TO PERDITA, SINGING by James Russell Lowell: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
A man listens to a woman named Perdita sing, and her voice is so beautiful that it transports him back to the emotions and scenes of his childhood.
The poem
Thy voice is like a fountain, Leaping up in clear moonshine; Silver, silver, ever mounting, Ever sinking, Without thinking, To that brimful heart of thine. Every sad and happy feeling, Thou hast had in bygone years, Through thy lips comes stealing, stealing, Clear and low; 10 All thy smiles and all thy tears In thy voice awaken, And sweetness, wove of joy and woe, From their teaching it hath taken: Feeling and music move together, Like a swan and shadow ever Floating on a sky-blue river In a day of cloudless weather. It hath caught a touch of sadness, Yet it is not sad; 20 It hath tones of clearest gladness, Yet it is not glad; A dim, sweet twilight voice it is Where to-day's accustomed blue Is over-grayed with memories, With starry feelings quivered through. Thy voice is like a fountain Leaping up in sunshine bright, And I never weary counting Its clear droppings, lone and single, 30 Or when in one full gush they mingle, Shooting in melodious light. Thine is music such as yields Feelings of old brooks and fields, And, around this pent-up room, Sheds a woodland, free perfume; Oh, thus forever sing to me! Oh, thus forever! The green, bright grass of childhood bring to me, 39 Flowing like an emerald river, And the bright blue skies above! Oh, sing them back, as fresh as ever, Into the bosom of my love,-- The sunshine and the merriment, The unsought, evergreen content, Of that never cold time, The joy, that, like a clear breeze, went Through and through the old time! Peace sits within thine eyes, With white hands crossed in joyful rest, 50 While, through thy lips and face, arise The melodies from out thy breast; She sits and sings, With folded wings And white arms crost, 'Weep not for bygone things, They are not lost: The beauty which the summer time O'er thine opening spirit shed, The forest oracles sublime 60 That filled thy soul with joyous dread, The scent of every smallest flower That made thy heart sweet for an hour, Yea, every holy influence, Flowing to thee, thou knewest not whence, In thine eyes to-day is seen, Fresh as it hath ever been; Promptings of Nature, beckonings sweet, Whatever led thy childish feet, Still will linger unawares 70 The guiders of thy silver hairs; Every look and every word Which thou givest forth to-day, Tell of the singing of the bird Whose music stilled thy boyish play.' Thy voice is like a fountain, Twinkling up in sharp starlight, When the moon behind the mountain Dims the low East with faintest white, Ever darkling, 80 Ever sparkling, We know not if 'tis dark or bright; But, when the great moon hath rolled round, And, sudden-slow, its solemn power Grows from behind its black, clear-edgèd bound, No spot of dark the fountain keepeth, But, swift as opening eyelids, leapeth Into a waving silver flower.
A man listens to a woman named Perdita sing, and her voice is so beautiful that it transports him back to the emotions and scenes of his childhood. Lowell likens her voice to a fountain three times, each in a different light — moonlight, sunlight, and starlight — illustrating how the music changes and sparkles. Ultimately, the poem conveys how music can bring back the feeling of lost moments.
Line-by-line
Thy voice is like a fountain, / Leaping up in clear moonshine;
It hath caught a touch of sadness, / Yet it is not sad;
Thy voice is like a fountain / Leaping up in sunshine bright,
Thine is music such as yields / Feelings of old brooks and fields,
Peace sits within thine eyes, / With white hands crossed in joyful rest,
Thy voice is like a fountain, / Twinkling up in sharp starlight,
Tone & mood
The tone remains tender and reverent, much like someone who is deeply touched and striving to articulate something that defies easy description. Beneath the sense of wonder is a quiet ache — the speaker isn’t merely admiring a voice; he’s mourning the gap between himself and his own childhood, and Perdita's singing momentarily bridges that distance. The recurring fountain refrain lends the poem a hymn-like feel, as if the speaker is orbiting something sacred.
Symbols & metaphors
- The fountain — The poem's central image appears three times, each time illuminated differently by moonshine, sunshine, and starlight. The fountain represents Perdita's voice — constantly flowing, always returning to its origin, able to shine brightly or fade into a gentle trickle. Its transformation into "a waving silver flower" at the end hints that the voice, at its finest, evolves into something that blossoms and flourishes rather than merely flows.
- Twilight — Used in the second stanza to convey the voice's emotional complexity — not completely sad or entirely happy. Twilight represents the transition between states, and Lowell employs it to express that the most genuine music exists in that gray area where joy and sorrow intertwine.
