The November Pansy
By Duncan Campbell Scott
This is not June, — by Autumn's stratagem
Thou hast been ambushed in the chilly air;
Upon thy fragile crest virginal fair
The rime has clustered in a diadem;
The early frost
Has nipped thy roots and tried thy tender stem,
Seared thy gold petals, all thy charm is lost.
Thyself the only sunshine: in obeying
The law that bids thee blossom in the world
Thy little flag of courage is unfurled;
Inherent pansy-memories are saying
That there is sun,
That there is dew and colour and warmth repaying
The rain, the starlight when the light is done.
These are the gaunt forms of the hollyhocks
That shower the seeds from out their withered purses;
Here were the pinks; there the nasturtium nurses
The last of colour in her gaudy smocks;
The ruins yonder
Show but a vestige of the flaming phlox;
The poppies on their faded glory ponder.
Here visited the vagrant humming-bird,
The nebulous darting green, the ruby-throated;
The warm fans of the butterfly here floated;
Those two nests reared the robins, and the third
Was left forlorn
Muffled in lilacs, whence the perfume stirred
The tremulous eyelids of the dewy morn.
Thy sisters of the early summer-time
Were masquers in this carnival of pleasure;
Each in her turn unrolled her golden treasure,
And thou hast but the ashes of the prime;
'Tis life's own malice
That brings the peasant of a race sublime
To feed her flock around her ruined palace.
Yet for withstanding thus the autumn's dart
Some deeper pansy-insight will atone;
It comes to souls neglected and alone,
Something that prodigals in pleasure's mart
Lose in the whirl;
The peasant child will have a purer heart
Than the vain favourite of the vanished earl.
And far above this tragic world of ours
There is a world of a diviner fashion,
A mystic world, a world of dreams and passion
That each aspiring thing creates and dowers
With its own light;
Where even the frail spirits of trees and flowers
Pause, and reach out, and pass from height to height.
Here will we claim for thee another fief,
An upland where a glamour haunts the meadows,
Snow peaks arise enrobed in rosy shadows,
Fairer the under slopes with vine and sheaf
And shimmering lea;
The paradise of a simple old belief,
That flourished in the Islands of the Sea.
A snow-cool cistern in the fairy hills
Shall feed thy roots with moisture clear as dew;
A ferny shield to temper the warm blue
That heaven is; a thrush that thrills
To answer his mate,
And when above the ferns the shadow fills,
Fireflies to render darkness consolate.
Here muse and brood, moulding thy seed and die
And re-create thy form a thousand fold,
Mellowing thy petals to more lucent gold,
Till they expand, tissues of amber sky;
Till the full hour,
And the full light and the fulfilling eye
Shall find amid the ferns the perfect flower.
Poem Analysis:
Duncan Campbell Scott’s poem The November Pansy is a poignant meditation on resilience, memory, beauty, and the quiet nobility of enduring hardship. Using the image of a lone pansy blooming out of season, Scott explores broader themes of mortality, the passage of time, and the spiritual triumph of the overlooked or forgotten.
1. The Central Image: A Flower Out of Season
From the very first line, Scott establishes the pansy as an anomaly: “This is not June — by Autumn's stratagem / Thou hast been ambushed in the chilly air.” The flower blooms in November, a time when nature has already begun its retreat into winter. The pansy is caught between seasons, between life and decay, vitality and frost. Its beauty has been “seared” and its “charm is lost,” suggesting both physical decline and the loss of a time when it could have flourished. Yet it remains — fragile, but defiant.
2. Resilience as a Quiet Form of Bravery
Despite the harshness of its surroundings, the pansy obeys “the law that bids thee blossom in the world.” This act of blooming, however ill-timed, becomes a symbol of courage. It’s a “little flag” unfurled in the face of indifference. The pansy is not simply surviving; it is testifying to the possibility of beauty and hope even in a seemingly hostile world. Scott emphasizes this inner strength by drawing attention to the flower’s “inherent pansy-memories” — a kind of instinctive trust that warmth and sunshine still exist, or will return.
3. Nostalgia and the Passage of Time
Scott laments the loss of summer, contrasting the solitary November pansy with the lively, colorful garden of the past. The hollyhocks, pinks, nasturtiums, phlox, and poppies are all gone, leaving behind only "gaunt forms" and faded glories. Nature is no longer at its peak — everything that once was vibrant has withered. There is a gentle elegy here for not just the passing of seasons, but for youth, joy, and the peak of life itself.
This is deepened by references to hummingbirds, butterflies, and robins — symbols of movement, music, and vitality. Their absence emphasizes the stillness and solitude now surrounding the pansy. Scott evokes a haunting silence that reflects the emotional weight of time lost.
4. Social and Spiritual Contrast
In the fifth and sixth stanzas, Scott introduces a subtle social allegory. The pansy is described as the “peasant of a race sublime,” forced to endure what the earlier "masquers" (other flowers) did not. They reveled in a carnival of pleasure, while the pansy faces “ashes of the prime.” This speaks to an inequality of experience, suggesting that some lives — quieter, later, or less recognized — are nonetheless just as, if not more, profound.
Scott suggests that suffering and solitude cultivate a deeper insight: “It comes to souls neglected and alone.” There is spiritual nobility in the pansy’s struggle, contrasting with the “prodigals in pleasure’s mart” who lose depth in the pursuit of indulgence. The poem elevates the humble over the celebrated, the enduring over the fleeting.
5. The Promise of Transcendence
The final stanzas shift toward a more mystical tone. Scott imagines a “world of a diviner fashion,” an eternal realm where dreams, beauty, and aspiration are preserved. Here, even “frail spirits of trees and flowers” can transcend their earthly limits. He offers the pansy a place in this paradise — a fief of its own, rich with dew, light, music, and rest.
The poet envisions a future where the pansy, after death, will “re-create thy form a thousand fold,” its golden petals refined and multiplied. It is a vision of redemption through nature, memory, and spirit — the idea that nothing truly beautiful or courageous is ever lost.
Beauty in Defiance
The November Pansy is both an elegy and a hymn. Duncan Campbell Scott honors the fragile but tenacious flower as a symbol of spiritual endurance and quiet beauty in the face of adversity. The poem ultimately affirms that such courage — blooming out of season — is not in vain. Even if the world overlooks it, the divine or ideal realm remembers and rewards it. It is a touching reflection on perseverance, forgotten virtue, and the unyielding hope that beauty, however humble, still matters.