Misinterpretation of "The Stream's Secret"

While working on my Master's degree, I took a class that focused on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.  One of Dante Gabriel Rossetti'smost famous poems is "The Stream's Secret."  It is a haunting, romantic tale.  At least, that's how *I* took it.  In fact, I wrote a short-short story based on what I thought was happening in the poem.  Turns out my interpretation received very mixed reviews.  At least it sparked conversation. Note: When this was written, I was still pretty 'young' in my writing development.

A Misinterpretation of "The Stream's Secret" by David W. Henderson (c)2000, 2010

Peter knelt in the long, thick grass along the stream. Intently, he watched the water flow over rocks, under branches, and around a few grassy knolls. He could see the bottom of the stream perfectly. The rocks and pebbles danced along the bed without moving. Light played with the rippling water, animating the inanimate. He tilted his head slightly, his right ear bent ever so carefully toward the bubbling brook. He held his breath. The bubbling, fumbling stream did not speak to him. He sighed deeply and shook his head.

"Did you not see?" Peter asked the stream. "Did you not hear?" he yelled out, clenching his fists at the brook. He stood, his well-pressed trousers now wrinkled and stained green from the grass. He paid no attention to his pants. Slowly, he turned, stretching his arms out in a wide arc to the place that had been behind him.

"She was here," he told no one. Taking two steps away from the stream, he pointed at the ground where he now stood. "She was right here," he repeated loudly. He fell to his knees, slumping over himself until his hair rested on the ground. Tears fell from his eyes onto the grass. His body heaved as he sobbed, still crunched like a child hiding from the seeker. The mucus from his nose dangled toward the ground, swaying with each sob-ridden breath he took. Finally, it broke, landing in a pool beneath his nose.

Suddenly, he slammed one fist into the ground. Absently, we wiped his pressed jacket sleeve across his face, taking with it tears and snot and pain. He stood, ignoring the grass stains on his sleeves where his elbows had rested on the ground. Spinning on one heel, he turned to face the babbling brook once again.

"Why won't you talk to me?" he scorned. He took two steps back toward the stream, brought his leg back and kicked his patent leather shoe at the water. A plume erupted as his foot surfaced from the depths of the stream. Ignoring the soaked sock in his shoe, he kicked at the stream once more. Again, the stream answered with a fountain of water where his foot exited through the surface. Now, the stirred dirt from the bed hid the stones and rocks that were once visible. The stream's flow carried the sediment away from Peter, as it carried Sarah not long ago.

Sarah was beautiful. He long, coppery hair flowed down over her shoulders and covered her breasts. She was exquisite. Her long, cream-colored arms could reach the night sky and pluck out a star. Her shapely, toned legs coulee leap a rainbow and land her in the pot of gold at the end of it. Her satiny smooth skin glistened in the morning dew as she lay in the grass.

Peter turned, looking over his shoulder at the spot where he had been sobbing. "As she lay in the grass," he said aloud. His eyes darkened as he turned his gaze back toward the stream. That horrid stream. That keeper of secrets. His heart pounded in his chest. His breathing had become deep, heavy. He clenched his jaw tight, then spat into the water. "Keeper of secrets," he growled.

His mind flashed - Sarah lay in the grass, nude. He blinked at the stream. Flash - her lover beside her. He stared at a rock on the stream's bed. Flash - her lover slain. Rippling waves cannot break his stare. Flash - his around her throat. His jaw clenched tighter. He dragged her into the stream. His jaw moved, emitting a sharp "pop" as his teeth rubbed against each other. Sarah kicked, squirmed, twisted. Her face plunged into the stream. He wide eyes stared at Peter in disbelief. Her mouth moved, "Peter! Peter!" Her lips formed words, but make no sound. "No! Peter!" Air rushed in and out of her lungs, making bubbles at the surface. The babbling brook became violent at the intrusion. Dirt, rocks and sand all tossed and churned wildly as Sarah splashed in the water.

