"The Blessed Damozel": The Painting•Literary Elements"The Blessed Damozel" is about a woman who has died and yearns to be reunited with her lover, who is still on Earth, in Heaven. In Stanza I, the speaker describes the damozel's body position, as she leans out over the edge of Heaven. She is very beautiful, her eyes are as deep as still waters, she holds three lilies in her hands, and she has seven stars in her hair. In Stanza II, the speaker describes how the damozel is dressed: her robe is unclasped and loose around her body, and it is unadorned with anything other than a single white flower which was a gift from the Mary. The speaker also describes the damozel's hair, which is "yellow like ripe corn." In Stanza III, the speaker notes that to the damozel, it feels like scarcely a day that she has been in Heaven. However, to her loved ones on Earth, it feels like she has been gone for ten years.In Stanza IV, the damozel's lover yearns for her and imagines her leaning over him so that he can feel her hair on her face. It turns out that instead of being his lover's hair, he felt a falling leaf, which also signals the passing of time. In Stanza V, the speaker describes the damozel as standing on the "rampart" of Heaven, which is so high above the universe that the damozel can barely see the Sun. In Stanza VI, the speaker describes Heaven further, stating that the rampart acts as a bridge between space and Heaven. The damozel can see the "tides of day and night" beneath her as time passes, and she sees the Earth, which looks like an anxious insect. In Stanza VII, the damozel is surrounded by newly reuniting lovers as souls ascend to heaven. She can also see more souls ascend to heaven, which look like "thin flames." In Stanza VIII, despite the commotion surrounding her, the damozel looks downwards towards the Earth and longs for her lover. The speaker notes that her body heat must have warmed up the "gold bar" of Heaven.In Stanza IX, the damozel watches as Time moves on and "shakes" the world. The damozel remains rooted with her gaze towards the Earth, waiting for her lover. In Stanza X, it is nighttime and the sun has set; a crescent moon has risen in the sky. The damozel begins to speak, and her voice sounds like all the stars in the sky singing together. In Stanza XI, the damozel's lover thinks that he can hear his beloved's voice in birdsong and hear her footsteps in the chimes of bells. In Stanza XII, the damozel wishes that her lover would come to her. She asks whether she has not prayed hard enough, or whether he has not prayed enough. She wonders whether the strength of their combined prayers is enough to bring them together, and whether she should feel afraid.In Stanza XIII, the damozel muses that once her lover ascends to heaven, dressed all in white and wearing a halo, she'll take his hand and go with him to bask in the glory of God. In Stanza XIV, the damozel also muses that she and her lover will lie in a sacred temple in Heaven that collects the prayers from Earth. Since her and her lover's prayers will have been answered, they will watch their old prayers melt away like clouds. In Stanza XV, the damozel says that she and her lover will lie in the shadow of the Tree of Life, where the Holy Ghost resides in the form of a dove and each leaf of the tree sings his name. In Stanza XVI, the damozel plans on teaching him the songs that he sings, and presumes that he will learn the songs slowly, taking lots of breaks so that he can soak up as much knowledge as possible.In Stanza XVII, the lover wonders whether his prayers will be strong enough to convince God to unite him with his lover forever.
