How we cite our quotes: (line)
Quote #4
My gentle-hearted Charles! when the last rook
Beat its straight path along the dusky air
Homewards, I blessed it! deeming its black wing
(Now a dim speck, now vanishing in light)
Had cross'd the mighty Orb's dilated glory
While thou stood'st gazing (69-74)
After his epiphany at the beginning of the third stanza, he overflows with feelings of good will and brotherly love. His statement about blessing the rook has the tone of, "Guess what I did? Tee-hee." Or maybe we just like the idea of Coleridge giggling like a schoolgirl.
Quote #5
and had a charm
For thee, my gentle-hearted Charles, to whom
No sound is dissonant which tells of Life. (75-77)
The end of the poem reveals what might be Charles's most admirable character trait: his ability to integrate unpleasantness and suffering into the harmony of a full life. The end might also hint at the need to harmonize an individual life with the greater unity of Nature – a classic Romantic idea.