The Queen’s Room, Sizergh Hall, Westmorland

Letitia Elizabeth Landon 1802 (Chelsea) – 1838 (Cape Coast)



Tradition has conferred on this apartment the name of the Queen’s Room. Catherine Parr, the last queen of Henry VIII., is said to have occupied this apartment for several nights after the king’s death.

AY, regal the chamber, and stately the gloom
That the old oaken panels fling over the room;
The carving is gilded—the hangings are rare;
Yet, stranger, I warn thee—Oh! slumber not there.

For when the lamp dies in the dead of the night,
And when the wan moon has exhausted her light,
By that mirror of silver a pale lady stands,
And rends her long tresses and wrings her white hands.

Years have pass’d since that lady smoothed back her bright hair,
And asked of the glass if her image was fair:
It was not for her husband she braided its gold,
Or flung from its brightness the veil’s silver fold.

He slew her while watching her cheek where the rose
Was reddening in beauty, like sunshine on snows.
He slew her—the glass was yet warm with her breath—
She turn'd to her lover—she turned to her death.

Less crimson the wine-cup that stood at her side,
Than the red stream which gushed with her life on its tide,
A groan and a gasp, and the struggle is o’er—
The blood which he spilt is yet there—on the floor.

No prayer by her death-bed—no mass for her soul—
No bell on the depths of the midnight to toll; 

Unshrouded, uncoffin’d they laid her to rest,
The grave was unholy—the ground was unblest.

She comes with the midnight—meet not her cold eye,
It shines but on those who are fated to die.
She comes with the midnight, when spirits have power—
She comes with the midnight, and evil the hour.

She comes from the grave, with its secret and pain,
The grave which recalleth its truant again.
The chamber grows damp with the charnel-like air;
Then, stranger, I warn thee—oh! slumber not there.
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted by Madeleine Quinn on February 24, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:38 min read
18

Quick analysis:

Scheme A BBCC DDEE CCFF GGAA HHCX IIXD JJKK XXCC
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,819
Words 327
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Letitia Elizabeth Landon

Letitia Elizabeth Landon was an English poet. Born 14th August 1802 at 25 Hans Place, Chelsea, she lived through the most productive period of her life nearby, at No.22. A precocious child with a natural gift for poetry, she was driven by the financial needs of her family to become a professional writer and thus a target for malicious gossip (although her three children by William Jerdan were successfully hidden from the public). In 1838, she married George Maclean, governor of Cape Coast Castle on the Gold Coast, whence she travelled, only to die a few months later (15th October) of a fatal heart condition. Behind her post-Romantic style of sentimentality lie preoccupations with art, decay and loss that give her poetry its characteristic intensity and in this vein she attempted to reinterpret some of the great male texts from a woman’s perspective. Her originality rapidly led to her being one of the most read authors of her day and her influence, commencing with Tennyson in England and Poe in America, was long-lasting. However, Victorian attitudes led to her poetry being misrepresented and she became excluded from the canon of English literature, where she belongs. more…

All Letitia Elizabeth Landon poems | Letitia Elizabeth Landon Books

3 fans

Discuss the poem The Queen’s Room, Sizergh Hall, Westmorland with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Queen’s Room, Sizergh Hall, Westmorland" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/52580/the-queen’s-room,-sizergh-hall,-westmorland>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    14
    hours
    26
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The haiku is originally from ______.
    A Ireland
    B China
    C Japan
    D Indonesia