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SCENT OF IRISES by D. H. Lawrence

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

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A teacher sits in a classroom, the scent of irises drawing him into memories of a past love — bright outdoor moments, a woman’s face glowing among wildflowers, and a relationship that flared up passionately before fading away.

Poet
D. H. Lawrence
Themes
love, memory, nature
The PoemFull text

SCENT OF IRISES

D. H. Lawrence

A FAINT, sickening scent of irises Persists all morning. Here in a jar on the table A fine proud spike of purple irises Rising above the class-room litter, makes me unable To see the class's lifted and bended faces Save in a broken pattern, amid purple and gold and sable. I can smell the gorgeous bog-end, in its breathless Dazzle of may-blobs, when the marigold glare overcast you With fire on your cheeks and your brow and your chin as you dipped Your face in the marigold bunch, to touch and contrast you, Your own dark mouth with the bridal faint lady-smocks, Dissolved on the golden sorcery you should not outlast. You amid the bog-end's yellow incantation, You sitting in the cowslips of the meadow above, Me, your shadow on the bog-flame, flowery may-blobs, Me full length in the cowslips, muttering you love; You, your soul like a lady-smock, lost, evanescent, You with your face all rich, like the sheen of a dove. You are always asking, do I remember, remember The butter-cup bog-end where the flowers rose up And kindled you over deep with a cast of gold? You ask again, do the healing days close up The open darkness which then drew us in, The dark which then drank up our brimming cup. You upon the dry, dead beech-leaves, in the fire of night Burnt like a sacrifice; you invisible; Only the fire of darkness, and the scent of you! --And yes, thank God, it still is possible The healing days shall close the darkness up Wherein we fainted like a smoke or dew. Like vapour, dew, or poison. Now, thank God, The fire of night is gone, and your face is ash Indistinguishable on the grey, chill day; The night has burnt us out, at last the good Dark fire burns on untroubled, without clash Of you upon the dead leaves saying me Yea.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A teacher sits in a classroom, the scent of irises drawing him into memories of a past love — bright outdoor moments, a woman’s face glowing among wildflowers, and a relationship that flared up passionately before fading away. In the end, he feels a sense of relief that the shadow of that love has finally passed, even as the fragrance still lingers in his mind.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. A FAINT, sickening scent of irises / Persists all morning.

    Editor's note

    The poem begins in a classroom where a jar of irises rests on the table. The strong, unusual smell overwhelms the speaker, making it hard for him to concentrate on his students — their faces blend into a swirl of purple, gold, and black. The use of the word "sickening" immediately indicates that this scent is stirring up uncomfortable feelings for him, evoking emotions he'd rather avoid.

  2. I can smell the gorgeous bog-end, in its breathless / Dazzle of may-blobs,

    Editor's note

    The scent of the irises sends the speaker back to a memory. He envisions a woman — an old flame — in a marshy field bursting with yellow wildflowers (may-blobs are marsh marigolds). The flowers cast a warm, golden glow on her face, and he sees her lean in to breathe in a cluster of marigolds. The language is rich and nearly overwhelming, reflecting the depth of the memory.

  3. You amid the bog-end's yellow incantation, / You sitting in the cowslips of the meadow above,

    Editor's note

    The speaker moves around the woman, repeating "You... You... Me... Me," positioning them in the scene like characters in a painting. He lies among the cowslips, whispering that he loves her. Her soul is likened to a lady-smock, a pale wildflower that is delicate and wilting. The use of "evanescent" suggests that even in memory, she is already starting to fade away.

  4. You are always asking, do I remember, remember / The butter-cup bog-end where the flowers rose up

    Editor's note

    The poem changes tense. The woman seems to remain in his life somehow, and she repeatedly asks if he remembers those days. She also wonders if time has mended the "open darkness" their relationship created. Her questions come across as somewhat desperate, suggesting she needs him to validate that what they shared was real and meaningful.

  5. You upon the dry, dead beech-leaves, in the fire of night / Burnt like a sacrifice;

    Editor's note

    Now the memory takes a darker turn. The woman lies on dead leaves illuminated by firelight, resembling a ritual sacrifice—unseen, consumed. The speaker acknowledges that he hopes the healing days will eventually cover that darkness, the moment when they both "fainted like smoke or dew." Their relationship was not just beautiful; it was also consuming and destructive.

  6. Like vapour, dew, or poison. Now, thank God, / The fire of night is gone,

    Editor's note

    The final stanza brings the poem's emotional resolution. The speaker expresses gratitude—she says "thank God" twice—that the fire has gone out. Her face is now "ash," blending into a grey day. The intense passion they shared still lingers, but it no longer disturbs him. The last lines imply he has found freedom from her voice, her "Yea," and her presence on those dead leaves. Relief, not grief, resonates as the closing sentiment.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone shifts from uneasy and distracted at the beginning, to lush and almost hypnotic in the middle stanzas, then turns darker and more conflicted, finally settling into a quiet, exhausted relief. Lawrence doesn't glorify the past relationship — the beauty of those memories is genuine, but so is the hurt. The repeated "thank God" at the end feels heartfelt, not sarcastic.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

Irises
The irises in the classroom jar are the catalyst for everything. Their "sickening" scent evokes involuntary memories — how a smell can pull you back to a place you didn't intend to revisit. They also bring to mind a subtle connection to mourning and the flow of time.
Wildflowers (may-blobs, cowslips, lady-smocks, marigolds)
The bog flowers aren't merely part of the scenery; they embody the woman herself. Their bright yellow, delicate paleness, and fleeting nature reflect her traits. The natural world serves as a way to express the essence of someone who eludes straightforward description.
Fire / darkness
The "fire of night" and the "open darkness" represent the consuming and destructive aspects of the relationship. Fire, in this context, isn't about warmth or comfort; it incinerates, turns faces to ash, and renders the woman "invisible." The speaker's relief when the fire extinguishes is the emotional heart of the poem.
Ash and dead leaves
Dead beech leaves and ash symbolize what’s left after passion has faded. The woman’s face turning to “ash / Indistinguishable on the grey, chill day” signifies both loss and freedom — she can no longer disturb him.
The classroom
The classroom sets the stage for the entire poem, illustrating how the past intrudes into everyday working life in the present. It anchors the speaker in the role of teacher, a role that the memory briefly disrupts, highlighting just how strongly the past can overshadow the present.

§06Historical context

Historical context

D. H. Lawrence wrote this poem in the early 1910s while he was teaching in Croydon, England—a job he found exhausting and limiting. Many poems from his early collections reflect that classroom experience and his complex emotional life during this time, particularly his grief over his mother’s death and his relationships with women before he met Frieda Weekley. "Scent of Irises" is part of a series sometimes referred to as his "school poems," where the classroom setting serves as a backdrop for exploring memory and desire. Lawrence was profoundly influenced by the English countryside of his Midlands upbringing, and the wildflowers mentioned—marsh marigolds, cowslips, lady-smocks—are all native to the damp meadows of Nottinghamshire. The poem foreshadows the themes of passionate, destructive love and natural symbolism that would characterize his later novels.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

Lawrence never mentions her by name, leading to ongoing debates among scholars about her identity. The strongest contender appears to be Jessie Chambers, his childhood sweetheart and close friend from Nottinghamshire, with whom he shared a long, passionate, and ultimately painful relationship. The bog-end setting and the particular flowers reflect the Eastwood countryside where they spent time together. However, it’s worth noting that Lawrence revised many of his early poems, so the "you" could represent a combination of influences rather than just one individual.

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