From the dull confines of the drooping west
To see the day spring from the pregnant east,
Ravish’d in spirit, I come, nay more, I fly
To thee, blest place of my nativity!
Thus, thus with hallow’d foot I touch the ground,
With thousand blessings by thy fortune crown’d.
These lines suggest a sense of excitement and joy as the speaker describes his journey from the western part of the world to the eastern part, where the day begins. He expresses a feeling of being spiritually captivated and eagerly flying towards his birthplace. The speaker emphasizes his deep connection to this blessed place and expresses gratitude for the fortune and blessings he has received upon setting foot on its ground.
O fruitful genius! that bestowest here
An everlasting plenty, year by year.
O place! O people! Manners! fram’d to please
All nations, customs, kindreds, languages!
I am a free-born Roman; suffer then
That I amongst you live a citizen.
These lines describe the speaker’s admiration for the place he is in and the people who inhabit it. He praises the abundant blessings and prosperity that are bestowed upon this place year after year. The speaker appreciates the diversity and inclusivity of the people, their manners, and their ability to please individuals from all nations, customs, kindreds, and languages. The speaker identifies himself as a free-born Roman and requests the permission to live among these people as a citizen.
London my home is, though by hard fate sent
Into a long and irksome banishment;
Yet since call’d back, henceforward let me be,
O native country, repossess’d by thee!
For, rather than I’ll to the west return,
I’ll beg of thee first here to have mine urn.
These lines express the speaker’s strong connection to London, his hometown. Despite being forced into a long and burdensome banishment, he isnow being called back to his native country. The speaker declares his desire to be reunited with his beloved London, choosing to stay there rather than returning to the west. He even express a willingness to have his final resting place in London, emphasizing his deep attachment to his hometown.
Weak I am grown, and must in short time fall;
Give thou my sacred relics burial.
The lines express the speaker’s recognition of his own frailty and the inevitability of his impending demise. He humbly requests that his sacred relics be given a proper burial. It’s like saying, “These lines describe the speaker’s acknowledgment of his own weakness and the fact that he will soon pass away. He ask for his sacred relics to be given a respectful burial.”
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