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Excerpt

Excerpt from Young Adventure: A Book of Poems, by Stephen Vincent Benét

   She moaned once, knowing everything;<br />
   Then, bitterer than death, she found<br />
   The soft handmaidens, in a ring,<br />
   Come to anoint her, all around,<br />
   That she might please the king.

 Opium -- and the odor dies away,<br />
 Leaving the air yet heavy -- cassia -- myrrh --<br />
 Bitter and splendid.  See, the poisons come,<br />
 Trooping in squat green vials, blazoned red<br />
 With grinning skulls:  strychnine, a pallid dust<br />
 Of tiny grains, like bones ground fine; and next<br />
 The muddy green of arsenic, all livid,<br />
 Likest the face of one long dead -- they creep<br />
 Along the dusty shelf like deadly beetles,<br />
 Whose fangs are carved with runnels, that the blood<br />
 May run down easily to the blind mouth<br />
 That snaps and gapes; and high above them there,<br />
 My master's pride, a cobwebbed, yellow pot<br />
 Of honey from Mount Hybla.  Do the bees<br />
 Still moan among the low sweet purple clover,<br />
 Endlessly many?  Still in deep-hushed woods,<br />
 When the incredible silver of the moon<br />
 Comes like a living wind through sleep-bowed branches,<br />
 Still steal dark shapes from the enchanted glens,<br />
 Which yet are purple with high dreams, and still<br />
 Fronting that quiet and eternal shield<br />
 Which is much more than Peace, does there still stand<br />
 One sharp black shadow -- and the short, smooth horns<br />
 Are clear against that disk?<br />
                               O great Diana!<br />
 I, I have praised thee, yet I do not know<br />
 What moves my mind so strangely, save that once<br />
 I lay all night upon a thymy hill,<br />
 And watched the slow clouds pass like heaped-up foam<br />
 Across blue marble, till at last no speck<br />
 Blotted the clear expanse, and the full moon<br />
 Rose in much light, and all night long I saw<br />
 Her ordered progress, till, in midmost heaven,<br />
 There came a terrible silence, and the mice<br />
 Crept to their holes, the crickets did not chirp,<br />
 All the small night-sounds stopped -- and clear pure light<br />
 Rippled like silk over the universe,<br />
 Most cold and bleak; and yet my heart beat fast,<br />
 Waiting until the stillness broke.  I know not<br />
 For what I waited -- something very great --<br />
 I dared not look up to the sky for fear<br />
 A brittle crackling should clash suddenly<br />
 Against the quiet, and a black line creep<br />
 Across the sky, and widen like a mouth,<br />
 Until the broken heavens streamed apart,<br />
 Like torn lost banners, and the immortal fires,<br />
 Roaring like lions, asked their meat from God.<br />
 I lay there, a black blot upon a shield<br />
 Of quivering, watery whiteness.  The hush held<br />
 Until I staggered up and cried aloud,<br />
 And then it seemed that something far too great<br />
 For knowledge, and illimitable as God,<br />
 Rent the dark sky like lightning, and I fell,<br />
 And, falling, heard a wild and rushing wind<br />
 Of music, and saw lights that blinded me<br />
 With white, impenetrable swords, and felt<br />
 A pressure of soft hands upon my lips,<br />
 Upon my eyelids -- and since then I cough<br />
 At times, and have strange thoughts about the stars,<br />
 That some day -- some day --<br />
                               Come, I must be quick!<br />
 My master will be back soon.  Let me light<br />
 Thin blue Arabian pastilles, and sit<br />
 Like a dead god incensed by chanting priests,<br />
 And watch the pungent smoke wreathe up and up,<br />
 Until he comes -- though he may rage because<br />
 They cost good money.  Then I shall walk home<br />
 Over the moor.  Already the moon climbs<br />
 Above the world's edge.  By the time he comes<br />
 She will be fully risen. --  There's his step!

II. Miscellaneous.

Explanation

**Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from Young Adventure: A Book of Poems by Stephen Vincent Benét**

This haunting and vivid excerpt from Stephen Vincent Benét’s Young Adventure (1918) blends decadent imagery, mythological allusion, psychological intensity, and a sense of impending doom. The poem appears to be spoken by an unnamed, possibly poison-mixing servant (or an alchemist’s apprentice) who is deeply affected by a past mystical experience tied to the goddess Diana (Artemis). The text oscillates between sensory richness, existential dread, and a frenzied urgency, culminating in a moment of suspense as the speaker’s master approaches.

Below, we’ll break down the excerpt stanza by stanza, analyzing its themes, literary devices, and possible interpretations, while keeping the focus on the text itself.

