A gypsy fire is on the hearth, Sign of the carnival of mirth; Through the dun fields and from the glade Flash merry folk in masquerade, For this is Hallowe'en!

The stanza evokes Hallowe’en as a communal, outdoor festival rather than a private, domestic holiday. Images of a “gypsy fire” on the hearth and “merry folk in masquerade” stress warmth, spectacle, and role-reversal—hallmarks of carnival tradition—suggesting a night when ordinary social order loosens and play takes over. The landscape (“dun fields,” “glade”) places the celebration in a rural or small-town setting, where revelers appear suddenly like flashes of light against autumn darkness. Overall, the verse frames Hallowe’en as a liminal time: a threshold between seasons and identities, marked by disguise, movement, and a heightened sense of enchantment.