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Summary
The nun could easily understand and realize the situation. Her gaze was fixed on the Lord, her Master. She could clearly understand the sequence of dreadful events in that night. She had not difficulty in interpreting the disaster imagination to Christ as she considered him to be the creator of the heaven and the earth. There is a comparison between this nun and Simon Peter, Christ’s devoted disciple. The poet says that there is a great similarity in nun’s firmness of soul and that of Simon Peter. The danger couldn’t threaten her and she stood as a rock as Tarpeian outside Rome. She was the beacon of hope shedding light around her.
Line by Line Analysis
Lines 1-3: Ah! there was.....shock wight: The chief nun’s heart was right, in other words, her inner voice was right.
There was single eye: Her mind was concentrated on God, the nun’s eye fixed on God.
The unshakeable shock night: the night that brought inexpressible shock to the passengers.
The nun had clarity in her vision and could clearly interpret the horrible events in the night.
Lines 4-6: And knew the who.....worded by?: The nun had the proper knowledge of the seasons behind the actions. She could interpret (wording it) it, the disaster caused by Him who has created the heaven and the earth and everything in the present and past.
Lines 7-8: The Sinton Peter.....beacon of light: Simon Peter refers to a devout Christian soul. The poet says that the nun is also very firm in her devotion like Simon Peter.
Tarpeian-fast: Tarpeian rock outside Rome.
The nun was so firm that the storm failed to shake her belief and faith, like the Tarpeian rock. She was like a beacon, a ray of hope, showing the light to others.