Fantasia - The Young Girl's Poem

This poem is a beautiful and harmonious blend of romantic and pastoral themes, making extensive use of natural imagery to explore the concept of love and longing. It is divided into three stanzas, each stanza invoking a different phase of the day to symbolize the progression of emotions felt by the speaker.

The poem opens with the speaker greeting the morning, a symbol of new beginnings and hope, with a sense of expectation and longing. This is carried through the use of vivid sensual imagery, such as "Kiss mine eyelids" and "Lend me violets for my hair". The speaker's desire for the morning's "russet robe" and "ring of rosiest hue" signifies an entreaty for the freshness and vibrancy that a new day brings.

As the poem progresses, the mood shifts from hopeful anticipation to a sense of longing and melancholy. The second stanza depicts noon, generally a time of activity and vibrancy, as a period of introspection and longing for a distant lover. The speaker desires the noontide ray to colour their "pallid lilies brown", representing a yearning to feel the intensity of their lover's passion.

The final stanza introduces the evening. Here, the speaker seeks a gentle farewell from the "Lord of light", and the evening star symbolizes a source of comfort and solace, albeit borrowed. This progression from dawn to dusk mirrors the speaker's emotional journey from hope, through longing, to acceptance and comfort.

Overall, the poem uses natural elements and the passage of time as metaphors to explore the human experience of love, longing, and solace. The tone shifts subtly with each stanza, yet a thread of romanticism and longing ties the poem together, making it an elegant and emotional exploration of human sentiment.