"The Captive’s Dream", p. 3
Collection of poems : autograph manuscript signed : [Haworth]
The Henry Houston Bonnell Brontë Collection. Bequest of Helen Safford Bonnell, 1969
“The North Wind” (pp. 1–3)
Composed 26 January 1838, a few days after Brontë’s eighteenth birthday. Written in the voice of Alexandrina Zenobia, a character in the Gondal saga. First published in Poems (1902), pp. 187–88. Poem 5 in Chitham (1979); pp. 455–57 in Alexander (2010).
“The Captive’s Dream” (pp. 3–5)
Composed 24 January 1838, a few days after Brontë’s eighteenth birthday. Written in the voice of Alexandrina Zenobia. First published in Poems (1902), pp. 185–86. Published in The Complete Poems of Anne Brontë (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1920) with the incorrect title “A Captain’s Dream.” Poem 4 in Chitham (1979); pp. 454–55 in Alexander (2010).
Than that dull gnawing tearless [time]*
The stupor of despair.
Confined and hopeless as I am,
O speak of liberty,
O tell me of my mountain home,
And I will welcome thee.
––––––––
Alexandrina Zenobia
40 lines Anne Brontë Jan 26 1838
The Captive’s dream
Methought I saw him but I knew him not;
He was so changed from what he used to be,
There was no redness on his woe-worn cheek,
No sunny smile upon his ashy lips,
His hollow wandering eyes looked wild and fierce,
And grief was printed on his marble brow,
And O I thought he clasped his wasted hands,
*Note: The final word of the starred line, which Brontë would have written just above, was trimmed off when Brontë’s original notebook was cut apart. Thomas Wise, who had access to the manuscript before binding, supplied the word “time” in a transcription he made of the text. It is not clear whether Wise knew that to be the missing word or whether he simply chose a word he thought would make sense.
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 BronteMA2696_5.pdf | 20.04 MB |
"The Captive’s Dream", p. 4
Collection of poems : autograph manuscript signed : [Haworth]
The Henry Houston Bonnell Brontë Collection. Bequest of Helen Safford Bonnell, 1969
“The Captive’s Dream” (pp. 3–5)
Composed 24 January 1838, a few days after Brontë’s eighteenth birthday. Written in the voice of Alexandrina Zenobia. First published in Poems (1902), pp. 185–86. Published in The Complete Poems of Anne Brontë (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1920) with the incorrect title “A Captain’s Dream.” Poem 4 in Chitham (1979); pp. 454–55 in Alexander (2010).
And raised his haggard eyes to Heaven, and prayed
That he might die – I had no power to speak,
I thought I was allowed to see him thus,
And yet I might not speak one single word;
I might not even tell him that I lived
And that it might be possible if search were made,
To find out where I was and set me free,
O how I longed to clasp him to my heart,
Or but to hold his trembling hand in mine,
And speak one word of comfort to his mind,
I struggled wildly but it was in vain,
I could not rise from my dark dungeon floor,
And the dear name I vainly strove to speak,
Died in a voiceless whisper on my tongue
Then I awoke, and lo it was a dream!
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| BronteMA2696_5.pdf | 20.04 MB |