Henry Vaughan's ' The Retreat ' is a religious poem in which we find the ' glorification of childhood ' in a simple and familiar style.
Line 1 - 4 :
" Happy those early days, when I
Shined in my Angel-infancy !
Before I understood this place
Appointed for my second race,"
The speaker (poet) candidly confesses that his childhood was full of happiness, touched with celestial bliss. His infancy was redolent with angelic purity and glory. The time mentioned here is that period of time when the poet was already allotted his second existence i.e. the life in this world, but he had no knowledge of this unreal place.
Word Notes: Early days - childhood. Angel-infancy - divine infancy. Second race - life in this world, our original home is the heaven and the life there is our first race.
Line 5 - 8 :
But a white, celestial thought;
When yet I had not walked above
A mile or two from my first love, "
The childhood is that period when the poet was full of pure divine thought as his soul could not think about anything of this world.The childhood is a very short journey,one or two miles,that is a very short period, from heaven and God.
Word Notes: Fancy - think. Aught - anything. Celestial - heavenly. First love - God in heaven, our first parent.
Line 9 -14 :
" And looking back, at that short space,Could see a glimpse of His bright face;
When on some gilded cloud or flower
My gazing soul would dwell an hour,
And in those weaker glories spy
Some shadows of eternity; "
As childhood is a very short journey from heaven, he was able to catch some glimpses of that glorious place and the bright face of God. Poet's eager soul would contemplate for an hour on the golden cloud of morning and the golden flowers and through this his memory, though now weaker, could have some reflections of divine types of heavenly life.
Word Notes: Gilded cloud - cloud tinged with the golden light of the rising Sun. Gazing - eager or intent. Dwell - contemplate. Spy - espy or see. Shadows of eternity - reflection of eternal world or heaven.
Line 15 -20 :
" Before I taught my tongue to woundMy conscience with a sinful sound,
Or had the black art to dispense
A several sin to every sense,
But felt through all this fleshly dress
Bright shoots of everlastingness. "
In childhood the poet had not yet learnt hard language to prick others and had not polluted his mind with sinful thought. Then he knew no black magic or cunningness to distribute sin to his every sense. The glory of God could penetrate the gross body of the poet.
Word Notes: Conscience - mind. Black art - black magic which was forbidden art. Dispense - distribute. Fleshly dress - our gross body, metaphorically our body is the covering of our soul. Shoots of everlastingness - the glory that shoots from the face of God.
Line 21 -26 :
" O, how I long to travel back,And tread again that ancient track!
That I might once more reach that plain
Where first I left my glorious train,
From whence th’ enlightened spirit sees
That shady city of palm trees."
Being tired in this world the poet earnestly desire to go back and tread on the childhood land where he must get the angels and God as his companion and from that place his liberated spirit could notice the blissful city of God.
Word Notes: Ancient track - childhood time or path. Glorious train - God and angels. Enlightened - liberated. City of palm trees - city of God , a picture in Bible.
Line 27 -32 :
" But, ah! my soul with too much stayIs drunk, and staggers in the way.
Some men a forward motion love;
But I by backward steps would move,
And when this dust falls to the urn,
In that state I came, return.
The poet has become intoxicated with the enjoyment and experience of this mundane life and he is in a staggering state in the attempt of retreating to childhood. Is it not possible ? Some people like to move forward, but the poet likes to move backward, to the divine infancy. It is possible when the body of the poet would turn to dust and be kept in urn. Actually after death the poet may be gifted another childhood if resurrection is granted by God.
Word Notes: Staggers - falters. Dust - the remaining parts when the body is burnt after death. Urn - vessel for keeping the ashes of the dead persons.