I. Context & Overview

Stephen Vincent Benét (1898–1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist, known for works like The Devil and Daniel Webster and John Brown’s Body. Young Adventure (1918) was his second poetry collection, written when he was just 20, reflecting youthful intensity, dark romanticism, and a fascination with myth and mortality.
The poem’s speaker is ambiguous but seems to be a servant or apprentice in a dark, alchemical workspace, surrounded by poisons and opiates. The tone suggests madness, reverence, and terror, particularly in relation to a transcendent vision of Diana (the Roman moon goddess, associated with wilderness, chastity, and hunting).
The poem shifts between two modes:
1. A decadent, almost hallucinatory description of poisons and sensory experiences (opium, cassia, myrrh, arsenic).
2. A recollection of a mystical, terrifying night under the moon, where the speaker felt the presence of something divine and destructive.

II. Line-by-Line Analysis

Stanza 1: The Anointing & the King

She moaned once, knowing everything;Then, bitterer than death, she foundThe soft handmaidens, in a ring,Come to anoint her, all around,That she might please the king.

Who is "she"?
- Likely a mythological or biblical figure (e.g., a queen, a martyr, or a sacrificial victim). The "king" could be a god, a mortal ruler, or Death itself.
- The "anointing" suggests preparation for death or a ritual (like the anointing of a corpse in ancient burial rites).
"Bitterer than death": A paradox—death is already bitter, but this is worse, implying shame, betrayal, or forced submission.
"Soft handmaidens": Could be servants, Fates, or even poisons personified (since the next stanza describes poisons as if they were alive).
Theme: Sacrifice, inevitability, and the loss of autonomy—the woman is being prepared against her will.

Possible Allusions:

Biblical: The anointing of Esther before seeing the king (Esther 2:12), or the preparation of a bride (Song of Solomon).
Mythological: The preparation of a victim for a god (e.g., Iphigenia before sacrifice).

Stanza 2: The Poisons & the Honey

Opium -- and the odor dies away,Leaving the air yet heavy -- cassia -- myrrh --Bitter and splendid. See, the poisons come,Trooping in squat green vials, blazoned redWith grinning skulls: strychnine, a pallid dustOf tiny grains, like bones ground fine; and nextThe muddy green of arsenic, all livid,Likest the face of one long dead -- they creepAlong the dusty shelf like deadly beetles,Whose fangs are carved with runnels, that the bloodMay run down easily to the blind mouthThat snaps and gapes; and high above them there,My master's pride, a cobwebbed, yellow potOf honey from Mount Hybla.

Sensory Overload: The stanza is rich in tactile, olfactory, and visual imagery—opium’s fading scent, the heaviness of the air, the colors of poisons.
Personification of Poisons:
- They "trop" (march) in vials, "creep like deadly beetles"—given agency and malice.
- "Grinning skulls": A memento mori (reminder of death), reinforcing the macabre atmosphere.
- Strychnine is like "bones ground fine", arsenic like a "face of one long dead"—death is literalized.
Contrast with Honey:
- "Honey from Mount Hybla" (a famous honey in classical myth, associated with abundance and divine sweetness) sits above the poisons, untouched.
- Symbolism: The honey represents life, purity, or untouched beauty, while the poisons are corruption and death.
- "Cobwebbed": Suggests neglect or forgotten purity—perhaps the master values poisons more than life.

Literary Devices:

Synesthesia (mixing senses): "bitter and splendid" (taste + sight).
Simile & Metaphor: Poisons as beetles, bones, dead faces.
Juxtaposition: Sweet honey vs. deadly poisons.

Possible Themes:

Duality of Nature: Beauty and death coexist.
Human Corruption: The speaker’s master prefers destruction (poisons) over nourishment (honey).

Stanza 3: The Invocation of Diana

Do the beesStill moan among the low sweet purple clover,Endlessly many? Still in deep-hushed woods,When the incredible silver of the moonComes like a living wind through sleep-bowed branches,Still steal dark shapes from the enchanted glens,Which yet are purple with high dreams, and stillFronting that quiet and eternal shieldWhich is much more than Peace, does there still standOne sharp black shadow -- and the short, smooth hornsAre clear against that disk?

