The City of Dreadful Night - Proem - A Cold Rage Seizes One

Sep 29, 2026

A poetic work in a dark, allegorical tone, opening with a PROEM that interrogates the impulse to evoke “spectres of black night” and to awaken dead faith and despair. The speaker rejects hopeful or devout readers, addressing instead the desolate and fate-struck, offering fellowship to those suffering in the same “city of tremendous night.” The opening section then defines the city as one of night, framing life itself as recurring dreams shaped by memory.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages52

Reading Time1 h 20 min

AccessFree to download

The City of Dreadful Night

PROEM

The City OfDreadful Night Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2011 http://www.archive.org/details/cityofdreadfulni0Othom # The City of Dreadful Night James Thomson The City of Dreadful Night Table of Contents The City of Dreadful Night………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 James Thomson……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 PROEM………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2 L………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4 I……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7 H………………………………………………………………………………………………………8 IV……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10 V………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13 VL……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………14 VI………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………17 Vl……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………18 IX……………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………19 …………………………………………………………………………20 X………………………………………………… XL………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………23 XI…………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………24 ………………………………………………………………………26 XI………………………………………………………………………… XIV…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………28 XV…………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………31 ……………………………………32 XVI……………………………………………………………… XVI…………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………34 XVII……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………35 XIX………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………38 XX……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………39 XX…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………41 IXX· XX· XIX· IHIAX· IIAX· IAX· AX· AIX· IIX· IIX· IX· X· XI· HA· IA· IA· A· AI· H· II· I WHOdd· J2u"138uISSOY'MMM//:dnq e Sn JS!A syooq puy-01-p.ey jo spuesnoy suuda₁Bu!ys!Iqnd 128uIssəy uosuoyi sauer u6!N InjpeaJa Jo人1!o əy1 # The City of Dreadful Night —Dante Poi di tanto adoprar,di tanti motiD'ogni celeste,ogni terrena cosa,Girando senza posa, Per tornar sempre la donde son mosse;Uso alcuno,alcun fruttoIndovinar non so. Sola nel mondo eterna,a cui si volveOgni creata cosa,In te,morte,si posaNostra ignuda natura;Lieta no,ma sicuraDell'antico dolor...Pero ch'esser beatoNega ai mortali e nega a'morti il fato. —Leopardi PROEM Lo.thus,as prostrate,"In the dust I write My heart's deep languor and my soul's sad tears."Yet why evoke the spectres of black nightTo blot the sunshine of exultant years? Why disinter dead faith from mouldering hidden?Why break the seals of mute despair unbidden,And wail life's discords into careless ears? Because a cold rage seizes one at whilesTo show the bitter old and wrinkled truthStripped naked of all vesture that beguiles, False dreams,false hopes,false masks and modes of youth;Because it gives some sense of power and passionIn helpless innocence to try to fashion # The City of Dreadful Night Our woe in living words howe'er uncouth. Surely I write not for the hopeful young,Or those who deem their happiness of worth,Or such as pasture and grow fat among The shows of life and feel nor doubt nor dearth,Or pious spirits with a God above themTo sanctify and glorify and love them,Or sages who foresee a heaven on earth. For none of these I write,and none of theseCould read the writing if they deigned to try;So may they flourish in their due degrees,On our sweet earth and in their unplaced sky.If any cares for the weak words here written,It must be some one desolate,Fate-smitten,Whose faith and hopes are dead,and who would die. Yes,here and there some weary wandererIn that same city of tremendous night,Will understand the speech and feel a stirOf fellowship in all-disastrous fight;"I suffer mute and lonely,yet anotherUplifts his voice to let me know a brotherTravels the same wild paths though out

FAQs

Who is the intended audience for the speaker’s words in the PROEM?

The speaker says he does not write for the hopeful young or the pious and wise, but for the desolate—those whose faith and hopes are dead and who would die.

Why does the speaker choose to evoke night, dead faith, and despair?

He claims a cold rage seizes him to show bitter truth stripped of youthful masks, and to give helpless innocence some sense of power and passion in trying to fashion “our woe” in living words.

How is the City described in Section I?

The City is defined as “of Night,” associated with death, where the sun never visits and where day dissolves the dream-like reality that life resembles.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by pixelkiddo