Adonais: Poem No. 42 - Summary & Analysis

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Stanza 42

Lines 370-378

He is made one with Nature: There is heard

His voice in all her music, from the moan

Of thunder, to the song of night's sweet bird;

He is a presence to be felt and known

In darkness and in light, from herb and stone,

Spreading itself where'er that Power may move

Which has withdrawn his being to its own;

Which wields the world with never-wearied love,

Sustains it from beneath, and kindles it above.

Summary

      Adonais is made one with Nature. His voice is heard in all the sounds of the objects of Nature. Being absorbed into the Power which sustains the universe and animates it, he is now present everywhere and his presence is to be felt both in darkness and in light.

Explanation

      L. 370. He is....Nature—his spirit is merged into the Universal Spirit that runs through all objects of feature. L. 371, In all her music—in the different sounds of the things of nature. LI. 371-72. From the moan...bird—including the loud rumble of thunder, the gentle song of the nightingale and all other sounds of all pitch and tone between these two. L. 373. He is a presence—he is now an unseen but omnipresent spirit.

      L. 373-374. Felt...light—which is to be perceived in the mind and recognized in the soul, both in darkness and in light (but not to be seen or touched by the sense organs). From herb and stone—i.e., permeating all objects of nature, because he is now absorbed into the Universal Spirit which "rolls through all things."

      L. 375. Where'er...move— i.e., everywhere in the universe (and even beyond it). Power—Eternal Universal Soul. L. 376. Which has...own—which (Universal Soul) has absorbed the individual soul of Adonais into itself, so that Adonais is now part and parcel of Eternity. L. 377. Which wields...love—that Power rules the universe with exhaustless love; the Universal Spirit is a mighty force, and that force is the energy of love, which is its character. L. 378. Sustains...beneath—that Power creates, holds together and maintains the universe by acting within each object and animating it by infusing its energy into it from outside. Kindles— animates.