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The Shade

In the third stanza, the speaker mentions a certain “shade” that “looms” over the place where they are (lines 9–10):

     Beyond this place of wrath and tears
           Looms but the Horror of the shade

The “place of wrath and tears” described in the first line references the realm of life, which is full of suffering and existential threat. The “Horror of the shade” named in the second line may therefore be understood as a reference to death. The term shade used here is closely connected to the Greco-Roman idea of the underworld, known as Hades. According to this early mythology, when humans die, they proceed to Hades, where they continue to exist in something like a shadow life. These darkling figures are known as “shades,” and they are essentially ghosts of their former selves. Taken in this way, the “shade” referenced by the speaker is a symbol of physical death and of human mortality. However, it also symbolizes a more abstract death in which a person might lose their sense of identity and become a diminished version of themself. Hence why the idea of the shade carries with it a sense of “Horror.” It is precisely this horror of decline and death that the speaker struggles against.

The Gate and the Scroll

In the poem’s final stanza, the speaker stakes their final claim to self-determination, but only after rejecting two symbols of Christian belief (lines 13–16):

     It matters not how strait the gate,
           How charged with punishments the scroll,
     I am the master of my fate,
           I am the captain of my soul.

The phrase “how strait the gate” alludes to a well-known biblical passage from Matthew 7:14. In that passage, Jesus warns his disciples of how easy it is to stray from the path of righteousness and hence fail to pass through the narrow gate to heaven. The “strait . . . gate” is therefore a symbol of the narrow road of faith that believers must follow on the way to redemption. The speaker references a second Christian symbol in the following line, where they mention a “scroll” that is “charged with punishments.” According to tradition, when the Day of Judgment comes, a great scroll will be produced that will contain an account of every sin and faithful act committed by each individual soul. The accounting contained on this scroll will be used to dole out both blessings and punishments. But immediately after mentioning these symbols, the speaker roundly rejects them both. Instead of following a prescribed path, they will be “the master of [their] fate.” Likewise, instead of submitting to external judgment, they will be “the captain of [their] soul.”

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