- description
- # The Apparition.
## Overview - What this is (type, form, dates, scope)
"The Apparition." is a segment of text, likely a poem, extracted from the file [battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8). The text was extracted on January 30, 2026, by the "structure-extraction-lambda" process. The segment spans lines 3214-3237 of the source file and is part of the larger poetry collection [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9)
## Context - Background and provenance from related entities
This segment is part of the "Melville Complete Works" collection ([arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW)). The text is preceded by the segment "“Formerly a Slave.”" ([arke:01KG8AJPZHAFKJ54TG03XAHAJ4](arke:01KG8AJPZHAFKJ54TG03XAHAJ4)) and followed by "Magnanimity Baffled." ([arke:01KG8AJPZHXAWSE41N2Z17PT09](arke:01KG8AJPZHXAWSE41N2Z17PT09)). The source file, "battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt," was uploaded to the collection on January 30, 2026.
## Contents - What it contains, key subjects and details
The segment, titled "The Apparition.", presents a poem. The poem describes a scene of upheaval and transformation, with imagery of a "goblin-mountain" and "slag-ravine." The poem explores themes of illusion, reality, and the potential for sudden, catastrophic change.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:23.458Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- The Apparition.
- end_line
- 3237
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 3214
- text
- The Apparition.
(A Retrospect.)
Convulsions came; and, where the field
Long slept in pastoral green,
A goblin-mountain was upheaved
(Sure the scared sense was all deceived),
Marl-glen and slag-ravine.
The unreserve of Ill was there,
The clinkers in her last retreat;
But, ere the eye could take it in,
Or mind could comprehension win,
It sunk!--and at our feet.
So, then, Solidity’s a crust--
The core of fire below;
All may go well for many a year,
But who can think without a fear
Of horrors that happen so?
- title
- The Apparition.