“An awful Tempest mashed the air—” was written by the American poet Emily Dickinson around 1861. In the poem, the speaker describes an intense storm that arrives at night and finally departs in the morning, leaving the speaker with a sense of awe and wonder at the frightening power of the natural world.
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1An awful Tempest mashed the air—
2The clouds were gaunt, and few—
3A Black—as of a spectre's cloak
4Hid Heaven and Earth from view—
5The creatures chuckled on the Roofs—
6And whistled in the air—
7And shook their fists—
8And gnashed their teeth—
9And swung their frenzied hair—
10The morning lit—the Birds arose—
11The Monster's faded eyes
12Turned slowly to his native coast—
13And peace—was Paradise!
1An awful Tempest mashed the air—
2The clouds were gaunt, and few—
3A Black—as of a spectre's cloak
4Hid Heaven and Earth from view—
5The creatures chuckled on the Roofs—
6And whistled in the air—
7And shook their fists—
8And gnashed their teeth—
9And swung their frenzied hair—
10The morning lit—the Birds arose—
11The Monster's faded eyes
12Turned slowly to his native coast—
13And peace—was Paradise!
An awful Tempest mashed the air—
The clouds were gaunt, and few—
A Black—as of a spectre's cloak
Hid Heaven and Earth from view—
The creatures chuckled on the Roofs—
And whistled in the air—
And shook their fists—
And gnashed their teeth—
And swung their frenzied hair—
The morning lit—the Birds arose—
The Monster's faded eyes
Turned slowly to his native coast—
And peace—was Paradise!
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.
Gothic Literature — The poem includes elements of the Gothic, a movement in literature and art that explored darkness, death, and the supernatural. Read more about the history of the Gothic in this essay at the British Library.
Biography of Emily Dickinson — Learn more about Dickinson’s life and poetry via the Poetry Foundation.
Manuscript of the Poem — View the original manuscript of the poem, in Dickinson’s handwriting, at the Emily Dickinson Archive.
Emily Dickinson Museum — Read more about Dickinson’s life and work, and learn about what Amherst, Massachusetts was like in the 1860s, at the website of the Emily Dickinson Museum.
Romanticism and the Sublime — The poem draws on the Romantic idea of the Sublime, or the experience of coming into contact with the vast power of the universe and the natural world. Learn more about the history of the Sublime as a concept in literature and art in this article from the Academy of American Poets.