Stella Benson's 'The Secret Day': A Poetic Refuge from the First World War
Written towards the end of the First World War, Stella Benson's poem The Secret Day offers a profound exploration of psychological sanctuary and the human yearning for peace during times of turmoil. Published in her 1918 collection Twenty, this work by the novelist, journalist, and suffragist Benson (1892-1933) captures the emotional landscape of a generation grappling with conflict and uncertainty.
The Architecture of a Sanctuary in Verse
The poem opens with a powerful declaration of intent: "My yesterday has gone, has gone and left me tired, / And now tomorrow comes and beats upon the door; / So I have built To-day, the day that I desired." This establishes Benson's central metaphor of constructing a present moment as a defensive structure against an uncertain future. The repetition of "So I have built To-day" throughout the poem creates a rhythmic insistence that mirrors the speaker's determination to create stability.
Benson's coastal imagery emerges vividly in the second stanza: "And I have built the towers of cliffs upon the sands; / The foxgloves and the gorse I planted on my way; / The thyme, the velvet thyme, grew up beneath my hands." This transformation of metaphor into tangible English landscape demonstrates her skill in grounding abstract concepts in sensory experience, creating a sanctuary that feels both imagined and real.
Psychological Depth and Poetic Technique
The poem reveals Benson's awareness of her own artifice while simultaneously arguing for its necessity. The lines "Lest joy come not again, lest peace return no more, / Lest comfort come no more" acknowledge the fundamental human need for basic comfort—a particularly poignant admission during wartime. Her use of hexameter lines provides expansive space for contemplation, while the concluding trimeter lines of each stanza create moments of concentrated emotional impact.
Benson introduces the concept of a "Secret Friend" in the fourth stanza, capitalizing the phrase in a manner that some critics have found sentimental. Yet this element adds to the poem's psychological complexity, suggesting both companionship and isolation within the constructed sanctuary. The speaker declares: "And there my Secret Friend abides, and there I think / I'll hide my heart away before tomorrow kills it."
Historical Context and Literary Significance
Written shortly before Benson's departure for California in 1918—a move prompted by health concerns—The Secret Day may reflect her anxieties about leaving England and facing an uncertain future abroad. The poem represents a fascinating psychological approach to finding refuge in time rather than physical space, a concept particularly relevant to the displacement experienced during the First World War.
Despite being Benson's only full poetry collection published during her lifetime, her work gained posthumous recognition when two of her poems were included in Philip Larkin's 1972 Oxford Anthology of 20th Century English Verse. This late acknowledgment speaks to the enduring quality of her poetic vision.
The Secret Day stands as a testament to Benson's literary versatility and emotional insight. While primarily known for her fiction and journalism, this poem demonstrates her ability to craft verse that combines structural elegance with genuine emotional vulnerability. The closing lines—"No storm shall stir my sea. No night but mine shall shade / This day that I have made"—maintain a defiant hope even as they acknowledge the temporary nature of all constructed sanctuaries.
Benson's poem remains relevant today as a meditation on how individuals create psychological refuge during turbulent times, using imagination and language to build temporary bastions against uncertainty and fear.