- The swan and its shadow — A paired image for feeling and music: the swan moves gracefully, while its shadow follows closely, inseparable. Together, they glide on a tranquil river, hinting that emotion and melody are not simply cause and effect but rather a single, unified experience.
- Green grass and bright blue skies — Shorthand for the entire realm of childhood — its colors are vivid, its air is fresh, and its joy is "unforced." The speaker requests Perdita's voice to restore these feelings, suggesting they can be reclaimed through music, even if time can't bring them back.
- Peace (personified) — Peace is depicted as a serene, white-armed figure resting inside Perdita with her wings folded, resembling an angel at ease. She articulates the poem's comforting message: nothing beautiful from the past is ever really lost. By giving Peace both a voice and a physical form, Lowell brings the concept to life, making it feel more tangible and relatable instead of merely theoretical.
- The singing bird — In Peace's speech, a bird whose song "stilled thy boyish play" symbolizes those early, barely understood experiences that subtly shaped the speaker's character. Although the bird is gone, its music — its lasting impact — remains a part of who he is today.
Historical context
James Russell Lowell wrote this poem in the 1840s, during his early Romantic phase, heavily influenced by Keats and Tennyson. The name Perdita, drawn from Shakespeare's *The Winter's Tale*, refers to the lost princess, embodying innocence and natural grace. Lowell uses it here as an idealized term of endearment rather than as a specific person's name. The poem fits into a Romantic tradition that views music as a gateway to lost emotions, a lineage that stretches from Keats's odes to Shelley's "To a Skylark." During this time, Lowell was also starting to grapple with the pressures of adult life and public duties, and works like this one reflect his longing for a simpler emotional landscape. Although he would later become a significant public intellectual and diplomat, in the 1840s he was primarily a lyric poet exploring the purpose of beauty.
FAQ
Perdita is a name taken from Shakespeare's *The Winter's Tale*, where she is a princess raised as a shepherd girl—innocent, natural, and ultimately returned to her rightful position. Lowell employs the name as an idealized way to address a woman whose singing profoundly affects him. It’s likely a literary persona rather than referring to an actual person, selected for its associations with natural grace and something valuable that was once lost.
The triple repetition is intentional and serves a structural purpose. Each time the fountain is mentioned, it shines in a different light — moonlight, sunlight, starlight — allowing Lowell to express the voice in various emotional tones: mysterious, warm, and ultimately transcendent. This refrain adds a musical quality to the poem, resembling a theme that reappears with variations, which is appropriate for a poem centered around singing.
Lowell is exploring the emotional depth of great music. A voice that expresses just sadness or just happiness is straightforward but lacks intrigue. Perdita's voice embodies both emotions simultaneously, much like twilight blends day and night. He refers to it as a "dim, sweet twilight voice" — a sound that exists in the space between feelings rather than clearly belonging to one.
It begins as a portrait of the singer but slowly transforms into a poem about the impact her singing has on the speaker. By the third stanza, he is urging her to "bring to me" the lush green grass and vibrant skies of his childhood. In the end, the poem captures the listener's deep longing — his wish to reclaim a sense of effortless, unselfconscious joy tied to his youth.
Peace personifies an abstract quality, providing it with a body and a voice. Lowell envisions her sitting within Perdita, calm and still with folded wings, as the music swells around her. Peace then shares the poem's main message: the joyful moments of childhood aren’t lost; they continue to exist within you. By giving Peace a voice, Lowell transforms this idea into something you listen to rather than just contemplate.
This describes the moments in childhood when nature felt both overwhelming and intriguingly mysterious — like standing in a forest and sensing something vast and unknowable. "Joyous dread" captures the Romantic idea of the sublime: a thrilling awe that doesn’t bring fear. Lowell suggests that Perdita's voice holds echoes of those formative experiences with the natural world.
It marks the peak of the poem. Throughout, the fountain has been a dynamic, flowing entity. When the moon rises and bathes it in light, the fountain transforms into a blooming flower. This change from liquid movement to floral shape implies that the voice, at its brightest and most vibrant, evolves into something that grows and unfolds rather than merely flowing. Lowell conveys that the voice reaches a certain perfection.
It sits on the border. The speaker clearly has strong feelings for Perdita, and the last lines of the fourth stanza invite her to sing emotions "into the bosom of my love." However, the main sentiment is less about romantic desire and more about a profound gratitude — the speaker appreciates how her voice affects him, as it reconnects him to his childhood. This poem is just as much about music and memory as it is about a person.