Impression: Le Réveillon Lyrics
The circling mists and shadows flee,
The dawn is rising from the sea,
Like a white lady from her bed.
And jagged brazen arrows fall
Athwart the feathers of the night,
And a long wave of yellow light
Breaks silently on tower and hall,
And spreading wide across the wold
Wakes into flight some fluttering bird,
And all the chestnut tops are stirred,
And all the branches streaked with gold.
About
Like all of Wilde’s other French-inspired “Impressions”-poems, this one bears a suiting French title and paints a vivid outdoor scene of colors. Like how “Impression Du Matin” paints an eerily calm fog scene, this one depicts a contrasting graceful holiday vibe, centering around the colors of red and gold.
Though “Réveillon” does not have a perfect English counterpart, in painting, it refers to a strong light-effect against a somber background. The secondary definition is “Christmas/New Year’s Eve dinner”, though this is not what is being depicted. Interestingly, “Impression Du Matin” was also heavily inspired by Wilde’s love for paintings, though specific paintings.
Similar in form to most of his other “Impressions”-poems, this one is in short stanzas–quatrains of perfect ABBA rhyme patterns in iambic tetrameter.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Hélas
- 4.To Milton
- 9.Theoretikos
- 11.Requiescat
- 13.San Miniato
- 15.Italia
- 17.Rome Unvisited
- 20.Easter Day
- 21.E. Tenebris
- 22.Vita Nuova
- 23.Madonna Mia
- 24.The New Helen
- 27.Magdalen Walks
- 28.Athanasia
- 29.Serenade
- 30.Endymion
- 32.Chanson
- 33.Charmides
- 36.Theocritus
- 41.Santa Decca
- 42.A Vision
- 45.By the Arno
- 47.Phèdre
- 48.Portia
- 50.Camma
- 51.Panthea
- 52.Impression: Le Réveillon
- 53.At Verona
- 54.Apologia
- 56.Silentium Amoris
- 57.Her Voice
- 58.My Voice
- 59.Tædium Vitæ
- 60.Humanitad
- 61.Flower of Love
