The Retreat

By Henry Vaughan (1621 - 1695)

Happy those early days! when I
Shined in my angel-infancy,
Before I understood this place
Appointed for my second race,
Or taught my soul to fancy ought
But a white, celestial thought;
When yet I had not walked above
A mile or two from my first love,
And looking back—at that short space—
Could see a glimpse of His bright face;
When on some gilded cloud, or flower,
My gazing soul would dwell an hour,
And in those weaker glories spy
Some shadows of eternity;
Before I taught my tongue to wound
My conscience with a sinful sound,
Or had the black art to dispense
A several sin to every sense,
But felt through all this fleshy dress
Bright shoots of everlastingness.
Oh how I long to travel back,
And tread again that ancient track!
That I might once more reach that plain,
Where first I left my glorious train;
From whence the enlightened spirit sees
That shady city of palm trees.
But ah! my soul with too much stay
Is drunk, and staggers in the way.
Some men a forward motion love,
But I by backward steps would move
And when this dust falls to the urn,
In that state I came, return.

1- Who's the speaker and who's speaking to?
The Poet, in this case, it's the speaker of the poem.
2- Type of vocabulary (loving, violent, angry, etc)
The vocabulary it's very educated, intellectual, for a person who are reffering about his life.
3- Alliterations, metaphors, comparisons, assonances, personifications.
Alliterations:
- Or taught my soul to fancy aught
- When yet I had not walk'd above
- A mile or two form my first Love.
- Before I taught my tongue to wound
Metaphors:
- Some shadows of eternity.
- Before I taught my tongue to wound.
- My Consciece with a sinful sound.
- But felt through all this fleshly dress.
- That shady City of Palm-Trees.
- Where first I left my glorious train
- And tread again that ancient track!
- And when this dust falls to the run.
Assonances:
- Before I understood this place
Appointed for my second race.
- And looking back at that short space
Could see a glimpse of his bright face.
- Or had the black art to dispense
A several sin to ev'ry sense
- That I might gain that ancient train
where first I left my Glorious train.

4- What's the poem about?
The poem is about life, a life's reflection, things you did things you couldn't do. It's a remembrance about the long way or track that life is. I think he knows that sometimes he is going to die, so he looks back in his life and try to tell us his opinion.

In my opinion,I think this is a beautiful poem in which you can give yourself the time to think about you personal view of life, about your achievements and failures, the poet recognizes the life after death, "and when this dust falls to the urn, in that state I came, return",this poem has a lot of metaphors, so it is interesting to the reader. I like it so much indeed.