A Night in June (Poem by Duncan Campbell Scott)

A Night in June

By Duncan Campbell Scott

The world is heated seven times,

    The sky is close above the lawn,

    An oven when the coals are drawn.

There is no stir of air at all,

    Only at times an inward breeze

    Turns back a pale leaf in the trees.

Here the syringa’s rich perfume

    Covers the tulip’s red retreat,

    A burning pool of scent and heat.

The pallid lightning wavers dim

    Between the trees, then deep and dense

    The darkness settles more intense.

A hawk lies panting in the grass,

    Or plunges upward through the air,

    The lightning shows him whirling there.

A bird calls madly from the eaves.

    Then stops, the silence all at once

    Disturbed, falls dead again and stuns.

A redder lightning flits about,

    But in the north a storm is rolled

    That splits the gloom with vivid gold;

Dead silence, then a little sound,

    The distance chokes the thunder down,

    It shudders faintly in the town.

A fountain plashing in the dark

    Keeps up a mimic dropping strain;

    Ah! God, if it were really rain!

Poem Analysis:

Duncan Campbell Scott’s poem A Night in June is a vivid and atmospheric portrayal of a summer night on the cusp of a storm. Written in a series of controlled, image-rich stanzas, the poem immerses the reader in a world where heat, tension, and stillness dominate. Scott, a Canadian poet known for his precise natural imagery and emotional restraint, here presents a meditation on the oppressive stillness of a hot night, climaxing in a desperate yearning for release—through rain.

Structure and Style

The poem is composed in rhymed tercets (three-line stanzas), with a generally regular meter, though Scott allows for subtle variation to reflect the natural rhythms of the scene. The language is highly sensory, leaning heavily on tactile and olfactory imagery—heat, scent, light, sound—all presented in tight, vivid sketches.

The progression of the poem is cinematic: from a broad atmospheric description, through increasingly specific and dramatic images, and finally to an emotional plea. The movement reflects a deepening of mood, from passive observation to a cry for relief.

Themes and Analysis

1. Oppression and Stagnation

“The world is heated seven times,

The sky is close above the lawn,

An oven when the coals are drawn.”

The opening lines immediately convey intense, suffocating heat. The biblical allusion—“heated seven times”—echoes the furnace from the Book of Daniel (3:19), reinforcing the theme of near-unbearable trial. The simile of the sky as an oven furthers the sense of entrapment, implying the natural world has become hostile, almost punishing.

“There is no stir of air at all,

Only at times an inward breeze

Turns back a pale leaf in the trees.”

Even the faintest motion is internal, minimal, insufficient. The phrase “inward breeze” is intriguing—perhaps suggesting a psychological or imagined stirring rather than an actual one. Nature is holding its breath.

2. Sensory Overload and Stillness

“Here the syringa’s rich perfume

Covers the tulip’s red retreat,

A burning pool of scent and heat.”

The imagery becomes more richly layered—fragrance, color, and temperature blend into a sensory overload. The phrase “burning pool of scent and heat” connotes both beauty and suffocation. The tulip's “retreat” suggests withdrawal or exhaustion, as though the very plants are overwhelmed.

3. Imminence of Storm and Tension

“The pallid lightning wavers dim

Between the trees, then deep and dense

The darkness settles more intense.”

Lightning flickers but brings no relief. Instead of illuminating or cleansing the night, it makes the darkness “more intense.” The poem’s rhythm mimics this unease—flashes followed by quiet, anticipation without climax.

“A hawk lies panting in the grass,

Or plunges upward through the air,

The lightning shows him whirling there.”

The hawk, predator of the skies, is reduced to panting on the ground—suggesting even wild power is subdued. When it finally ascends, it is not triumphant but “whirling,” perhaps confused, frantic. Nature is unsettled.

“A bird calls madly from the eaves.

Then stops, the silence all at once

Disturbed, falls dead again and stuns.”

A brief cry pierces the silence—but silence wins again. Scott’s use of contrast between sound and stillness builds dramatic tension, as if all creation is on edge, waiting.

4. The Storm and the False Promise

“A redder lightning flits about,

But in the north a storm is rolled

That splits the gloom with vivid gold;”

Now the storm gains color and force, described with “vivid gold.” The northern storm feels distant—its energy is suggested but not yet delivered. There’s spectacle but no substance.

“Dead silence, then a little sound,

The distance chokes the thunder down,

It shudders faintly in the town.”

Even the thunder, a symbol of release, is “choked” and distant. Its shudder barely reaches the town. The longed-for catharsis—rain, cleansing, renewal—remains elusive.

5. Longing for Release

“A fountain plashing in the dark

Keeps up a mimic dropping strain;

Ah! God, if it were really rain!”

The final image is heartbreaking in its simplicity. A man-made fountain mocks the natural relief that refuses to come. The contrast between real and artificial sound deepens the speaker’s yearning.

The last line, “Ah! God, if it were really rain!” is a rare moment of explicit emotional release. It is not just a plea for physical relief but may symbolize a deeper spiritual or existential longing—for change, for comfort, for grace.

Tone and Mood

The tone is tense, suffocating, and slowly crescendoing with frustration. There’s a sense of being held in suspension—between night and storm, silence and sound, endurance and collapse. Scott’s restrained diction makes the final line all the more impactful, as the speaker's controlled observations give way to a desperate prayer.

Symbolism

• Heat and Stagnation: Oppressive physical conditions symbolizing psychological or spiritual trial.
• Lightning and Thunder: Potential for change or catharsis that never quite arrives.
• The Hawk and Birds: Nature’s creatures disoriented and unsettled, mirroring human unrest.
• The Fountain: A false comfort—a beautiful but ultimately hollow substitute for nature’s true relief.

A Night in June captures more than a sultry evening—it channels the anxiety of waiting, the exhaustion of enduring, and the desperate hope for change. Duncan Campbell Scott uses his characteristic precision and sensory richness to paint a night suspended between beauty and torment. The poem is both a literal portrait of a summer night and a metaphorical meditation on the unbearable tension before release—be it rain, emotion, or transformation.

In the end, Scott leaves us with a question rather than an answer: How long must one wait for real rain?