Shift to Myth & Nature:
- The speaker abruptly turns to Diana (Artemis), goddess of the moon, hunt, and wilderness.
- The bees, moon, and woods evoke a primordial, untamed world.
"Incredible silver of the moon": The moon is alive, a "living wind"—personified as a divine force.
"Dark shapes": Could be nymphs, spirits, or the speaker’s own visions.
"Eternal shield / Which is much more than Peace":
- Likely the moon itself, a shield of light that is both protective and ominous.
- "More than Peace": Suggests awe, terror, or divine indifference.
"One sharp black shadow -- and the short, smooth horns":
- Almost certainly Diana’s silhouette (she is often depicted with a crescent moon and horns).
- The contrast of black against the moon’s disk is striking and eerie.

Literary Devices:

Apostrophe: Direct address to Diana.
Imagery: Moonlight as wind, shadows as living things.
Symbolism: The moon as a shield (protection or barrier?), the horns as divine presence.

Themes:

The Sublime in Nature: The speaker is overwhelmed by the moon’s majesty.
Divine Mystery: Diana is both beautiful and terrifying.

Stanza 4: The Vision on the Hill

O great Diana!I, I have praised thee, yet I do not knowWhat moves my mind so strangely, save that onceI lay all night upon a thymy hill,And watched the slow clouds pass like heaped-up foamAcross blue marble, till at last no speckBlotted the clear expanse, and the full moonRose in much light, and all night long I sawHer ordered progress, till, in midmost heaven,There came a terrible silence, and the miceCrept to their holes, the crickets did not chirp,All the small night-sounds stopped -- and clear pure lightRippled like silk over the universe,Most cold and bleak; and yet my heart beat fast,Waiting until the stillness broke.

The Speaker’s Revelation:
- They worship Diana but don’t understand why—only that they once had a profound, terrifying vision.
- "Thymy hill": Thyme is associated with sacrifice and purification (used in ancient rituals).
The Moon’s Ascent:
- The clouds clear like "heaped-up foam", revealing the moon’s "ordered progress"—cosmic and inevitable.
- "Terrible silence": A moment of divine presence, where nature itself holds its breath.
"Clear pure light / Rippled like silk":
- The moon’s light is both beautiful and cold—sublime but unfeeling.
- "Bleak" yet "my heart beat fast": Contradiction—the speaker is terrified yet exhilarated.

Literary Devices:

Pathetic Fallacy: Nature reacts to the divine (mice hide, crickets stop).
Simile: Clouds like foam, light like silk.
Foreshadowing: The stillness before something breaks.

Themes:

Divine Terror: The numinous (Rudolf Otto’s "mysterium tremendum")—a fearful yet fascinating encounter with the sacred.
Cosmic Indifference: The moon’s ordered, cold beauty does not care for the speaker.

Stanza 5: The Breaking Point

I know notFor what I waited -- something very great --I dared not look up to the sky for fearA brittle crackling should clash suddenlyAgainst the quiet, and a black line creepAcross the sky, and widen like a mouth,Until the broken heavens streamed apart,Like torn lost banners, and the immortal fires,Roaring like lions, asked their meat from God.I lay there, a black blot upon a shieldOf quivering, watery whiteness. The hush heldUntil I staggered up and cried aloud,And then it seemed that something far too greatFor knowledge, and illimitable as God,Rent the dark sky like lightning, and I fell,And, falling, heard a wild and rushing windOf music, and saw lights that blinded meWith white, impenetrable swords, and feltA pressure of soft hands upon my lips,Upon my eyelids -- and since then I coughAt times, and have strange thoughts about the stars,That some day -- some day --

Apocalyptic Imagery:
- The speaker fears the sky will crack open, revealing cosmic horror.
- "Black line creep / Across the sky, and widen like a mouth": A void, a maw of chaos.
- "Broken heavens streamed apart / Like torn lost banners": The fabric of reality unraveling.
- "Immortal fires / Roaring like lions": Divine wrath or cosmic energy.
"A black blot upon a shield":
- The speaker is insignificant against the moon’s vastness (the "shield" from earlier).
- "Quivering, watery whiteness": The moon’s light is both pure and unstable.
The Climax:
- The speaker cries out, and something beyond human comprehension tears the sky.
- "Wild and rushing wind / Of music": Divine or demonic revelation?
- "Lights that blinded me / With white, impenetrable swords": Angels? Gods? A vision of truth too bright to bear?
- "Soft hands upon my lips, / Upon my eyelids": A forced silence, a sealing of vision—as if the speaker has been marked by the divine.
Aftermath:
- "Since then I cough / At times, and have strange thoughts about the stars": Physical and mental trauma—the vision has left a permanent mark.
- "That some day -- some day --": Unfinished, ominous—suggests an impending return of the vision, or death.

