Milton dreams that his dead wife returns to him. He imagines her like Alcestis, the Greek heroine brought back from death by Hercules and given to her joyful husband. Purified from childbirth’s stain, as in ancient Hebrew ritual, she appears dressed in white, her mind reflected in her pure clothing. Her face remains veiled, yet his inner vision sees love, sweetness, and goodness shining through more clearly than any actual face he’s ever seen. For a moment, the hope of finally seeing her fully in heaven feels almost within reach.
But just as she leans to embrace him, he wakes. She vanishes, and the daylight brings back his night — the grief he endures without her. The poem captures the cruelty of a dream that feels like a divine gift until waking shatters it, leaving the speaker in a darkness that feels absolute. The mood shifts from reverent tenderness to a sharp, aching loss, as if a door to paradise has slammed shut.