What does George Orwell mean with "vague reverence"? In Chapter 2 of Part 2 of _Nineteen Eighty-Four_ , Orwell writes this: > Sometimes it stopped for a few seconds, spread out and resettled its wings, then swelled its speckled breast and again burst into song. Winston watched it with a sort of vague reverence. For whom, for what, was that bird singing? No mate, no rival was watching it. I found his usage of "vague reverence" intriguing. What does this phrase mean? Might he be hinting to Winston's vague memories of the dream?

Reverence is a deep respect shown to someone or something.

Usually, when you revere something, you know why you do so, and it is colored by that knowledge. One reveres a mountain for its majesty, or a perfect rose for its beauty.

In this case, Smith does not really understand why it is singing, but he knows it's not for a specific audience. This is particularly sharp because his own life is, and he knows it is, under constant surveillance, making just about everything he does being for the watcher. He does not articulate this difference (perhaps he can't bring himself to?), but the result is that his reverence is therefore vague -- he does not know exactly why he reveres it.