Literary Devices:

Apocalyptic Imagery: Sky tearing, fires roaring.
Synesthesia: "Rushing wind of music" (sound + touch).
Unfinished Sentence: Creates suspense and dread.

Themes:

The Unknowable Divine: The speaker glimpses something beyond human understanding.
Trauma of Revelation: The vision shatters them, leaving physical and psychological scars.
Cosmic Horror: The universe is vast, indifferent, and potentially hostile.

Stanza 6: The Return to Reality (and Suspense)

Come, I must be quick!My master will be back soon. Let me lightThin blue Arabian pastilles, and sitLike a dead god incensed by chanting priests,And watch the pungent smoke wreathe up and up,Until he comes -- though he may rage becauseThey cost good money. Then I shall walk homeOver the moor. Already the moon climbsAbove the world's edge. By the time he comesShe will be fully risen. -- There's his step!

Abrupt Shift Back to Reality:
- The speaker snaps out of their reverie, remembering their mundane duties.
- "Dead god incensed by chanting priests": They pose like a deity, but it’s ironic—they are no god, just a servant.
Defiance & Fear:
- They light expensive incense despite knowing their master will rage—a small act of rebellion.
- "Walk home over the moor": A liminal space (neither fully civilized nor wild), fitting for someone touched by Diana’s madness.
The Moon’s Return:
- The moon rises again, mirroring the earlier vision—will history repeat?
- "There’s his step!": Sudden, suspenseful ending—the master’s arrival cuts off the poem, leaving us in tension.

Literary Devices:

Dramatic Irony: The speaker’s grand visions contrast with their lowly status.
Foreshadowing: The moon’s return hints at another vision or confrontation.
Cliffhanger Ending: "There’s his step!"—what happens next?

Themes:

The Mundane vs. the Divine: The speaker is caught between daily drudgery and cosmic revelation.
Rebellion & Consequence: Their small defiance (the incense) may have consequences.
Cyclic Time: The moon rises again, suggesting the vision may return.

III. Key Themes in the Excerpt

The Sublime & Divine Terror
- The speaker experiences awe and horror in the face of Diana’s moon, a force beyond human comprehension.
- The vision is both beautiful and destructive, leaving them permanently changed.
Sacrifice & Submission
- The anointing of the unnamed woman and the speaker’s own forced silence ("soft hands upon my lips") suggest ritualistic submission to higher powers.
Duality of Nature
- Poisons vs. honey, light vs. shadow, beauty vs. decay—the world is full of contradictions.
Madness & Revelation
- The speaker’s vision blurs the line between prophecy and insanity.
- Their physical symptoms (coughing, strange thoughts) suggest a mind unraveling.
Time & Cyclical Fate
- The moon’s return implies that what happened before will happen again.
- The master’s impending arrival mirrors the inevitability of fate.
Power & Oppression
- The master’s control over the speaker (raging over incense) contrasts with the speaker’s spiritual freedom under Diana.

IV. Literary Devices & Style

Device	Example	Effect
Imagery	"clear pure light / Rippled like silk over the universe"	Creates a sensory, almost hallucinatory experience.
Personification	"the poisons come, / Trooping in squat green vials"	Makes death and corruption feel alive and intentional.
Simile & Metaphor	"like bones ground fine", "widen like a mouth"	Vivid, grotesque comparisons that heighten unease.
Apostrophe	"O great Diana!"	Directs emotional intensity toward the goddess.
Pathetic Fallacy	"the mice / Crept to their holes, the crickets did not chirp"	Nature reacts to the divine, increasing tension.
Unfinished Sentence	"That some day -- some day --"	Leaves the reader in suspense, implying doom or revelation.
Contrast	Honey vs. poisons, silence vs. roaring fires	Highlights life’s contradictions.
Allusion	Diana/Artemis, Mount Hybla	Connects to classical myth, adding depth and universality.

V. Possible Interpretations

A Poisoner’s Confession
- The speaker is an alchemist’s apprentice, possibly poisoning people (the anointed woman?).
- Their vision of Diana could be guilt-induced madness or a divine warning.
A Mystical Experience
- The speaker has glimpsed the divine and is forever changed, now living in fear of its return.
- The moon symbolizes enlightenment, but it’s too much to bear.
A Metaphor for Artistic or Spiritual Crisis
- The poisons could represent creative or intellectual toxins (drugs, obsession).
- The vision is the artist’s muse, both inspiring and destructive.
A Warning Against Hubris
- The speaker dared to look too closely at the divine and was punished with knowledge they can’t handle.

