Another for the Briar Rose by William Morris
A lyrical narrative unfolds around a world rendered inert by despair, where once-vibrant passions and the capacity for love have decayed into faint, almost ghostly echoes. The poem portrays a realm in stasis, covered in a dense shroud of sorrow and latent rot—a place where human souls, once full of life and potential, have been reduced to vestiges of men through the corrosive passage of time. The imagery of thorny, tangled growth and cobwebbed dreams vividly symbolizes the oppressive weight of lost hope, suggesting that the remnants of beauty are entangled with despair. This desolation, far from being an endpoint, carries within it the prophecy of renewal. Amid the ruins, a dormant promise awaits—a potential awakening powered by an ineffable force that transcends the current decay. The narrative intimates that the silence and stillness of this world are not indicative solely of its downfall but also constitute the groundwork for an inevitable rebirth. There is a subtle yet unyielding suggestion that a transformative love, operating as a quiet agent of fate, will one day rouse the hearts of those who have grown inert, reviving them into a state of renewed vitality. The text embraces duality by juxtaposing the dismal present with a hinted future marked by reawakening and transformation. It alludes to a cosmic reconciliation between the forces of decay and the promise of rebirth, indicating that the very forces which have led to a pervasive numbness and disintegration can also catalyze a return to life and love. In this sense, the poem functions both as a lament for a spiritually barren state and as a call to await the arrival of a redemptive, life-giving force that will restore what has been lost. Beneath layers of metaphor and rich, somber imagery lies a meditation on fate and the persistent power of love. The work implies that fate operates not through overt acts but through the quiet, inevitable reordering of existence—a process where even the deadened spirit carries within it the nascent seeds of awakening. Love emerges as a pivotal, salvific energy; its silent power and gentle persistence contrast sharply with the decay, offering the promise that even in the deepest state of dormancy, vitality can be rekindled. Through this interplay of decay and the prospect of renewal, the narrative cultivates a mood of solemn expectancy. It is a meditation on the paradox of cycles—where endings naturally point toward beginnings, and where the essence of life endures even when all seems lost. The work thereby invites a reflection on the nature of human experience: the inevitable decline into inertia, paralleled by the latent potential for revival through an almost mystical, transformative love.
By William Morris · First published 1868 · Genre: Fantasy, Poetry, Romantic · 161 words
First lines
O treacherous scent, O thorny sight, / O tangle of world's wrong and right, / What art thou 'gainst my armour's gleam / But dusky cobwebs of a dream?
Beat down, deep sunk from every gleam / Of hope, they lie and dully dream; / Men once, but men no more, that Love / Their waste defeated hearts should move.
Here sleeps the world that would not love!
Let it sleep on, but if He move / Their hearts in humble wise to wait / On his new-wakened fair estate.
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Another for the Briar Rose is listed on Textopian as a poem by William Morris, dated 1868 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: William Morris
- Date: 1868 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fantasy, Poetry, Romantic, Allegory, Symbolism
- Length: 161 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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- Work identity for Another for the Briar Rose by William Morris
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Genres
- Fantasy — Evokes mythical imagery, enchanted settings, and dream-like allegory.
- Poetry — Composed entirely in verse with a focus on rhythm, imagery, and symbolic language.
- Romantic — Emphasizes emotion, idealism, and medieval revival elements characteristic of Romantic literature.
- Allegory — Uses symbolic narrative to explore themes of fate, love, and transformation.
Tags
fantasy · fairy tale · medieval · folklore · mythology · romance · lyrical · allegorical · epic · visionary · enchanted · magic