Quatrain XLII is the fourth in a series of six linked quatrains, joined by references to the grape or wine.
First Edition: Quatrain XLII
And lately, by the Tavern Door agape,
Came stealing through the Dusk an Angel Shape
Bearing a Vessel on his Shoulder; and
He bid me taste of it; and 'twas-- the Grape!
Second Editioin: Quatrain LX
And lately, by the Tavern Door agape,
Came shining through the Dusk an Angel Shape
Bearing a Vessel on his Shoulder; and
He bid me taste of it; and 'twas-- the Grape!
Fifth Edition: Quatrain LVIII
And lately, by the Tavern Door agape,
Came shining through the Dusk an Angel Shape
Bearing a Vessel on his Shoulder; and
He bid me taste of it; and 'twas-- the Grape!
I can see only one difference among the three editions--the substitution of "shining" in the second edition for "stealing" in the first edition. The fifth edition is identical to the second edition. "Stealing through the Dusk" suggests a surreptitious movement, involving something illicit or perhaps immoral. And that's not an angel but "an Angel Shape", which could be an Angel from God or perhaps one of the fallen angels, a tempter in other words. This would fit nicely with "stealing through the Dusk." Alcohol, in any of its forms, definitely could be a temptation, especially to Moslems who were forbidden to drink alcohol, if I'm not mistaken.
The change, however, from "stealing" to "shining" is perplexing. It transforms the suggestion of something in the first edition that is best kept hidden to the complete opposite in the later editions--to something "shining" in the Dusk, and something the shines in the Dusk is even more obvious or noticeable than something shining in daylight. This leads us back to the second and third quatrains which mention a Tavern and dry customers clamoring for the door to open.
Perhaps a later quatrain might clarify the confusion here, or perhaps the confusion is a local confusion only--in me.
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