Ode on Melancholy

I chose this poem because it spoke to me. Although I am sure we all interpret things differently from time to time, I thought this piece was about not dwelling on the negative even when it is all you can see. The speaker is either trying to console someone who is hurting, possible suffering some type of loss, or they are trying to comfort themselves. I believe the speaker wants to make each day important and new. In lines 9-10 he says, "For Shade to shade will come too drowsily, and drown the wakeful anguish of the soul." To me this said that days will come and go quickly while we wallow in our depression and eventually that sorrow will overtake out souls. I see the speaker as a reliable source only because it seems like he is wise on the subject. From the tone and order of the poem, I gather that he has already overcome the sorrow or "melancholy" seasons that life can bring. Towards the end, the speaker begins to allude to the goddess Melancholy. In these lines, it almost sounds like he/she is warning someone to come of what Melancholy can do. The speaker does not want the next victim, so to speak, to be diminished to a pawn or defeated.
The images in this poem are powerful and important. The picture of a grave is painted and many allusions are presented to help the reader understand the darkness this piece is referring to. I really like line 5, "Make not your rosary of yew-berries..." Yew-berries are a symbol for grief often grown in cemeteries. The poem also talks about her mouth like it is poisonous and has the power to sting whomever it kisses. These images and allusions connect beautifully. Each is relevant to the other and they all turned very helpful for me as I read.
The picture that this piece painted in my head was one from the animated film "Hercules." Due to the references to Hades and goddesses and Lethe, I thought of the scene where Hercules has to go into Hades to retrieve the soul of his lover. I understand that this story does not exactly tie into the poem properly, but that is where my mind went.