Les Revenants by Marie Van Vorst
The speaker sits alone by candlelight, watching shadows move as the candles burn. In this dim, enchanted atmosphere, the speaker hopes to summon the shadow of a beloved person who can restore all that has been loved and lost. Though other shades may appear and vanish, the desired presence remains singular: its imagined touch, scent, hair, gown, hands, and lips briefly revive the speaker’s former life and fill the emptiness of time. The poem ends with the speaker’s resolve to keep candlelight burning in order to call forth this beloved shadow across the shining floor.
By Marie Van Vorst · First published 1909 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Gothic Poetry, Supernatural Poetry · 253 words
First lines
My only light is candle-light / From candles fitly set / In sconces, dazzling. / Long threads, half melting, cling / To snowy candle-masts, and fret / The straight, slim forms, and I shall sit / Alone, until the Spirit stirs / These lily lights (for they are conjurers). / From the high corners, shadows flit / Across the floor: and One shall bring / Back all my soul has loved and missed. / And the dim others fade when we have kissed. / But one remains, and I am one with it.
What this Textopian page supports
Les Revenants is listed on Textopian as a poem by Marie Van Vorst, dated 1909 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Marie Van Vorst
- Date: 1909 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Gothic Poetry, Supernatural Poetry, Love Poetry, Elegiac Poetry
- Length: 253 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Les Revenants by Marie Van Vorst
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a short, highly musical first-person poem centered on an intimate emotional and sensory experience rather than narrative action.
- Gothic Poetry — Candlelit isolation, moving shadows, spectral visitations, darkness, and an atmosphere of haunted longing create a distinctly Gothic mood.
- Supernatural Poetry — The speaker explicitly seeks to summon shades and spirits, while the returning beloved is presented as a shadowy, possibly ghostly presence.
- Love Poetry — The central desire is for reunion with a beloved figure, expressed through memories of touch, kisses, intimacy, and emotional union.
Tags
French literature · early 20th century · fiction · novel · supernatural themes · ghostly presence · mystery · psychological drama · romance · family secrets · memory · the past