The Vast Phantom Poem Analysis

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The “vast phantom” refers to the moon in the poem which is a symbol for death and the afterlife. As the funeral procession moves closer to the grave, all the senses are awakened more forcefully; the pounding of the drums “strikes [the observer] through and through.” The double grave that the two fallen veterans are approaching represents a gateway from the material world to the afterlife and the “mother’s… face… brighter growing” is a metaphor for their upcoming welcome into the next world. It is also a metaphor for how the appearance of the moon’s nature, and thus that of death and the afterlife itself, has changed from “ghastly” and “silent” to tranquil and comforting in the narrator’s eyes. This mimics how the dirge’s overall tone changes.