A small, wry smile crept on Peter's face. He blinked twice then focused his gazed on the spot where Sarah drank her last breath. The smile on Peter's face softened as he pictured her there in the water. The stream bubbled around and passed her. Her face rested above the surface, peaceful and calm. Sarah stared blankly at the stars above. Peter leaned over her and slipped his arms around her. His lips covered her soft, smooth cheeks with tender kisses. He took one hand from behind her back and gently stroked her hair as it waved lazily in the stream. Tenderly, he kissed her lips as softly as a new lover on his wedding night. He gazed into Sarah's lifeless eyes, then closed her eyelids, sealing each with a gentle kiss. Again, he slipped both of his arms around her and embraced her, pulling their two bodies together. After a few moments, he released her. She lingered at first, not wanting to leave her lover. But, finally, the stream urged her along and she relented. She began to move, but stopped suddenly as she planted her feet into the stream's bed.

Peter's eyes widened at the sight of his Sarah's hesitation. His heart raced as the gravity of his mistake comes to his full attention. Sarah was not dead after all! She had stopped to be with him! He smiled - a small, shaky laugh escaped his lips. He stood, meaning to help her out of the water. As he bent over her, she moved away from him. Her feet still seemed planted, but her body drifted away from his reaching arm. The stream continued to push her, helping her along as it turned her body away from his. Her head pointed downstream. Peter's arms dropped to his side and she slumped to the ground beside the stream. Sarah drifted away from him, forever.

---

If you'd like to read the poem, you can find it: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=174291

the Pre-Raphaelites and their Brotherhood

About 100 things to know about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB):

1. Formed in 1848 during the Victorian Age
2. Original members included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, John Collinson, Thomas Woolner, F.G. Stephens
3. 2nd 'flowering' of PRB included William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones
4. PRB loved the Arthurian Legend
5. Charles Swinburne wrote "beautiful poems that no polite person could talk about."
6. "Vicisti, Galilaee" means "Thou Hast Conquered, Galilaee"
7. William Holman Hunt painted a woman in a room with a loom coming apart around her titled Lady of Shalott
8. Tennyson, Keats, and Malory influenced the PRB greatly
9. John Ruskin wrote a book titled Modern Painters, in which he discusses various artists. He later wrote Modern Painters II, in which he discusses the PRB
10. Jane Burden married William Morris and served as the model for Pandora
11. Swinburne would have most likely died prematurely had it not been for the efforts of Theodore Watts-Dunton
12. Prometheus gave fire to man in Greek mythology
13. Swinburne and Pater were associated with the Aesthetic Movement
14. "Willowwood" is part of a larger work called "House of Life" by D.G. Rossetti
15. There are two type of sonnets - Italian (Petrarchan) and English (Shakespearean)
16. Josephine Butler is credited as being instrumental in the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts
17. "Poeta Loquitur" means "The Poet Speaks" and was written by Swinburne
18. Waterhouse painted Lady of Shalott which features a boat on the water with a woman sitting in it
19. "Ave Atque Vale" means "Hail and Farewell" (Believe me, you'll need to know this!)
20. "Ave Atque Vale" is an elegy to Charles Baudelaire (who translated Poe into French) by Swinburne
21. William Holman Hunt painted a woman rising from a reclined man's lap, called Awakening Conscious
22. P. Henderson was a critic and biographer of Swinburne
23. Lethe is the river of forgetfulness or oblivion
24. Elizabeth Siddal was often cast as Beatrice and she also produced "Self Portrait" and the poem "Worn Out," among others. She was D.G. Rossetti's wife. She also served as the model for the painting Ophelia.
25. The Germ was the title of the short-lived magazine produced by the PRB
26. Robert Buchanan wrote a scathing critique about the PRB titled "The Fleshly School of Poetry"
27. Sophie Anderson was a French painter who had been influenced by the PRB
28. Euphemia Gray (called Effie) was married to John Ruskin but eventually separated and married John Millais, Ruskin's best friend
29. Swinburne makes reference to "Mademoiselle du Maupin" in his work called "Sonnet"
30. The Sangreal is another name for the Holy Grail
31. The Contagious Diseases Acts were repealed in the 1880's
32. Florence Nightingale, Harriet Martineaux, and Josephine Butler were three women who spoke out against the Contagious Diseases Acts
33. William Morris wrote an essay titled "How I Became a Socialist"
34. Sir Joshua Reynolds (referred to as "Sir Sloshua" by PRB) was president of the Royal Academy at the time the PRB reject the Academy's teachings
35. Procne and Philomela are represented in Swinburne's "Itylus" as a swallow and a nightingale
36. Godmar and Jehane are characters in Morris' "Haystack in the Floods"
37. Millais painted Christ in the House of His Parents, a controversial depiction of Christ as a poor carpenter boy (WASN'T HE!?)
38. Jane Burden posed for D.G. Rossetti's painting Proserpine in which she holds a piece of fruit with a bite taken out
39. The Marquis De Sade (Sadism) was imprisoned for his pornography and had a great influence on Swinburne
40. D.G. Rossetti was obsessed with the Dante/Beatrice tale (as in Dante's Inferno)
41. George Meredith served as the model for the painting Death of Chatterton
42. Lord Layton was a president of the Royal Academy and influenced Waterhouse
43. The traditional sonnet has 14 lines
44. The Contagious Diseases Acts were passed in 1860's
45. Christina Rossetti referred to Elizabeth Barrett Browning as the "Great poetess of our own day"
46. "Triumph of Time" alludes to Shelley's "Triumph of Life"
47. William Morris founded the Kelmscott Press, most noted for its publications of Chaucer
48. Theophile Gautier wrote "Mademoiselle du Maupin"
49. "Aesthetics" means "Art for Art's Sake"
50. John William Waterhouse is often referred to as the greatest PRB artist, although he was not associated with the PRB
51. William Morris wrote "I Love You, but I Cannot Paint You" on the back of his painting, Guenevere. It was in reference to his wife, Jane Burden

