Outre Mort by Marie Van Vorst (1923)
The speaker is visited in a nocturnal vision by a beloved figure whose pale brow is encircled with flame and whose dazzling, inaccessible whiteness suggests an existence beyond ordinary life. Rising, the speaker calls the visitor by the name once most dear and asks whether, in that distant land, men still pursue Fame and Love. The speaker then loses consciousness and sight, while the visitor bends close and kisses them with the same tenderness as in the past, when that beloved first came to become the speaker’s life’s delight.
By Marie Van Vorst · First published 1923 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Elegy, Spiritual Poetry · 130 words
First lines
You came to me in visions of the night, / Your pale brow bound by a bright ring of flame; / High, unapproachable, and dazzling white, / You came.
I rose and called you by your dearest name; -- / "Tell me," I said, "how go the hours' flight / In that far land? Do men strive there for Fame
And Love? " Then I lost sense and sight: / You bent to me, -- your kisses were the same / As when, long since, to be my life's delight / You came.
What this Textopian page supports
Outre Mort is listed on Textopian as a poem by Marie Van Vorst, dated 1923 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: 1923 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Elegy, Spiritual Poetry, Love Poetry, Dream Vision Poetry
- Length: 130 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Outre Mort 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
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Similar titles
- Saint Ouen by Marie Van Vorst
- The Kingdom by Marie Van Vorst
- Amor Victrix by Marie Van Vorst
- Epitaph by Thomas Hardy
- His Immortality by Thomas Hardy
- Our Dead by Thomas Nelson Page
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a brief, highly musical first-person poem centered on an intense personal vision and emotional expression.
- Elegy — Its speaker addresses an absent, likely dead beloved who appears from a distant realm, giving the poem the character of mourning and remembrance.
- Spiritual Poetry — The apparition's flame-like halo, dazzling whiteness, and residence in a 'far land' evoke an afterlife or transcendent spiritual domain.
- Love Poetry — The central relationship is defined by enduring love, remembered intimacy, and the beloved's familiar kisses.
Tags
French literature · novel · romance · psychological fiction · social drama · love · marriage · family relationships · Parisian society · early twentieth century · women's lives · emotional conflict