal, no king or peasant has anything the other does not; all homes have been destroyed. The
apocalypse, at least at this point has had its hoped for outcome, leveling kings to peasants and palaces to
huts.

Lines 14-21

And men were gather’d round their blazing homes

..........and all was black.
While the homes of humankind are burning, the men “were gather’d round their blazing homes” to finally
look one another in the face. It appears that this is the first time since the darkness came that there has
been enough light to truly see one another again.
A few lines are taken at this point to draw attention, figuratively, to those that dwell “within the eye / Of
the volcanoes” and can see by the light of the magma inside. Byron could have added this line solely as a
way of emphasizing the darkness, but could also have meant it to underline the length to which men will
go to be rid of darkness (condemning themselves to the brightest light source they can find). Those that
survived here represented those that survive in sin, off of pain and with an attitude of “making it” at all
costs.
The poem continues, and the speaker describes that aside from darkness, “A fearful hope” was all that the
world contained, a hope to be rid of the dark by whatever means necessary.
The forest of the world were burnt but they “fell and faded” throwing the world back into blackness
again.

Lines 22-29

The brows of men by the despairing light

....... on the dull sky,
The next section of lines focuses solely on the reactions of the men, those that are burning everything
around them. They have experienced darkness and want nothing more than to be rid of it. Instead of
coming together to find a new way to live, they only want to return to the past.
By the light of the burning woods the faces of the men are said to bar “an unearthly aspect” as the trees
are felled and the flashes of light appear, and are quickly extinguished. As this occurs some of the men
lay down on the ground, hiding their eyes, and weep for their world. Other men turn towards, what one
may assume is madness (or intense cynicism for what is happening), simply smile on into their “clenched
hands.”
Then finally, the third kind, “hurried to and fro” attempting to build up the fires even as they are being
extinguished. These “funeral piles” of burning trees and homes are failing and these men turn their eyes
with “mad disquietude,” or agitation, to the sky.

Lines 30-37

The pall of a past world; and then again

..........they were slain for food.
The men, with their eyes turned with burgeoning madness to the sky, see a “pall” of the past world, a
small echo, a shadow of what was, then return their eyes to the dust.
It is clear that the people of this dark world are growing increasingly mad. This “pall” of the past world
only made them angrier and they, “gnash’d their teeth and howl’d” like wild animals lost in the dark,
frustrated by what has become of them.
Their howls terrify the “wild birds” and they “flutter” from the trees onto the ground.
Byron’s speaker now spends a number of lines describing the animals of the forest. They have become
“tame and tremulous,” more nervous than fierce” and the “vipers crawl’d” and lay amongst all the other
men and beasts, all are becoming one and equal. The vipers are said to hiss, but do not bite, they are
“slain for food” by the men.
Quickly this illusion of equality is broken.

Lines 38- 45

And War, which for a moment was no more,

........ their bones were tombless as their flesh;
The moment of peace between men and animals, as they were united against the darkness, has ended.
Once more War “Did glut himself…” After slaughtering the creatures around them, each man separated
himself from the others. Alone, they “sate” themselves “in gloom” and there was “no love left” on the
earth.
The thoughts of all those left on earth were turned towards one thing, the specter of death and how it was
“immediate” and upon them. The men knew that their food sources has been depleted and that soon they
too would die.
The famine, the speaker describes, “fed upon all entrails—men / Died…” This short line is a very
poignant description of hunger pains, how they are eating away at the insides of these men and eventually
kill them.
After the men have died, their bones are said to be “tombless.” Their bodies have shriveled and shrunk so
much from their original state that their bones hardly have a place to rest within them. Additionally, their
entire bodies are without tombs. There is no one left to bury them.

Lines 46-54

The meagre by the meagre were devour’d,

............not with a caress—he died.
Once more the reader gets a small degree of equality in the darkness. The “meagre” in this world are
eating the meagre. All are of the same state and equal in their desperation. Even those that are most loyal,
dogs, “assail’d their masters” (49). They attacked and consumed them. Undeterred by past affection.
All the dogs, “save one” behaved in this manner. A single dog was “faithful to a corse” (or corpse). He
guarded the body of his past master and kept all creatures away, birds, beasts and men included. He stood
guard until all of these creatures, desperate with hunger, sought out others that were “dropping dead.”
The one dog that did not turn on his human companion also did not seek out any food himself, but stayed
by the body and let out a “piteous and perpetual moan.” This single remaining loyal dog represents the
last vestige of good within this world. He is the only creature that has yet to turn on those he loved.
He lays by the body and licks “the hand / Which answer’d not with a caress” until he died. He refused to
turn to the sin that came to easily to the rest of the world, he was not changed by the darkness.

