DRUNK by D. H. Lawrence: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
A drunk man wanders alone at night down a street adorned with flowering trees, his yearning for a distant lover turning each blossom into a woman calling to him.
The poem
Too far away, oh love, I know, To save me from this haunted road, Whose lofty roses break and blow On a night-sky bent with a load Of lights: each solitary rose, Each arc-lamp golden does expose Ghost beyond ghost of a blossom, shows Night blenched with a thousand snows. Of hawthorn and of lilac trees, White lilac; shows discoloured night Dripping with all the golden lees Laburnum gives back to light And shows the red of hawthorn set On high to the purple heaven of night, Like flags in blenched blood newly wet, Blood shed in the noiseless fight. Of life for love and love for life, Of hunger for a little food, Of kissing, lost for want of a wife Long ago, long ago wooed. . . . . . . Too far away you are, my love, To steady my brain in this phantom show That passes the nightly road above And returns again below. The enormous cliff of horse-chestnut trees Has poised on each of its ledges An erect small girl looking down at me; White-night-gowned little chits I see, And they peep at me over the edges Of the leaves as though they would leap, should I call Them down to my arms; "But, child, you're too small for me, too small Your little charms." White little sheaves of night-gowned maids, Some other will thresh you out! And I see leaning from the shades A lilac like a lady there, who braids Her white mantilla about Her face, and forward leans to catch the sight Of a man's face, Gracefully sighing through the white Flowery mantilla of lace. And another lilac in purple veiled Discreetly, all recklessly calls In a low, shocking perfume, to know who has hailed Her forth from the night: my strength has failed In her voice, my weak heart falls: Oh, and see the laburnum shimmering Her draperies down, As if she would slip the gold, and glimmering White, stand naked of gown. . . . . . . The pageant of flowery trees above The street pale-passionate goes, And back again down the pavement, Love In a lesser pageant flows. Two and two are the folk that walk, They pass in a half embrace Of linked bodies, and they talk With dark face leaning to face. Come then, my love, come as you will Along this haunted road, Be whom you will, my darling, I shall Keep with you the troth I trowed.
A drunk man wanders alone at night down a street adorned with flowering trees, his yearning for a distant lover turning each blossom into a woman calling to him. The flowers — hawthorn, lilac, laburnum — morph into ghostly female figures, enchanting yet just beyond his grasp. In the end, he cries out to his absent love, promising to remain faithful no matter who or what she may be when she finally comes.
Line-by-line
Too far away, oh love, I know, / To save me from this haunted road,
Of lights: each solitary rose, / Each arc-lamp golden does expose
Of hawthorn and of lilac trees, / White lilac; shows discoloured night
Of life for love and love for life, / Of hunger for a little food,
Too far away you are, my love, / To steady my brain in this phantom show
The enormous cliff of horse-chestnut trees / Has poised on each of its ledges
White little sheaves of night-gowned maids, / Some other will thresh you out!
And another lilac in purple veiled / Discreetly, all recklessly calls
The pageant of flowery trees above / The street pale-passionate goes,
Come then, my love, come as you will / Along this haunted road,
Tone & mood
The tone shifts in layers. It begins with a woozy tenderness—the speaker is aware that he's in trouble without his lover close by. In the middle sections, it turns feverish and erotic as the hallucinations take over, revealing a dark undercurrent of longing that veers into something almost desperate. By the final stanza, it transforms into something unexpectedly dignified: a quiet, heartfelt pledge of faithfulness. The overall effect captures a man who is genuinely drunk yet also truly in love, with both states feeding off each other throughout the night.
Symbols & metaphors
- The flowering trees (hawthorn, lilac, laburnum) — Each tree reflects the speaker's desires. They appear as real flowers filtered through a mind that is intoxicated and yearning for love, continuously transforming into women — veiled, inviting, undressing. Lawrence employs these images to illustrate how longing alters the physical world surrounding us.
- Arc-lamps / artificial light — The street lamps ignite the entire hallucination. They wash out and multiply the blossoms, transforming a simple road into a 'phantom show.' They represent the distorting power of desire — how it shines a bright light on some aspects while casting others into darkness.
