The speaker begins by recalling moments of deep beauty: sunlight falling over Ravello in Italy, the bright clarity of a Bach fugue, a lark singing in English woods. Yet all these vivid memories, she says, are only a faint introduction to the thought of the person she addresses. She describes this person not through physical details but through character: “rarest soul,” “lover of beauty, knightliest and best.” The feeling is less about longing than reverence and gratitude. The closing image—her thoughts seeking this person as waves seek the shore—creates a steady, quiet movement toward peace. When she thinks of you, she is at rest. The overall mood is tender, hushed, and calm, like a private confession made in the dark.
To E. — Summary
I have remembered beauty in the night, Against black silences I waked to see A shower of sunlight over Italy And green Ravello dreaming on her height; I have remembered music in the dark, The clean swift brightness of a fugue of Bach's, And running water singing on the rocks When once in English woods I heard a lark. But all remembered beauty is no more Than a vague prelude to the thought of you-- You are the rarest soul I ever knew, Lover of beauty, knightliest and best; My thoughts seek you as waves that seek the shore, And when I think of you, I am at rest.