Lines 55-66

The crowd was famish’d by degrees; but two

................saw, and shriek’d, and died—
This section of the poem begins by referring to “the crowd.” With this phrase Byron’s speaker is alluding
to the last traces of the human race. They were all, his speaker says, “…famish’d by degrees…” They did
not all die at the same time, but slowly left the world as all source of nourishment did.
Of all the world, only two men survived, and became enemies. This turn in the poem is reminiscent of the
story of, and feud between, Cain and Abel the first two sons of Adam and Eve.
These two men, “Of an enormous city” survived while all others did not. The speaker describes how they
met next to the burning remains of “an altar-place” where a large number of “holy things” had been used
to unholy purpose (as kindling for another fire).
The men were desperate, as were all those that have since died, and they fell to their knees to gather up
the “feeble ashes” that remained of this unholy fire. This act of seeking to find comfort in the burnt
remains of religious, or at least holy, texts, objects, or structures, after having destroyed them fits into the
narrative of this sinful world being reduce to darkness. God has tested these people and they have failed,
only returning to religion when they are at their most desperate.
The men are able to create a small flame from the ashes and see one another for the first time in a little bit
of light. They are horrified at the other’s appearance, or perhaps just having been confronted with another
being in the same sad state, and they both die.

Lines 67- 74

Even of their mutual hideousness ...........

........their silent depths;
The men were never to discover who the other truly was, or what made them enemies. The speaker
describes how it was their “mutual hideousness” not solely on the outside, that made them die. This
famine brought on by the darkness caused their feud and they were unable to overcome it.
The world was now without life, it “was void,” all the “populous and “the powerful” were degraded to
“a lump.” The speaker has returned to the idea that a force in this world, whether God or another creator
has reduced, with purpose, this world to nothing. The perpetrator of the darkness created it in an effort to
reestablish some measure of equality in the world, and now the world is even.
There are no seasons, herb, trees, men, or life of any kind. The entire planet is described as “A lump of
death—a chaos of hard clay.” Nothing moves or stirs in the “…rivers, lakes and ocean…”

Lines 75-82

Ships sailorless lay rotting

..............She was the Universe.
Byron brings this poem to its conclusion by describing how the ships, unmoving in their bodies of water,
were rotting. Their masts fell down and broke to pieces, but do not float away. They “slept on the abyss
without a surge.” There were no more waves in the ocean, and the tides no longer went in or out as the
moon has long since “expir’d.”
The clouds too were gone, the Darkness did not need their aid, “She” has become the whole universe.
As stated above, this piece serves as a warning against the growing inequality in Byron’s time and a
prediction for what will happen to the planet if the human race does not change.
Byron has imagined an apocalypse that is matched only by the brutality of an Old Testament God. The
references to religious symbols and events throughout this poem draw a direct connection to a religious
and moral ending to the world.
Supernatural Elements In Kubla Khan
Supernatural elements are peppered throughout Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan”,
and they contribute to the transcendent, ethereal quality of this famous work.

First off, in the introduction to the poem (the 8-word quote before the commencement of the
body of the poem) it relates that this is a presentation of a vision in a dream. Therefore, this is not
a matter-of-fact, dry, reportorial account of real events. It is the relating of the
dreams/imaginings of the author. Many dreams have an “other-worldly” essence to them; this fits
the mood of Kubla Khan.

In addition, the river Alph is declared sacred. Therefore, to be sacred means associating this river
with something that is consecrated or hallowed. This fits with the concept of worship in many
belief systems. This is a second supernatural element of this poem.

Furthermore, the “romantic chasm” is declared “holy and enchanted”. Again, in this
vision/dream, something that is part of the physical is metamorphosed (in the dreamer’s eyes)
into being something supernatural – something set apart and taking on a mystical quality.
Moreover, the suggestion in the poem is that this enchanted but savage place is akin to a woman
weeping for “her demon-lover”. The trend continues in this poem of relating the vision of the
dream in unearthly terms. The realm of darkness is alluded to here.