- Blood and flags (red hawthorn) — The red hawthorn blossoms, likened to 'flags in blenched blood newly wet', suggest that love can feel like a battlefield — a 'noiseless fight' where life and love constantly vie for dominance. This imagery adds a darker, more violent twist to the poem's erotic energy.
- The mantilla (lace veil) — The white and purple lilacs appear to wear veils in the speaker's view. This veil, a traditional symbol of modesty, also highlights what it conceals. In this context, it reflects the tension between the flowers' stunning beauty and the woman imagined beneath them.
- Couples walking two-by-two — The couples on the pavement reflect what the speaker is missing. They represent the tangible reality of the fantasy unfolding in the trees above. Their existence highlights his loneliness.
- The troth / pledge — The old word 'troth' at the end of the poem hints that, beneath all the drunken visions, lies a solid foundation of true commitment. The speaker's loyalty isn't based on logic or sobriety — it endures the night's chaos because it's rooted in something deeper than reason.
Historical context
Lawrence wrote this poem in the years leading up to World War One, during a time of significant personal turmoil — he had recently lost his mother, was teaching in Croydon, and his emotional state was complex and unsettled. The poem fits within the tradition of the nocturne, a night-piece where a solitary walker reflects on emotions through the landscape. Lawrence drew inspiration from Walt Whitman's candidness about the body and the Georgian poets' focus on nature, but he took both influences further than many of his contemporaries were comfortable with. The specific flowers — hawthorn, lilac, laburnum — are all English trees that bloom in spring, anchoring the poem in a distinct suburban English street. Arc-lamps were a relatively recent addition to urban life at the time, and their cold, bright light turning familiar nature into something unfamiliar was a genuinely modern experience that Lawrence expected his readers to recognize.
FAQ
He is speaking to a lover who isn’t there—someone significant in his life but physically distant. We never find out her name or any specifics about her. She serves as both a particular person he longs for and a stabilizing force for his mental state; without her around, his view of the world fractures into hallucinations.
The title serves a meaningful purpose. The poem's logic — how the images blend together, how flowers transform into women, how the road appears to twist — captures the sensation of being drunk. Lawrence never explicitly states 'I am drunk' in the poem, but the broken syntax, the relentless repetition, and the sensual projections all suggest it. The drunkenness and the yearning are intertwined: each has intensified the other.
Not haunted by actual ghosts. The road is haunted by the speaker's own desires and memories. Each tree, every flower, and every couple that passes by brings to mind what he longs for. The phrase 'phantom show' later in the poem reinforces this — the haunting comes from within, projecting his longing onto the world around him.
It’s an arresting image, and that’s intentional. The red blossoms against the night sky resemble flags stained with blood. Lawrence refers to the 'noiseless fight' — the struggle for life driven by love and love fueled by life. He suggests that desire is a form of war, waged quietly within us. The harshness of the image contrasts sharply with the beauty of the blooming trees.
A mantilla is a traditional Spanish lace veil that drapes over the head and shoulders. Lawrence employs it for its blend of modesty and sensuality—it obscures a woman's face yet highlights it at the same time. When the white lilac "braids her white mantilla about her face," the flower transforms into a shy, veiled woman leaning in to be noticed. This imagery illustrates the tension between hiding and inviting, a theme that resonates throughout the entire poem.
'Troth' is an old term for a serious pledge of faithfulness — it's where we get the word 'betrothed.' 'Trowed' means to believe or to trust. So, the line translates to: 'I will honor the promise of faithfulness that I made and believed in.' Lawrence uses this archaic language to add significance and a sense of permanence to the vow, contrasting it with the chaotic, drunken night that came before.
Almost certainly in part. Lawrence penned numerous poems expressing a deep yearning for a specific woman, and the emotional depth here—the distinct pain of someone pursued "long ago, long ago"—feels authentic. However, Lawrence often reimagines personal experiences in his poetry, so it's more insightful to view the speaker as a representation of Lawrence rather than a straightforward diary entry.
Because the speaker is drunk, alone, and feeling both sexually and emotionally deprived. He fills the void left by his absent lover with whatever catches his eye. Lawrence found it intriguing how desire alters perception — it’s a recurring theme in his novels as well. The flowers are truly beautiful and sensory (white, perfumed, hanging, swaying), and a lonely, intoxicated man's mind takes care of the rest.