'The House Of Dust: Part 01: 07: Midnight; bells toll, and along the cloud-high towers' by Conrad Aiken
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Midnight; bells toll, and along the cloud-high towers
The golden lights go out . . .
The yellow windows darken, the shades are drawn,
In thousands of rooms we sleep, we await the dawn,
We lie face down, we dream,
We cry aloud with terror, half rise, or seem
To stare at the ceiling or walls . . .
Midnight . . . the last of shattering bell-notes falls.
A rush of silence whirls over the cloud-high towers,
A vortex of soundless hours.
'The bells have just struck twelve: I should be sleeping.
But I cannot delay any longer to write and tell you.
The woman is dead.
She died—you know the way. Just as we planned.
Smiling, with open sunlit eyes.
Smiling upon the outstretched fatal hand . . .'
He folds his letter, steps softly down the stairs.
The doors are closed and silent. A gas-jet flares.
His shadow disturbs a shadow of balustrades.
The door swings shut behind. Night roars above him.
Into the night he fades.
Wind; wind; wind; carving the walls;
Blowing the water that gleams in the street;
Blowing the rain, the sleet.
In the dark alley, an old tree cracks and falls,
Oak-boughs moan in the haunted air;
Lamps blow down with a crash and tinkle of glass . . .
Darkness whistles . . . Wild hours pass . . .
And those whom sleep eludes lie wide-eyed, hearing
Above their heads a goblin night go by;
Children are waked, and cry,
The young girl hears the roar in her sleep, and dreams
That her lover is caught in a burning tower,
She clutches the pillow, she gasps for breath, she screams . . .
And then by degrees her breath grows quiet and slow,
She dreams of an evening, long ago:
Of colored lanterns balancing under trees,
Some of them softly catching afire;
And beneath the lanterns a motionless face she sees,
Golden with lamplight, smiling, serene . . .
The leaves are a pale and glittering green,
The sound of horns blows over the trampled grass,
Shadows of dancers pass . . .
The face smiles closer to hers, she tries to lean
Backward, away, the eyes burn close and strange,
The face is beginning to change,—
It is her lover, she no longer desires to resist,
She is held and kissed.
She closes her eyes, and melts in a seethe of flame . . .
With a smoking ghost of shame . . .
Wind, wind, wind . . . Wind in an enormous brain
Blowing dark thoughts like fallen leaves . . .
The wind shrieks, the wind grieves;
It dashes the leaves on walls, it whirls then again;
And the enormous sleeper vaguely and stupidly dreams
And desires to stir, to resist a ghost of pain.
One, whom the city imprisoned because of his cunning,
Who dreamed for years in a tower,
Seizes this hour
Of tumult and wind. He files through the rusted bar,
Leans his face to the rain, laughs up at the night,
Slides down the knotted sheet, swings over the wall,
To fall to the street with a cat-like fall,
Slinks round a quavering rim of windy light,
And at last is gone,
Leaving his empty cell for the pallor of dawn . . .
The mother whose child was buried to-day
Turns her face to the window; her face is grey;
And all her body is cold with the coldness of rain.
He would have grown as easily as a tree,
He would have spread a pleasure of shade above her,
He would have been his father again . . .
His growth was ended by a freezing invisible shadow.
She lies, and does not move, and is stabbed by the rain.
Wind, wind, wind; we toss and dream;
We dream we are clouds and stars, blown in a stream:
Windows rattle above our beds;
We reach vague-gesturing hands, we lift our heads,
Hear sounds far off,—and dream, with quivering breath,
Our curious separate ways through life and death.
Editor 1 Interpretation
The House of Dust: Part 01: 07: Midnight; Bells Toll, and Along the Cloud-High Towers
Introduction
The House of Dust: Part 01: 07: Midnight; bells toll, and along the cloud-high towers is a classic poem written by Conrad Aiken. It is a hauntingly beautiful poem that explores the themes of time, death, and the transience of life. The poem is written in a highly descriptive and evocative style and uses vivid imagery to create a sense of atmosphere and mood.
Plot Summary
The House of Dust: Part 01: 07: Midnight; bells toll, and along the cloud-high towers is a poem that describes a midnight scene in a city. The poem begins with the tolling of bells that signal the passing of time. The speaker describes the sound of the bells and their impact on the city:
"The midnight sounds come down to me, And my mind’s tired eyes close dimly; All the bells are tolling solemnly, In the city, far and dreamily."
The speaker then goes on to describe the city itself. He describes the tall towers that reach up into the clouds and the lights that flicker in the darkness. He also describes the people who live in the city and their lives:
"The towers fade into the sky, The lights go out, the night is nigh, And in the city’s streets below, The people dream and come and go."
