[Page 64]. l. [241]. Selfishness, Love's cousin. For the two aspects of love, as a selfish and unselfish passion, see Blake's two poems, Love seeketh only self to please, and, Love seeketh not itself to please.
l. [242]. single breast, one-thoughted, being full of love for Lorenzo.
[Page 65]. ll. [249 seq.] Cf. Shelley's Ode to the West Wind.
l. [252]. roundelay, a dance in a circle.
l. [259]. Striving . . . itself. Her distrust of her brothers is shown in her effort not to betray her fears to them.
dungeon climes. Wherever it is, it is a prison which keeps him from her. Cf. Hamlet, ii. ii. 250-4.
l. [262]. Hinnom's Vale, the valley of Moloch's sacrifices, Paradise Lost, i. 392-405.
l. [264]. snowy shroud, a truly prophetic dream.
[Page 66]. ll. [267 seq.] These comparisons help us to realize her experience as sharp anguish, rousing her from the lethargy of despair, and endowing her for a brief space with almost supernatural energy and willpower.
[Page 67]. l. [286]. palsied Druid. The Druids, or priests of ancient Britain, are always pictured as old men with long beards. The conception of such an old man, tremblingly trying to get music from a broken harp, adds to the pathos and mystery of the vision.