The Departure
'Remember what you promis'd me:'And see, the Sun is getting low;'The Children want an hour ye see'To talk a bit before we go.'
Like youthful Lover most complyingHe turn'd, and chuckt her by the chin:Then all across the green grass hieing,Right merry faces, all akin,
Their farewell quart, beneath aThat droop'd its branches from above,Awak'd the pure felicityThat waits upon PARENTAL LOVE.
KATE view'd her blooming Daughters round,And Sons, who shook her wither'd hand;Her features spoke what joy she found;But utterance had made a stand.An old Man's Joy.
The Children toppled on the green,And bowl'd their fairings down the hill;Richard with pride beheld the scene,Nor could he for his life sit still.
A Father's uncheck'd feelings gaveA tenderness to all he said;'My Boys, how proud am I to have'My name thus round the Country spread!
'Through all my days I've labour'd hard,'And could of pains and Crosses tell;'But this is Labour's great reward,'To meet ye thus, and see ye well.
'My good old Partner, when at home,'Sometimes with wishes mingles tears;'Goody, says I, let what wool come,'We've nothing for them but our pray'rs.Old Man's Joy continued.
'May you be all as old as I,'And see you? Sons to manhood grow;'And, many a time before you die,'Be just as pleas'd as I am now.'
Then, (raising still his Mug and Voice,)'An Old Man's weakness don't despise!'I love you well, my Girls and Boys;'GOD bless you all;'--so said his eyes----
For, as he spoke, a big round dropFell bounding on his ample sleeve;A witness which he could not stop,A witness which all hearts believe.
Thou, FILIAL PIETY, wert there;And round the ring, benignly bright,Dwelt in the luscious half-shed tear,And in the parting word--Good Night.
The Return home.
With thankful Hearts and strengthen'd Love,The poor old PAIR, supremely blest,Saw the Sun sink behind the grove,And gain'd once more their lowly rest.
Words in this poem
- parental a.
- Of or pertaining to a parent or to parents; as, parental authority; parental obligations. [L. parentalis.]
- kate n.
- The brambling finch.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- despise v. t.
- To look down upon with disfavor or contempt; to contemn; to scorn; to disdain; to have a low opinion or contemptuous dislike of. [OF. despis-, in some forms of despire to despise, fr. L. despicere, despectum, to look down upon, despise; de- + spicere, specere, to look. See Spy, and cf. Des]
- filial a.
- Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience. [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.]
- benignly adv.
- In a benign manner.
- luscious a.
- Sweet; delicious; very grateful to the taste; toothsome; excessively sweet or rich. [Prob. for lustious, fr. lusty, or perh. a corruption of luxurious. Cf. Lush, Lusty.]
- thankful a.
- Obtaining or deserving thanks; thankworthy. [AS. Þancfull.]
- supremely adv.
- In a supreme manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Departure is in the public domain. This text is taken from Rural Tales, Ballads, and Songs, Project Gutenberg ebook #9093; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Bloomfield, The Departure, in Rural Tales, Ballads and Songs (1802), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9093, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bloomfield-tales/the-departure.html, id L09669.
Form and metre
The Departure is 55 lines in 14 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 6 of the 14 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABAB meA · lowB · seeA · goB
- 2 ABAB complyingA · chinB · hieingA · akinB
- 3 -A-A a · aboveA · felicity · loveA
- 4 ABAB- roundA · handB · foundA · standB · joy
- 5 ABAB greenA · hillB · sceneA · stillB
- 6 ABAB gaveA · saidB · haveA · spreadB
- 7 -A-A hard · tellA · reward · wellA
- 8 ABAB- homeA · tearsB · comeA · pray'rsB · continued
- 9 A-A- iA · grow · dieA · now
- 10 -A-A voice · despiseA · boys · eyesA
- 11 ABAB dropA · sleeveB · stopA · believeB
- 12 ABAB thereA · brightB · tearA · nightB
- 14 -A-A love · blestA · grove · restA
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| 'Remember what you promis'd me: | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| 'And see, the Sun is getting low; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'The Children want an hour ye see | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| 'To talk a bit before we go.' | 8 | ········ |
| Like youthful Lover most complying | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| He turn'd, and chuckt her by the chin: | 8 | ········ |
| Then all across the green grass hieing, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Right merry faces, all akin, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Their farewell quart, beneath a | 7 | ··/···· |
| That droop'd its branches from above, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Awak'd the pure felicity | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| That waits upon PARENTAL LOVE. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| KATE view'd her blooming Daughters round, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And Sons, who shook her wither'd hand; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Her features spoke what joy she found; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But utterance had made a stand. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| An old Man's Joy. | 4 | ···· |
| The Children toppled on the green, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And bowl'd their fairings down the hill; | 8 | ········ |
| Richard with pride beheld the scene, | 8 | /˘··˘/·· |
| Nor could he for his life sit still. | 8 | ········ |
| A Father's uncheck'd feelings gave | 8 | ·/˘˘//˘· |
| A tenderness to all he said; | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| 'My Boys, how proud am I to have | 8 | ········ |
| 'My name thus round the Country spread! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Through all my days I've labour'd hard, | 8 | ········ |
| 'And could of pains and Crosses tell; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'But this is Labour's great reward, | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| 'To meet ye thus, and see ye well. | 8 | ········ |
| 'My good old Partner, when at home, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'Sometimes with wishes mingles tears; | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| 'Goody, says I, let what wool come, | 8 | /˘······ |
| 'We've nothing for them but our pray'rs. | 8 | ·/˘···/· |
| Old Man's Joy continued. | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| 'May you be all as old as I, | 8 | ········ |
| 'And see you? Sons to manhood grow; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| 'And, many a time before you die, | 8 | ·/······ |
| 'Be just as pleas'd as I am now.' | 8 | ········ |
| Then, (raising still his Mug and Voice,) | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'An Old Man's weakness don't despise! | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| 'I love you well, my Girls and Boys; | 8 | ········ |
| 'GOD bless you all;'--so said his eyes---- | 8 | ········ |
| For, as he spoke, a big round drop | 8 | ········ |
| Fell bounding on his ample sleeve; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A witness which he could not stop, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A witness which all hearts believe. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Thou, FILIAL PIETY, wert there; | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| And round the ring, benignly bright, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Dwelt in the luscious half-shed tear, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And in the parting word--Good Night. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The Return home. | 4 | ·˘/· |
| With thankful Hearts and strengthen'd Love, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The poor old PAIR, supremely blest, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Saw the Sun sink behind the grove, | 8 | ········ |
| And gain'd once more their lowly rest. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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.