As the poem progresses, the speaker becomes more and more introspective. He reflects on the passing of time and the inevitability of death. He thinks about his own mortality and wonders what it will be like when he dies:
"And still the bells toll on and on, And still I wait here all alone, And wonder what will be my fate, When life’s brief day is over and done."
Literary Analysis
The House of Dust: Part 01: 07: Midnight; bells toll, and along the cloud-high towers is a poem that is rich in literary devices and imagery. The poem makes use of repetition, alliteration, and personification to create a sense of atmosphere and mood. The use of repetition in the poem helps to reinforce the idea of the passing of time. The repeated use of the phrase "bells toll" creates a sense of inevitability and finality. The use of alliteration also helps to create a sense of atmosphere. The repeated use of the "s" sound in "solemnly" and "streets below" creates a sense of hushed silence and stillness.
The poem also makes use of personification to create a sense of atmosphere. The description of the towers as "fading into the sky" creates a sense of their majesty and grandeur. The description of the lights as "flickering" and the people as "dreaming" and "coming and going" creates a sense of the transience of life.
The poem also explores the theme of time and the inevitability of death. The tolling of the bells is a constant reminder of the passage of time and the speaker's own mortality. The speaker reflects on the brevity of life and wonders what his fate will be when it is over. The poem is a meditation on the transience of life and the inevitability of death.
Interpretation
The House of Dust: Part 01: 07: Midnight; bells toll, and along the cloud-high towers is a poem that can be interpreted in a number of ways. The poem can be seen as a meditation on the transience of life and the inevitability of death. The tolling of the bells is a reminder that time is passing and that life is fleeting. The description of the city and its people also reinforces the idea of the transience of life. The lights that flicker in the darkness and the people who come and go are a reminder that life is constantly in motion and that nothing stays the same.
The poem can also be seen as a commentary on the human condition. The speaker is alone and reflective, pondering the meaning of life and his own mortality. The poem is a reminder that we are all alone in the world and that we must come to terms with our own mortality.
The poem can also be seen as a celebration of life. The description of the city and its people is a reminder that life is full of wonder and beauty. The lights that flicker in the darkness and the people who come and go are a reminder that life is constantly in motion and that there is always something new to discover.
Conclusion
The House of Dust: Part 01: 07: Midnight; bells toll, and along the cloud-high towers is a hauntingly beautiful poem that explores the themes of time, death, and the transience of life. The poem is rich in literary devices and imagery and creates a sense of atmosphere and mood. The poem can be interpreted in a number of ways and is a reminder that life is fleeting and that we must come to terms with our own mortality. The poem is a celebration of life and a reminder that there is always something new to discover.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The House of Dust: Part 01: 07: Midnight; bells toll, and along the cloud-high towers is a classic poem written by Conrad Aiken. This poem is a part of a larger collection of poems called The House of Dust, which was published in 1920. The poem is a haunting and evocative piece that explores the themes of time, memory, and the transience of life.
The poem begins with the tolling of bells at midnight, which sets the tone for the rest of the piece. The bells are described as tolling "along the cloud-high towers," which creates a sense of grandeur and majesty. The use of the word "cloud-high" suggests that the towers are so tall that they reach up into the clouds, which adds to the sense of awe and wonder.
As the bells continue to toll, the speaker reflects on the passing of time and the transience of life. They describe the "ghostly hours" that pass by, and the "phantom faces" that appear in the darkness. This creates a sense of unease and foreboding, as if something ominous is about to happen.
The speaker then describes the "whispering voices" that seem to come from the darkness, which adds to the eerie atmosphere of the poem. The voices are described as "mournful" and "sad," which suggests that they are the voices of the dead. This creates a sense of melancholy and loss, as if the speaker is mourning the passing of time and the people who have gone before.
The poem then takes a more personal turn, as the speaker reflects on their own life and the memories that they have. They describe the "ghosts of old loves" that haunt them, and the "shadows of old dreams" that linger in their mind. This creates a sense of nostalgia and longing, as if the speaker is yearning for a time that has long since passed.
The poem then returns to the tolling of the bells, which serves as a reminder of the passing of time. The bells are described as "tolling, tolling," which creates a sense of urgency and finality. The repetition of the word "tolling" also adds to the sense of inevitability, as if the tolling of the bells is a reminder that time waits for no one.
The poem ends with the speaker reflecting on the transience of life and the inevitability of death. They describe the "darkness" that awaits us all, and the "silence" that will follow. This creates a sense of finality and closure, as if the speaker has come to terms with their own mortality.
Overall, The House of Dust: Part 01: 07: Midnight; bells toll, and along the cloud-high towers is a haunting and evocative poem that explores the themes of time, memory, and the transience of life. The use of imagery and repetition creates a sense of grandeur and majesty, while the personal reflections of the speaker add a sense of intimacy and emotion. The poem serves as a reminder that time waits for no one, and that we must make the most of the time that we have.
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