- description
- # “Formerly a Slave.”
## Overview
This segment of text, titled "“Formerly a Slave.”", is a poem extracted from the larger work [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9). It spans lines 3192 to 3213 of its source file and was extracted on January 30, 2026.
## Context
The poem is part of [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9), a collection of poetry by Herman Melville, which is itself contained within the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. The text was extracted from the digital file [battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8). It follows the poem [A Grave near Petersburg, Virginia.](arke:01KG8AJPZX3KFWSGX1SS9W0EEM) and precedes [The Apparition.](arke:01KG8AJPZVTC69YWY5168J4WK9) within the collection.
## Contents
The poem describes an "idealized Portrait, by E. Vedder, in the Spring Exhibition of the National Academy, 1865." The verses reflect on the "sufferance of her race" and a "retrospect of life" for a formerly enslaved woman. It conveys a sense of prophetic hope, as she envisions a future where "Her children’s children they shall know / The good withheld from her," and her "dusky face is lit with sober light, / Sibylline, yet benign."
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:21.621Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- “Formerly a Slave.”
- end_line
- 3213
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 3192
- text
- “Formerly a Slave.”
An idealized Portrait, by E. Vedder, in the Spring
Exhibition of the National Academy, 1865.
The sufferance of her race is shown,
And retrospect of life,
Which now too late deliverance dawns upon;
Yet is she not at strife.
Her children’s children they shall know
The good withheld from her;
And so her reverie takes prophetic cheer--
In spirit she sees the stir
Far down the depth of thousand years,
And marks the revel shine;
Her dusky face is lit with sober light,
Sibylline, yet benign.
- title
- “Formerly a Slave.”