{"id":"01KG8AJJNP6KAY946MQ41HHEDG","cid":"bafkreic5mxv4qml6ank6rvc6icb2du6qrvvlbicmxmddfdjgde2szijfzy","type":"segment","properties":{"description":"# The Portent.\n\n## Overview\n\"The Portent.\" is a poetic segment dated 1859, extracted from the larger work [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9). This segment spans lines 39 to 60 of its source file.\n\n## Context\nThis poem is part of the [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9) collection, which is itself a component of the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. The text was extracted from the file [battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8). It immediately follows the [Preface](arke:01KG8AJJNKP7P5DWBXVEGZF4A3) within the collection and is succeeded by the poem [Misgivings.](arke:01KG8AJJNT0FSG24TGGF6VBS3F).\n\n## Contents\nThe poem \"The Portent.\" consists of two stanzas. It references \"John Brown\" and the \"Shenandoah,\" alluding to the historical figure John Brown and the Shenandoah Valley, a significant region during the American Civil War. The poem uses imagery of a \"hanging from the beam\" and a \"streaming beard\" to evoke a sense of foreboding and impending conflict, describing John Brown as \"The meteor of the the war.\"","description_generated_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:19.913Z","description_model":"gemini-2.5-flash-lite","description_title":"The Portent.","end_line":60,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"The Portent.","source_file":"01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8","start_line":39,"text":"The Portent.\r\n(1859.)\r\n\r\n\r\nHanging from the beam,\r\n  Slowly swaying (such the law),\r\nGaunt the shadow on your green,\r\n  Shenandoah!\r\nThe cut is on the crown\r\n(Lo, John Brown),\r\nAnd the stabs shall heal no more.\r\n\r\nHidden in the cap\r\n  Is the anguish none can draw;\r\nSo your future veils its face,\r\n  Shenandoah!\r\nBut the streaming beard is shown\r\n(Weird John Brown),\r\nThe meteor of the the war.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r","title":"The Portent."},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9","peer_type":"poetry_collection","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AJJNKP7P5DWBXVEGZF4A3","peer_type":"frontmatter","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AJJNT0FSG24TGGF6VBS3F","peer_type":"segment","predicate":"next"}],"ver":3,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:36.118Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:20.111Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}