{"id":"01KG8AJPZHAFKJ54TG03XAHAJ4","cid":"bafkreibl35vsuv2fqvltlvbwqjvwapoaiqcbtxl4yme6eztxv32stydkdy","type":"segment","properties":{"description":"# “Formerly a Slave.”\n\n## Overview\nThis segment of text, titled \"“Formerly a Slave.”\", is a poem extracted from the larger work [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9). It spans lines 3192 to 3213 of its source file and was extracted on January 30, 2026.\n\n## Context\nThe poem is part of [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9), a collection of poetry by Herman Melville, which is itself contained within the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. The text was extracted from the digital file [battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8). It follows the poem [A Grave near Petersburg, Virginia.](arke:01KG8AJPZX3KFWSGX1SS9W0EEM) and precedes [The Apparition.](arke:01KG8AJPZVTC69YWY5168J4WK9) within the collection.\n\n## Contents\nThe poem describes an \"idealized Portrait, by E. Vedder, in the Spring Exhibition of the National Academy, 1865.\" The verses reflect on the \"sufferance of her race\" and a \"retrospect of life\" for a formerly enslaved woman. It conveys a sense of prophetic hope, as she envisions a future where \"Her children’s children they shall know / The good withheld from her,\" and her \"dusky face is lit with sober light, / Sibylline, yet benign.\"","description_generated_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:21.621Z","description_model":"gemini-2.5-flash-lite","description_title":"“Formerly a Slave.”","end_line":3213,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"“Formerly a Slave.”","source_file":"01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8","start_line":3192,"text":"“Formerly a Slave.”\r\nAn idealized Portrait, by E. Vedder, in the Spring\r\nExhibition of the National Academy, 1865.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe sufferance of her race is shown,\r\n  And retrospect of life,\r\nWhich now too late deliverance dawns upon;\r\n  Yet is she not at strife.\r\n\r\nHer children’s children they shall know\r\n  The good withheld from her;\r\nAnd so her reverie takes prophetic cheer--\r\n  In spirit she sees the stir\r\n\r\nFar down the depth of thousand years,\r\n  And marks the revel shine;\r\nHer dusky face is lit with sober light,\r\n  Sibylline, yet benign.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r","title":"“Formerly a Slave.”"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9","peer_type":"poetry_collection","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AJPZX3KFWSGX1SS9W0EEM","peer_type":"segment","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AJPZVTC69YWY5168J4WK9","peer_type":"segment","predicate":"next"}],"ver":3,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:40.529Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:21.826Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}