Lawrence mentions in his ÃÂIntroductionÃÂ to New Poems:(1)ÃÂThe seething poetry of the incarnate Now is supreme, beyond even the everlasting gems of the before and afterÃÂ. ÃÂGloire de DijonÃÂ presents to us the image of a temporary moment that because of its beauty will last forever. The poem introduces us the image of a woman doing something as simple and ordinary as taking a morning bath, yet comparing her to the beauty and glory of yellow roses. Roses are a universal symbol of eternal love and beauty. By using these roses to compare the woman, the poet is immediately letting us know that the woman is not only beautiful, but she will cause an impression that will impinge on our mind.
Lawrence also mentions in his ÃÂIntroductionÃÂ the elements that a poem about the present should include to make it ÃÂsupremeÃÂ We can find some, if not all of these elements in the poem, I will mention some of them:*ÃÂThere must be mutation, swifter than iridescence, haste, not rest,ÃÂÃÂWe can find mutation of elements, changing from one state to another in the following line of the poem:ÃÂGlisten as silver, they crumple upÃÂ (12)The ÃÂshouldersÃÂ after dipping into the water, change their beautiful shining appearance to a not so graceful one damped and compressed with water.
We can see how a mutation is fast and appears almost imperceptible.
*ÃÂcome-and-go, not fixity,ÃÂIn the fourteenth line: ÃÂFor the sluicing of their rain-disheveled petalsÃÂ we can find an example of how the temporary reality can be changed, it is not fixed. The water or ÃÂrainÃÂ will ÃÂdishevelÃÂ or tear apart the ÃÂrosesÃÂ, changing the temporary reality into something completely different.
At last in his ÃÂIntroductionÃÂ Lawrence mentions: ÃÂThis is the unrestful, ungraspable poetry of the sheer present, poetry whose very permanency lies in its wind-like transitÃÂ In the poem we can find this ÃÂwind-like transitÃÂ when the shoulders, after being described as glorious and beautiful are taken apart very easily by the simple act of dripping in water. This is the essence of the poem, it shows a single, temporary moment that is so momentary that it can be ruined by single water, but that will remain forever because of its beauty compared to glorious roses.
(1) D.H. Lawrence, "Introduction" to New Poems, 1918 pp. 181-86