A Sorrowful Mind
How lone and dreary hangs the sombre NightO'er wood and valley, stream and craggy height!While nearer objects, bush, and waving bough,Their dark uncertain forms but dimly show;Like those with which disturbed fancies teem,And shape the scen'ry of a gloomy dream.The moon is cover'd with her sable shrowd;And o'er the heav'us rove many a dusky cloud;Thro' ragged rents the paly sky is seen,And feebly glance the twinkling stars between:Whilst earth below is wrapt in stilly gloom,All sad and silent as the closed tomb.
No bleating flock is heard upon the vale;Nor lowing kine upon the open dale;Nor voice of hunter on the lonely heath;Nor sound of trav'ller on the distant path.Shut is the fenced door of man's abode;And ruffling breezes only are abroad.How mournful is thy voice, O nightly gale!Across the wood, or down the narrow vale;And sad, tho' secret and unknown they be,The sighs of woeful hearts that wake with thee.For now no friends the haunts of sorrow seek;Tears hang unchidden on the mourner's cheek:No side-look vexes from the curious eye;Nor calm reproving reasoner is by;The kindly cumbrous visitor is gone,And laden spirits love to sigh alone.O Night! wild sings the wind, deep low'rs the shade;Thy robe is gloomy, and thy voice is sad:But weary souls confin'd in earthly cellAre deep in kindred gloom, and love thee well.
But now the veiling darkness passes by;The moon unclouded holds the middle sky.A soft and mellow light is o'er the wood;And silv'ry pureness sparkles on the flood.White tow'r the clifts from many a craggy breach;The brown heath shews afar its dreary stretch.While fairer as the brighten'd object swells,Fast by its side the darker shadow dwells:The lofty mountains form the deeper glade,And keener light but marks the blacker made.Then welcome yonder clouds that swiftly sail,And o'er yon glary op'ning draw the veil.But, ah! too swiftly flies the friendly shade!Returning brightness travels up the glade,And all is light again. O fickle Night!No traveller is here to bless thy light.I seek nor home, nor shed; I have no way;Why send thy beams to one who cannot stray?Or wood, or desert, is the same to me;O low'r again, and let me rest with thee!
Words in this poem 23
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- dreary a.
- Sorrowful; distressful. [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
- sombre n.
- Gloom; obscurity; duskiness; somberness.
- dimly adv.
- In a dim or obscure manner; not brightly or clearly; with imperfect sight.
- teem v. t.
- To think fit. G. Gifford. [See Tame, a., and cf. Beteem.]
- sable n.
- A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. [OF. sable, F. zibeline sable (in sense 4), LL. sabellum; cf. D. sabel, Dan. sabel, zobel, Sw. sabel, sobel, G. zobel; all fr. Russ. sóbole.]
- paly a.
- Pale; wanting color; dim. Shak. Whittier. [From Pale, a.]
- twinkling n.
- The act of one who, or of that which, twinkles; a quick movement of the eye; a wink; a twinkle. Holland.
- stilly a.
- Still; quiet; calm.
- bleating a.
- Crying as a sheep does.
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- lowing n.
- The calling sound made by cows and other bovine animals.
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- nightly a.
- Of or pertaining to the night, or to every night; happening or done by night, or every night; as, nightly shades; he kept nightly vigils.
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- cumbrous a.
- Rendering action or motion difficult or toilsome; serving to obstruct or hinder; burdensome; clogging.
- veiling n.
- A veil; a thin covering; also, material for making veils.
- pureness n.
- The state of being pure (in any sense of the adjective).
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- glade n.
- An open passage through a wood; a grassy open or cleared space in a forest. [Prob. of Scand. origin, and akin to glad, a.; cf. also W. golead, goleuad, a lighting, illumination, fr. goleu light, clear, bright, goleu fwlch glade, lit., a ]
- keener n.
- A professional mourner who wails at a funeral. [Ireland]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- glary a.
- Of a dazzling luster; glaring; bright; shining; smooth.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Sorrowful Mind is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, &c. (1790) Wherein It Is Attempted To Describe Certain Views Of Nature And Of Rustic Manners; And Also, To Point Out, In Some Instances, The Different Influence Which The Same Circumstances Produce On Different Characters, Project Gutenberg ebook #14617; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Joanna Baillie, A Sorrowful Mind, in Poems (1790) (1790), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14617, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/baillie-poems/a-sorrowful-mind.html, id L09867.
Form and metre
A Sorrowful Mind is 52 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 77% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA--BBCCDDEE nightA · heightA · bough · show · teemB · dreamB · shrowdC · cloudC · seenD · betweenD · gloomE · tombE
- 2 AA----AABBCCDD----EE valeA · daleA · heath · path · abode · abroad · galeA · valeA · beB · theeB · seekC · cheekC · eyeD · byD · gone · alone · shade · sad · cellE · wellE
- 3 AABB--CCDDEEDDFFGGHH byA · skyA · woodB · floodB · breach · stretch · swellsC · dwellsC · gladeD · madeD · sailE · veilE · shadeD · gladeD · nightF · lightF · wayG · strayG · meH · theeH
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| How lone and dreary hangs the sombre Night | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| O'er wood and valley, stream and craggy height! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| While nearer objects, bush, and waving bough, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Their dark uncertain forms but dimly show; | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Like those with which disturbed fancies teem, | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| And shape the scen'ry of a gloomy dream. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The moon is cover'd with her sable shrowd; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And o'er the heav'us rove many a dusky cloud; | 11 | ······/·/˘· |
| Thro' ragged rents the paly sky is seen, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And feebly glance the twinkling stars between: | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Whilst earth below is wrapt in stilly gloom, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| All sad and silent as the closed tomb. | 10 | ···/˘···˘· |
| No bleating flock is heard upon the vale; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Nor lowing kine upon the open dale; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Nor voice of hunter on the lonely heath; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Nor sound of trav'ller on the distant path. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Shut is the fenced door of man's abode; | 10 | ····˘···˘/ |
| And ruffling breezes only are abroad. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| How mournful is thy voice, O nightly gale! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Across the wood, or down the narrow vale; | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| And sad, tho' secret and unknown they be, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| The sighs of woeful hearts that wake with thee. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For now no friends the haunts of sorrow seek; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Tears hang unchidden on the mourner's cheek: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| No side-look vexes from the curious eye; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Nor calm reproving reasoner is by; | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| The kindly cumbrous visitor is gone, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| And laden spirits love to sigh alone. | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| O Night! wild sings the wind, deep low'rs the shade; | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy robe is gloomy, and thy voice is sad: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But weary souls confin'd in earthly cell | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Are deep in kindred gloom, and love thee well. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But now the veiling darkness passes by; | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| The moon unclouded holds the middle sky. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A soft and mellow light is o'er the wood; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And silv'ry pureness sparkles on the flood. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| White tow'r the clifts from many a craggy breach; | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| The brown heath shews afar its dreary stretch. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| While fairer as the brighten'd object swells, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Fast by its side the darker shadow dwells: | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| The lofty mountains form the deeper glade, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And keener light but marks the blacker made. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Then welcome yonder clouds that swiftly sail, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And o'er yon glary op'ning draw the veil. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But, ah! too swiftly flies the friendly shade! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Returning brightness travels up the glade, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘/˘··· |
| And all is light again. O fickle Night! | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| No traveller is here to bless thy light. | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| I seek nor home, nor shed; I have no way; | 10 | ·········· |
| Why send thy beams to one who cannot stray? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Or wood, or desert, is the same to me; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| O low'r again, and let me rest with thee! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.