I trust not to thy phantom bliss,
The phantom that the speaker explicitly states she doesn’t trust is imagination. This ghost that haunts the speaker pushes her to the edges of society where she would feel the effects of loneliness that connect can only be soothed by hope that is birthed from death, as Steven Vine states in his essay about how the ghostly bliss “betrays the self’s desire” and is “born from the death that it is supposed to overcome” (107).
Reason, indeed, may oft complain For Nature’s sad reality,
Reason, Nature, and Truth, personified, bring the what the speaker would like to avoid. They bring pain, suffering, and complaining. While imagination brings flowers, associated with happiness, but they are trampled by Truth, bringing our speaker to face their melancholy.
“To Imagination” (1846)
Attached is reading from youtube.com to enhance the experience of the reader. The speaker is quiet and pensive as she moves through the poem and talks with the personified spirit of imagination. https://youtu.be/iIeVTWX3bho?si=_cHytep8B8emESj3
Thy kind voice calls me back again:
As we begin the poem, we immediately see imagination personified as a dear friend so that our speaker may no longer suffer. The words from the "kind voice" gives the reader and speaker comfort from the initial lines of despair.
Thy world, where guile, and hate, and doubt, And cold suspicion never rise; Where thou, and I, and Liberty, Have undisputed sovereignty.
Our speaker is "othered" in these lines. She indicates how she is treated unfairly, but imagination allows her to live her life in peace. We can see how Brontë is reflected in this, a she is often referred to as "reclusive" and "solitary," contributing to the idea that she is more than likely part of the queer community. As Claire O'Callaghan states in her essay about Brontë, "Emily's reserve- ... does not correspond with typical gender norms and implies subversion."
If but within our bosom’s bound We hold a bright, untroubled sky,
Bronte continues contrast the reality with the one speaker brings to life with the spirit of imagination with light and dark imagery. As the world around her is filled with "danger, and guilt, and darkness" she is able to keep in her "bosom" or heart a "bright, untroubled sky," where the readers can feel warmth versus the coldness that reality holds.
And call a lovelier Life from Death.
The capitalization of "life" and "death" draws attention to how important the ideas are to the speaker. The very idea that life springs from death indicates how the world is viewed, and that the spirit of imagination gives more to our speaker, as she can imagine a better life. Steve Vine broadens this idea with imagination, "as if it would recover life's trophies from the tomb." https://www.jstor.org/stable/40003651
And sweeter hope, when hope despairs!
This line continues to draw attention to the juxtaposition of hope and despair. Women are often forced to look inward or use their imagination so that they will no longer have to struggle in the situation in which they are put. This line evokes empathy, and as women read her poem, they are called to embrace their hope rather than despair. Beth Sutton-Ramspeck eloquently wrote about how feminist readings help us find empathy for our speaker and poet. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3828430
Benignant
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), benignant is an adjective that means showing kindly feelings towards inferiors and has a sense of condescension.