SOME TEXT QUOTES:

1. "He feeds upon her face...not as she is, but was when hope shone bright" - "In An Artist's Studio" by Christina Rossetti
2. "At the door of life, gate of breath, there are worse things waiting for man than death" - Swinburne's "Triumph of Time"
3. "So pure - so fallen! How dare to think of the first common kindred link? Yet, Jenny, till the world shall burn it seems that all things take their turn; And who shall say but for this fair tree may need, in changes that may be..." - D.G. Rossetti's "Jenny"
4. "And she bowed herself and stooped out of the circling charm; until her bosom must have made the bar she leaned on warm" - D.G. Rossetti's "Blessed Damozel"
5. "O lips that the live blood faints in, the leavings of racks and rods! O ghastly glories of saints, dead limbs of gibbeted gods!" - "Hymn to Proserpine" by Swinburne
6. "The woman almost fades from view. A cipher of man's changeless sum of lust, past, present, and to come, is left. A riddle that one shrinks to challenge from the scornful Sphinx." - D.G. Rossetti's "Jenny"
7. "We two will lie i' the shadow of that living mystic tree within whose secret growth the dove is sometimes felt to be, while every leaf that his plumes touch saith his name audibly" - D.G. Rossetti's "Blessed Damozel"
8. "And grief shall endure not for ever, I know. As things that are not shall these things be." - Swinburne's "Triumph of Time"
9. "Morte D'Arthur" - Thomas Malory
10. "Her face is made her shrine. Let all men note that in all years...they that would look on her must come to me" - D.G. Rossetti's "The Portrait"

SELECTED TITLES TO KNOW (in random order):
"Garden of Proserpine" - Charles Swinburne
"Jenny" - D. G. Rossetti
"Goblin Market" - Christina Rossetti
"Hymn to Proserpine" - Swinburne
"Hertha" - Swinburne
"Sir Galahad" - William Morris
"Poeta Liquitur" - Swinburne
"The Earthly Paradise" - a sonnet sequence by William Morris
"Lady of Shalott" - Alfred, Lord Tennyson
"Haystack in the Floods" - William Morris
"Ave Atque Vale" - Swinburne
"Les Fleurs du Mal" - Charles Baudelaire
"In An Artist's Studio" - Christina Rossetti
"The Fleshly School of Poetry" - Robert Buchanan
"Modern Love" - George Meredith
"Earth and Man" - George Meredith
"The Bride's Prelude" - D.G. Rossetti
"Sister Helen" - D.G. Rossetti
"The Portrait" - D.G. Rossetti
"Blessed Damozel" - D.G. Rossetti
"Triumph of Time" - Swinburne
"Lucifer in Starlight" - George Meredith
"Atalanta in Calydon" - Swinburne
"House of Life" - a sonnet sequence by D.G. Rossetti
"Defence of Guenevere" - William Morris
"Monna Innominata" - sonnet sequence by Christina Rossetti