"Shall earth no more inspire thee" is Emily Brontë's strange tale of the power of nature. In this poem, the earth itself reaches out to a "lonely dreamer": a person who has in the past found deep delight in nature, but has since withdrawn into a melancholy solitude. Only nature, the earth tells this dreamer, can heal them; they'll only get lost if they look for answers in their own inner world. Nature, in this poem, is more than just a beautiful place. It's a godlike person, eager to share an intense relationship with those who open themselves to its powers. The poem first appeared in the 1846 collection Poems of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, a collaborative (and pseudonymous) book of poetry that Emily ("Ellis") Brontë published with her sisters Charlotte ("Currer") and Anne ("Acton").
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The Full Text of “Shall earth no more inspire thee”
1Shall earth no more inspire thee,
2Thou lonely dreamer now?
3Since passion may not fire thee
4Shall Nature cease to bow?
5Thy mind is ever moving
6In regions dark to thee;
7Recall its useless roving—
8Come back and dwell with me.
9I know my mountain breezes
10Enchant and soothe thee still—
11I know my sunshine pleases
12Despite thy wayward will.
13When day with evening blending
14Sinks from the summer sky,
15I’ve seen thy spirit bending
16In fond idolatry.
17I’ve watched thee every hour;
18I know my mighty sway,
19I know my magic power
20To drive thy griefs away.
21Few hearts to mortals given
22On earth so wildly pine;
23Yet none would ask a heaven
24More like this earth than thine.
25Then let my winds caress thee;
26Thy comrade let me be—
27Since nought beside can bless thee,
28Return and dwell with me.
The Full Text of “Shall earth no more inspire thee”
1Shall earth no more inspire thee,
2Thou lonely dreamer now?
3Since passion may not fire thee
4Shall Nature cease to bow?
5Thy mind is ever moving
6In regions dark to thee;
7Recall its useless roving—
8Come back and dwell with me.
9I know my mountain breezes
10Enchant and soothe thee still—
11I know my sunshine pleases
12Despite thy wayward will.
13When day with evening blending
14Sinks from the summer sky,
15I’ve seen thy spirit bending
16In fond idolatry.
17I’ve watched thee every hour;
18I know my mighty sway,
19I know my magic power
20To drive thy griefs away.
21Few hearts to mortals given
22On earth so wildly pine;
23Yet none would ask a heaven
24More like this earth than thine.
25Then let my winds caress thee;
26Thy comrade let me be—
27Since nought beside can bless thee,
28Return and dwell with me.
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“Shall earth no more inspire thee” Summary
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“Shall earth no more inspire thee” Themes
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The Power of Nature
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Melancholy, Isolation, and Withdrawal
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Shall earth no more inspire thee”
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Lines 1-8
Shall earth no more inspire thee,
Thou lonely dreamer now?
Since passion may not fire thee
Shall Nature cease to bow?
Thy mind is ever moving
In regions dark to thee;
Recall its useless roving—
Come back and dwell with me. -
Lines 9-12
I know my mountain breezes
Enchant and soothe thee still—
I know my sunshine pleases
Despite thy wayward will. -
Lines 13-16
When day with evening blending
Sinks from the summer sky,
I’ve seen thy spirit bending
In fond idolatry. -
Lines 17-20
I’ve watched thee every hour;
I know my mighty sway,
I know my magic power
To drive thy griefs away. -
Lines 21-24
Few hearts to mortals given
On earth so wildly pine;
Yet none would ask a heaven
More like this earth than thine. -
Lines 25-28
Then let my winds caress thee;
Thy comrade let me be—
Since nought beside can bless thee,
Return and dwell with me.
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“Shall earth no more inspire thee” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Personification
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Rhetorical Question
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Anaphora
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Repetition
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Alliteration
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“Shall earth no more inspire thee” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Thee, thou, thy, thine
- Fire
- Bow
- Dark
- Roving
- Dwell
- Wayward will
- Fond idolatry
- Sway
- Pine
- Nought beside
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Shall earth no more inspire thee”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Shall earth no more inspire thee” Speaker
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“Shall earth no more inspire thee” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Shall earth no more inspire thee”
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More “Shall earth no more inspire thee” Resources
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External Resources
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The Brontë Museum — Visit the website of the Brontë Parsonage Museum to learn more about Emily Brontë and her family.
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A Brief Biography — Learn more about Brontë's short (and rather mysterious) life via the Poetry Foundation.
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The Poem Set to Music — Listen to excerpts of a song cycle inspired by this poem (and others of Brontë's).
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.
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Portraits of Bronte — See images of the only two surviving portraits of Emily Brontë—both painted by her brother Branwell.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Emily Brontë
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