A Dialogue between the Soul and the Body Freedom and Confinement Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Line)

Quote #1

O who shall, from this dungeon, raise
A soul enslav'd so many ways? (1-2)

For the soul, life is like an unending D&D session. It's trapped in a dungeon and forced to move and sense and operate according to the whims of this hulking skeleton.

Quote #2

With bolts of bones, that fetter'd stands
In feet, and manacled in hands; (3-4)

The main image here is of a soul completely immobilized inside its body. Like a criminal, its freedom is compromised with a material prison: handcuffs, manacles, and bone-rods.

Quote #3


A soul hung up, as 'twere, in chains
Of nerves, and arteries, and veins; (7-8)

But if you thought being cuffed up was bad, get a load of what else this soul endures. By describing itself as "hung up" in chains of nerves and veins, the soul deliberately compares itself to a torture victim. The take-home here is: get me outta here!