Section 1 Summary

Lines 1-8

WELL! If the Bard was weather-wise, who made
The grand old ballad of Sir Patrick Spence,
This night, so tranquil now, will not go hence
Unroused by winds, that ply a busier trade
Than those which mould yon cloud in lazy flakes,
Or the dull sobbing draft, that moans and rakes
Upon the strings of this Æolian lute,
Which better far were mute.

• It turns out that this poem's epigraph was no accident.
• Our speaker starts off thinking about poor Sir Patrick.
• Specifically, he's talking about the original (anonymous) poet of the "The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence."
• In a nutshell, he's saying that, if that original poet ("the Bard") knew how bad weather could predict a foul turn of events ("weather-wise"), then surely bad weather is coming his (the speaker's) way (1).
• Although the night is calm right now ("tranquil"), just pushing some clouds lazily around and making a dull sobbing sound, it must be that some rougher winds are going to blow soon (3).
• The "Aeolian lute" here is a metaphor for the sound the wind makes. (Aeolus is the Greek god of wind.) Still, some folks have made actual Aeolian lutes (or harps), stringed instruments that play when the wind blows through them.
• The upshot here is that the wind isn't blowing as fiercely as it should for our speaker's taste.
• He wants rougher weather, remember, because that would mean that bad things are coming, like they were in "The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence."
• That's a long way to go to tell us that our speaker is a pretty dark mood. Let's see if he cheers up…

Lines 9-16

For lo! the New-moon winter-bright!
And overspread with phantom light,
(With swimming phantom light o'erspread
But rimmed and circled by a silver thread)
I see the old Moon in her lap, foretelling
The coming-on of rain and squally blast,
And oh! that even now the gust were swelling,
And the slant night-shower driving loud and fast!

• Our speaker sees a new moon, just like the one in "The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence."
• Again, this means that the moon is actually totally black, but there is often a thin white ring around it, like this. This ring is metaphorically compared to a silver thread.
• In "The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence," this was a sign that bad weather would be coming to drown poor Sir Patrick.
• Our speaker seems to think he's in for a similar fate.
• He's imagining that the same stormy weather ("squally blast") is headed his way, and even seems to hope for its arrival (14).
• Cheery guy, right?

Lines 17-20

Those sounds which oft have raised me, whilst they awed
And sent my soul abroad,
Might now perhaps their wonted impulse give,
Might startle this dull pain, and make it move and live!

• Okay, Mr. Speaker. Why are you so into this storm? Why do you want a bunch of wind and rain to fall on your head instead of a nice, peaceful night?
• We get his answer here: he wants the rough weather because he hopes that it might inspire him and shake him up a bit.
• In the past, storms like the one he's hoping for have "awed/ And sent my soul abroad" (17-18), and he's hoping for a similar effect ("wonted impulse") here (19).
• What he has instead is some "dull pain," and it looks like he's trying to shake himself out of this funk.
• In short: dude is depressed. We guess that "Dejection: An Ode" is not just a clever title.
• For more on that title, check out "What's Up With the Title?" And for more on the way this poem is put together (hint: it's complicated), check out "Form and Meter."
• In the meantime, we'll see just what's got this guy so bummed out…