Sweet Peace, where dost thou dwell? I humbly crave,
Let me once know.
I sought thee in a secret cave,
And ask'd, if Peace were there,
A hollow wind did seem to answer, No:
Go seek elsewhere.
I did; and going did a rainbow note:
Surely, thought I,
This is the lace of Peace's coat:
I will search out the matter.
But while I looked the clouds immediately
Did break and scatter.
Then went I to a garden and did spy
A gallant flower,
The crown-imperial: Sure, said I,
Peace at the root must dwell.
But when I digged, I saw a worm devour
What showed so well.
At length I met a rev'rend good old man;
Whom when for Peace
I did demand, he thus began:
There was a Prince of old
At Salem dwelt, who lived with good increase
Of flock and fold.
He sweetly lived; yet sweetness did not save
His life from foes.
But after death out of his grave
There sprang twelve stalks of wheat;
Which many wond'ring at, got some of those
To plant and set.
It prospered strangely, and did soon disperse
Through all the earth:
For they that taste it do rehearse
That virtue lies therein;
A secret virtue, bringing peace and mirth
By flight of sin.
Take of this grain, which in my garden grows,
And grows for you;
Make bread of it: and that repose
And peace, which ev'ry where
With so much earnestness you do pursue,
Is only there.
In this poem the author puts a person who is on an adventure to find peace. He meets with many things that seem peaceful to him, and he believes that at the end of it or at the root he will find it. He gets disappointed because everything vanishes or rotten. But when he finds the old man he tells him a story but the reality behind it is that he needs to grow peace in his own garden and that’s the only way he will have it. Just like the prince had the wheat grown out of his grave.
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the overall message of this poem is about the speaker; he/she is looking for peace and enjoying the peaceful life. In the first stanza, “Sweet Peace”, the poet use sensory detail to describe peace as sweet that shows he/she is really enjoy with the peace. The following stanza, created the different scene to show that he/she is looking for peace in everywhere, shows that peace is all around he/she, peace is just surround by side and you can find in anywhere even in natural.
ReplyDeleteThe author tries to find peace in different things that are viewed as peaceful such as caves, flowers and rainbows. He finds, however, that they aren't peaceful. Appearances can be deceiving. The only way to find peace is to find it within yourself. Once everyone sees that you're peaceful, then others will be peaceful. Peace isn't something that is found, but created from within.
ReplyDelete"Sweet Peace, where dost thou dwell?" this a question that the speaker is asking he is looking for peace in many places such as in the cave, rainbow, and flower.He continues looking for it but cant find it soon he encounters an old man he ask where can he find peace,he tells him that peace is in your own self.You can try all you want to find it but it is always in you.The last stanzas are an allusion to the bible I believe its a reference to Jesus Christ.For example,creating peace by sharing bread with people and his twelve disciples this maybe a relation with, "twelve stalks of wheat." Perhaps another message of this poem is that peace can also be created which is why he makes a connection to the bible.
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