An Invitation by Alfred Domett

“An Invitation” by Alfred Domett is a fascinating poetic work that beckons readers into a world of natural beauty, shared camaraderie, and adventurous living. Domett, an English colonial statesman and poet, who also served as the fourth Premier of New Zealand, demonstrates his profound love for the outdoors and the serene, unadulterated wilderness in his poems, effectively conveying his admiration for the colonial landscapes he experienced.

At over 2000 words, an in-depth analysis of “An Invitation” would need to explore several aspects including the poem’s structure, language, and themes, as well as the poet’s intentions and the broader social and historical context in which the poem was written.

“An Invitation” is a beautifully structured piece of poetry, with a rhythm that carries the reader along as though on the journey Domett describes. The poem exhibits a complex pattern of rhymes and rhythms that contribute to the overall effect of the verse. In particular, Domett’s use of anapestic meter, which consists of two short syllables followed by a long one, provides a buoyant rhythm that gives the poem an enthusiastic, almost joyful tone.

Domett’s language throughout “An Invitation” is rich and evocative, filled with lush descriptions of nature. He employs an array of poetic techniques to bring the landscapes alive, using vivid imagery and personification to animate the world around him. The “rosy bays,” the “silvery beaches,” and the “fantastic roots” are all expressions that paint a vibrant picture of the wilderness that Domett calls home.

One key theme that emerges in “An Invitation” is the theme of escape. The poem is a call to leave behind the familiar confines of civil society and venture into the untamed wilderness. This suggests a dichotomy between the human world, with its constraints and artificiality, and the natural world, characterized by freedom, authenticity, and primal beauty.

This theme of escape is connected to a broader Romantic tradition, which extolled the virtues of nature and championed a return to natural landscapes as a source of inspiration and spiritual renewal. In this regard, Domett can be seen as participating in a tradition of nature poetry, alongside figures such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who saw in nature a sanctuary from the pressures and corruption of society.

Furthermore, the poem reflects Domett’s own experiences and his sense of identity as a colonial subject. The colonial landscape, as described in the poem, serves as a site of adventure and possibility. It offers a place where one can leave behind old conventions and forge a new identity, untethered from traditional societal norms. This sense of opportunity and possibility echoes the larger narrative of colonial expansion during the 19th century, wherein colonies were seen as lands of untapped potential and sources of prosperity.

However, while Domett’s poem celebrates the beauty of the colonial landscape, it largely omits the realities of colonialism and its impact on indigenous peoples. This oversight reflects a common trend in colonial literature, where indigenous cultures and the effects of colonization are often marginalized or romanticized. Such omissions highlight the importance of reading “An Invitation” in its broader historical and cultural context, recognizing the implicit biases and blind spots that it may harbor.

In conclusion, “An Invitation” by Alfred Domett is a complex and evocative poem that offers a fascinating exploration of nature, identity, and colonial experience. Despite its apparent simplicity, the poem raises several intriguing questions about the relationship between humanity and nature, the allure of the wilderness, and the realities of colonial expansion. It is a testament to Domett’s prowess as a poet, capable of captivating readers with his vivid landscapes while subtly engaging with larger philosophical and social themes.

An Invitation

Well! if Truth be all welcomed with hardy reliance,
All the lovely unfoldings of luminous Science,
All that Logic can prove or disprove be avowed:
Is there room for no faith — though such Evil intrude —
In the dominance still of a Spirit of Good?
Is there room for no hope — such a handbreadth we scan —
In the permanence yet of the Spirit of Man? —
May we bless the far seeker, nor blame the fine dreamer?
Leave Reason her radiance — Doubt her due cloud;
Nor their Rainbows enshroud? —

From our Life of realities — hard — shallow-hearted,
Has Romance — has all glory idyllic departed —
From the workaday World all the wonderment flown?
Well, but what if there gleamed, in an Age cold as this,
The divinest of Poets’ ideal of bliss?
Yea, an Eden could lurk in this Empire of ours,
With the loneliest love in the loveliest bowers? —
In an era so rapid with railway and steamer,
And with Pan and the Dryads like Raphael gone —
What if this could be shown?

O my friends, never deaf to the charms of Denial,
Were its comfortless comforting worth a life-trial —
Discontented content with a chilling despair? —
Better ask as we float down a song-flood unchecked,
If our Sky with no Iris be glory-bedecked?
Through the gloom of eclipse as we wistfully steal
If no darkling aureolar rays may reveal
That the Future is haply not utterly cheerless:
While the Present has joy and adventure as rare
As the Past when most fair?

And if weary of mists you will roam undisdaining
To a land where the fanciful fountains are raining
Swift brilliants of boiling and beautiful spray
In the violet splendour of skies that illume
Such a wealth of green ferns and rare crimson tree-bloom;
Where a people primeval is vanishing fast,
With its faiths and its fables and ways of the past:
O with reason and fancy unfettered and fearless,
Come plunge with us deep into regions of Day —
Come away — and away! —