Letter to Jane Morris, 3 September 1880 Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1 Text courtesy of The British Library Letter to Jane Morris, 3 September 1880 Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1880 September 3 letter Jane Morris DGR The British Library Commentary
Introduction

The transcription of “The Day-Dream” in this letter is one of two manuscript copies of the poem. F.G. Stephens received the other copy around January of 1881, when DGR and Stephens were in contact concerning Stephen's essay on the painting. The Stephen's manuscript closely resembles the poem as printed in the 1881 <hi rend="i">Ballads and Sonnets</hi> . The present version of the poem contains more violent imagery in lines 5-6 than that found in the published version: “The embowered throstles' urgent clangours gore / The Summer silence” was revised to “The embowered throstle's urgent wood-notes soar / Through summer silence.”

Textual History: Composition

Textual History: Revision

Production History

Reception History

Iconographic

Printing History

Pictorial

Historical

Literary

Translation

Autobiographical

Bibliographic

The Day-Dream The thronged boughs of the shadowy sycamore Still fledge young leaflets half the summer through; From when the robin 'gainst the unhidden blue Perched dark, till now, deep in the leafy core, The embowered throstles' urgent clangours gore The Summer silence. Still the leaves come new; Yet never rosy-sheathed as those which drew Their spiral tongues from spring-buds heretofore. Within the branching shade of Reverie Dreams even may spring till autumn; yet none be Like woman's budding day-dream spirit-fann'd. Lo! Tow'rd deep skies, not deeper than her look, She dreams; till now on her forgotten book Drops the forgotten blossom from her hand.