Next, we have somewhat subtle Biblical references in Kubla Khan. One is hail, which evokes
images of hail upon Egypt when Moses sought to lead the people of Israel out of captivity
(Exodus 9:23).

Another reference in the poem is “…chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail”, which evokes
Mathew 3:12, “He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then
he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with
never-ending fire." (New Living Translation).

Another supernatural element in Kubla Khan is the line, “Ancestral voices prophesying
war!” This relates to ancient tomes predicting major world events. This includes the Bible as
well as other works such as what some see as World War predictions in the works of
Nostradamus.

Finally, the last word of this poem is Paradise, which evokes countless images of a future,
utopian life. This last word will connect with many according to their respective belief systems.
It can relate to a Paradise of man’s making on this physical earth in the minds of some. However,
it is a supernatural term if one believes in an afterlife because it deals with a time and
environment not of this physical realm.

Bring out the supernatural elements in kubla khan.

Or
“There is a deep psychological realism behind Coleridge’s use of the supernatural” Discuss
with reference to Kubla khan ..
Ans. Kubla khan is a dream vision, a poem of pure magic. It exemplifies Coleridge’s
mastery over supernatural poetry.
Coleridge creates an atmosphere of mystery in Kubla Khan mainly by describing the
pleasure- dome and the surroundings in which it stood. It is a beautiful place where the river Alph
flows “through caverns measureless to man down to a sunless sea.” The immeasurable caverns
and the sunless sea, perhaps some dark subterranean lake, evokes in our mind a feeling of mystery
and awe. There is the deep romantic chasm which lay across forest of cedar trees. From this gorge
is momently forced a mighty fountain, the source of river Alph. The manner in which the water is
described as intermittently forcing its way out from the spring throwing up huge pieces of rock,
fascinates the reader. The atmosphere of mystery and awe. There is the deep romantic chasm which
lay across forest of cedar trees. From this gorge is momently forced a mighty fountain, the source
of river Alph. The manner is which the water is described as intermittently forcing its way out
from the spring, throwing up huge pieces of rock, fascinates the reader. The atmosphere of mystery
and awe is emphasized when another reference is made to the sunless sea or the lifeless ocean into
which the waters of Alph fell with a loud roar.
Suggestiveness is the basic feature of Coleridge’s supernaturalism. It is true that a vivid and
graphic description of the surroundings of the pleasure- dome is give in the poem but the
supernatural element is suggestive. Coleridge is a superb artist for intermingling the natural and
the supernatural so that the probable and the improbable interfuse. Here are lines which for sheer
suggestiveness and mystery are perhaps unsurpassed:
A savage place! As hole and enchanted
As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon –lover.
A complete store of love’s tragedy is hidden in these lines. a story comparable to Keat’s La Belle
Dame sans merci. And then the following two lines ;
And’ mid this tumult Kubla heard from for
Ancestral voices prophesying war !
The mystery and awe of these lines are striking. What war and why it is left to our imagination…
Then we come to the closing lines which contain a picture of poetic frenzy. Here too we have a
superb blending of the natural and supernatural. A poet’s inspiration is a well-known and natural
fact of human experience, but there is something supernatural about the way in which this poetic
inspiration and the creative powers of a poet are shown:
And’ all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with thrice,
 For he on honey- dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of paradise.
But despite the mystery and awe evoked in the poem, the whole description is psychologically
accurate because when the poet is in a state of frenzy, he is really like a magician. Out of this
creative madness, come the game of truth and beauty. Touches of realism have been added, even
to the description of the chasm and the mighty fountain. Coleridge uses the similes rebounding
hail and chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail which are familiar to our lives are most natural.
If Kubla Khan hears prophesies of war in all the tumultuous noise, it is not unrealistic. It is true to
human experience. After all he is a brave warrior.

Coleridge never forgets that his real purpose is to make the supernatural natural and to bring about
the “willing suspension of disbelief which constitutes poetic faith”. Whether Kubla Khan is seen
as a poem about poetic creativity or about life, it is a convincing work