VI. Significance & Legacy

Early Modernist Elements:
- Benét’s blend of myth, psychological depth, and vivid imagery foreshadows modernist poets like T.S. Eliot and Hart Crane.
- The fragmented, intense vision reflects post-WWI disillusionment (though the poem predates the war’s end).
Influence of Decadence & Symbolism:
- The sensory richness and morbid beauty recall Baudelaire, Poe, and the French Symbolists.
Exploration of the Numinous:
- The poem captures the fear and fascination of the sacred, a theme that resonates in later 20th-century literature (e.g., Lovecraft’s cosmic horror).

VII. Conclusion: Why This Excerpt Matters

This passage from Young Adventure is a masterclass in atmospheric poetry, blending:

Myth and modernity,
Beauty and horror,
The mundane and the divine.

The speaker’s frenetic, hallucinatory monologue pulls the reader into a world where poisons speak, the moon watches, and gods may tear the sky apart at any moment. The unfinished ending leaves us breathless, wondering:

Will the master punish the speaker?
Will Diana return?
Is the speaker doomed, enlightened, or mad?

Benét doesn’t provide answers—instead, he immerses us in the speaker’s fevered mind, making us feel the weight of their vision. In this way, the poem transcends its time, speaking to anyone who has ever glimpsed something too vast to understand—and lived in fear and wonder of its return.

Final Thought: The excerpt is not just a poem—it’s an incantation, a whisper from the edge of madness, where the divine and the deadly dance together under the cold light of the moon.

Questions

Question 1

The speaker’s description of the poisons in the second stanza serves primarily to:

A. illustrate the speaker’s technical expertise in alchemy, emphasizing their role as a skilled artisan.
B. contrast the beauty of natural substances (like honey) with the artificiality of human-made toxins.
C. foreshadow the speaker’s eventual use of these poisons to rebel against their oppressive master.
D. evoke a sense of clinical detachment, suggesting the speaker’s emotional numbness to death.
E. personify death as an active, creeping force, reinforcing the poem’s themes of inevitability and corruption.

Question 2

The "terrible silence" described in the fourth stanza functions most significantly as a:

A. moment of suspended anticipation, where the absence of sound amplifies the speaker’s existential dread.
B. literal depiction of a natural phenomenon, grounding the poem’s mystical elements in observable reality.
C. metaphor for the speaker’s psychological dissociation, marking their descent into madness.
D. narrative pause, allowing the reader to reflect on the contrast between the speaker’s past and present.
E. symbolic representation of divine abandonment, as the gods withdraw their presence from the world.

Question 3

The speaker’s invocation of Diana ("O great Diana!") is most effectively interpreted as an expression of:

A. ironic devotion, since the speaker’s actions (e.g., handling poisons) contradict their worship.
B. desperate supplication, as the speaker seeks protection from the impending return of their master.
C. fragmented awe, where the speaker’s reverence is intertwined with terror and incomprehension.
D. nostalgic longing for a lost connection to nature, now replaced by the artificiality of their current life.
E. performative ritual, intended to mimic the chants of priests and assert the speaker’s own divine authority.

Question 4

The "black blot upon a shield / Of quivering, watery whiteness" (lines 35–36) primarily conveys the speaker’s sense of:

A. guilt, as they perceive themselves as a stain on the purity of the natural world.
B. insignificance, dwarfed by the vastness of the moon’s light and the cosmic forces it represents.
C. defiance, positioning themselves as a dark mark against the oppressive whiteness of divine order.
D. isolation, emphasizing their physical and spiritual separation from both humanity and the gods.
E. transformation, suggesting their identity is dissolving into the luminous void of the vision.

Question 5

The poem’s abrupt conclusion—"There’s his step!"—is most thematically resonant with the:

A. cyclical nature of time, as the master’s return mirrors the moon’s recurring phases.
B. tension between the mundane and the sublime, where the master’s arrival shatters the speaker’s transcendental reverie.
C. inevitability of punishment, reinforcing the poem’s exploration of power and submission.
D. speaker’s paranoia, as the imagined threat of the master materializes into reality.
E. fragility of human agency, underscoring how external forces (like the master or Diana) dictate the speaker’s fate.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: E

Why E is most correct: The second stanza’s description of poisons is steeped in vivid, grotesque personification: the poisons "creep / Along the dusty shelf like deadly beetles," their "fangs" are "carved with runnels," and they "snap and gape" like living predators. This animates death as an active, insidious force, aligning with the poem’s broader themes of corruption and inevitability. The imagery reinforces the idea that death is not passive but a creeping, consuming presence, which mirrors the speaker’s later existential terror under the moon’s gaze.