Synthesized answer
Based solely on the provided passages, a reader can interpret the source of the cry "Christus!" as originating from a bird that was the pet of a dead Spanish sailor. The poem describes Elsie finding the sailor's buried body and discovering "a bird with plumage of green and gold" nestled against his heart [3]. When she holds the bird, it sobs out "Christus!" [3]. The poem states that "evermore when the winds blew loud... the bird cried, 'Christus!'" [3], directly linking the cry to the bird mimicking its master's final word.
The meaning of the cry is tied to the sailor's death. The poem suggests the sailor "in death had cried / To Christ, the Holy, the Crucified, / Pouring his soul in one wild word" [3]. The bird's repetition of this cry is thus a haunting echo of the sailor's desperate, dying plea. Elsie's reaction—her determination to understand the cry, saying "I will not sleep till I understand" [1]—and the villagers' dismissal of it as "only the wild wind overhead" [2] highlight the ambiguity for the other characters, but the text provides the reader with the source.
The ambiguity within the poem, where characters are unsure if the cry comes "from heaven or hell" or "from…
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From the book
ind overhead, Your cry of 'Christus!'" She watched their going with earnest eyes: Hark! what voice to the taunt replies? The trees were still as if struck with death; The wind was soft as a baby's breath; The sobbing sea was asleep at last, Scourged no more by the furious blast; Yet, surely as ever from human tongue A cry of grief or despair was wrung, Some voice sighed, "Christus!" Burned on her cheek a sudden flame As her heart's strong throbbings went and came, And she stood alone on the lonely shore, Gazing the wide black waters o'er. "Whether it comes from heaven or hell, This voice I…
w; Yet again through the hush, as faint and far As if it came from another star, A voice sighed "Christus!" "Christus! Christus!" Who can it be, O Christ our Lord, that is calling Thee In a foreign tongue, with a woe as wild As that of some lost, forsaken child? She turned from the window with a startled gaze: She clasped her hands in a pale amaze, Hearkening still, till again she heard, As in a waking dream, the word— That strange word, "Christus!" Then over the hill with weary feet She toiled through the drifts to the village-street. The villagers gathered in eager haste, And all day long…
f brown Over his red scarf flowing down, And jewelled ears that were strange to see. She was bending over it, whenah me! The shrill cry, "Christus!" Rang out as if from the stony lips Whence life had parted in drear eclipse, As if the soul of the dead man cried Again unto Christ the Crucified. The rose had fled from her cheeks so red, But still she knelt by his side and said, Under her breath, "I must understand Whether from heaven or sea or land Comes that cry, 'Christus!'" She laid her hand on the pulseless breast! What fluttered beneath the crimson vest? A bird with plumage of green and…
← This Day Poems by Julia Caroline Dorr "Christus!" The Kiss → 4571061 Poems — "Christus!" Julia Caroline Dorr "CHRISTUS!" Over the desolate sea-side town With a terrible tumult the night came down, And the fierce wind swept through the empty street, With the drifting snow for a winding-sheet. Elsie, the fisherman's daughter, in bed Lay and listened in awe and dread, But sprang to her feet in sudden fear When over the tempest, loud and clear, A voice cried, "Christus!" "Christus! Christus!" and nothing more. Was it a cry at the cottage-door? She left her chamber with flying feet; She…
ppointed place In the unmeasured realms of space, High as heaven, or deep as hell, Thou dost lie what tongue can tell? Send from out thy mystic portals With the holy chrism to-day, One of all thy high immortals Who shall teach me what to say! O beloveds, all the air Was a faint, ethereal mist Touched with rose and amethyst— Glints of gold, and here and there Purple 'splendors that were gone, Like the glory of the dawn, Ere one caught them. Soft and gray, Lit by many a pearly ray, Were the low skies bending dim To the far horizon's rim; And the landscape stretched away, Fair, illusive, like…
More questions about this book
- How does Julia Caroline Dorr establish and develop the "subtile kinship" between the speaker and the "friend unknown" in "By Divers Path" through non-verbal interactions and varied settings, rather than explicit dialogue or shared history?
- Analyze the role of geographical and architectural diversity (e.g., ruined altars, Helvellyn, Durham Cathedral) in "By Divers Path." How do these specific backdrops collectively shape the nature of the encounters and the evolving relationship described in the poem?
- Compare and contrast the function of the natural world and the element of "chance" or "fate" in "By Divers Path" and "Christus!" How do these elements contribute differently to the emotional atmosphere and core message of each poem?
- Imagine you are explaining these two poems to someone unfamiliar with them. What core human experiences or insights do you believe Dorr is trying to convey in each, and how effectively does she use imagery and narrative structure to achieve this?