I dreamed this mortal part of mine
Was metamorphosed to a vine,
Which crawling one and every way
Enthralled my dainty Lucia.
Methought her long small legs and thighs
I with my tendrils did surprise;
Her belly, buttocks, and her waist
By my soft nervelets were embraced.
The lines seem to describe a dream where the speaker envisions himself transforming into a vine and entwining around a person named Lucia. In the dream, the speaker’s vine-like tendrils wrap around Lucia’s legs, thighs, belly, buttocks, and waist, creating a sense of embrace or enthrallment. It’s a vivid and imaginative description of a dream where the speaker feels intimately connected to Lucia through this vine-like transformation.
About her head I writhing hung,
And with rich clusters (hid among
The leaves) her temples I behung,
So that my Lucia seemed to me
Young Bacchus ravished by his tree.
My curls about her neck did crawl,
And arms and hands they did enthrall,
So that she could not freely stir
(All parts there made one prisoner).
Those lines suggest that in the dream, the speaker’s vine-like curls wrap around Lucia’s head, hanging rich clusters of leaves around her temples. This imagery creates the impression that Lucia is like a young Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, being captivated by the tree or vine. The speaker’s curls also crawl around her neck, enthralling her arms and hands, making it difficult for her to move freely. It symbolizes a sense of possession or entrapment, where Lucia is almost like a prisoner to the speaker’s vine-like presence. It’s a vivid and intriguing portrayal of the dream’s imagery and emotions.
But when I crept with leaves to hide
Those parts which maids keep unespied,
Such fleeting pleasures there I took
That with the fancy I awoke;
And found (ah me!) this flesh of mine
More like a stock than like a vine.
The lines highlight a shift in the dream where the speaker, after wrapping himself around Lucia, tries to hide certain intimate parts with leaves. In doing so, he experiences fleeting pleasures, but then the dream abruptly ends, and the speaker wakes up. The lines emphasize the contrast between the speaker’s imagined vine-like form and the reality of their own flesh, which feels more like a lifeless stock than a vibrant vine. It’s a realization that the dream was just a fantasy, and the speaker is left with a sense of disappointment or longing. Dreams can be so vivid, right?
Robert Herrick His Return to London Summary
