Anticipation
How beautiful the earth is still,To thee--how full of happiness?How little fraught with real ill,Or unreal phantoms of distress!How spring can bring thee glory, yet,And summer win thee to forgetDecember's sullen time!Why dost thou hold the treasure fast,Of youth's delight, when youth is past,And thou art near thy prime?
When those who were thy own compeers,Equals in fortune and in years,Have seen their morning melt in tears,To clouded, smileless day;Blest, had they died untried and young,Before their hearts went wandering wrong,--Poor slaves, subdued by passions strong,A weak and helpless prey!
'Because, I hoped while they enjoyed,And by fulfilment, hope destroyed;As children hope, with trustful breast,I waited bliss--and cherished rest.A thoughtful spirit taught me soon,That we must long till life be done;That every phase of earthly joyMust always fade, and always cloy:
'This I foresaw--and would not chaseThe fleeting treacheries;But, with firm foot and tranquil face,Held backward from that tempting race,Gazed o'er the sands the waves efface,To the enduring seas--There cast my anchor of desireDeep in unknown eternity;Nor ever let my spirit tire,With looking for WHAT IS TO BE!
"It is hope's spell that glorifies,Like youth, to my maturer eyes,All Nature's million mysteries,The fearful and the fair--Hope soothes me in the griefs I know;She lulls my pain for others' woe,And makes me strong to undergoWhat I am born to bear.
Glad comforter! will I not brave,Unawed, the darkness of the grave?Nay, smile to hear Death's billows rave--Sustained, my guide, by thee?The more unjust seems present fate,The more my spirit swells elate,Strong, in thy strength, to anticipateRewarding destiny!
Words in this poem
- fraught n.
- A freight; a cargo. [OE.fraight, fraght; akin to Dan. fragt, Sw. frakt, D. vracht, G. fracht, cf. OHG. fr merit, reward; perh. from corresponding to E. for + The root of E. own. Cf.]
- sullen a.
- Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
- smileless a.
- Not having a smile.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- trustful a.
- Full of trust; trusting.
- cloy v. t.
- To fill or choke up; to stop up; to clog. [OE. cloer to nail up, F. clouer, fr. OF. clo nail, F. clou, fr. L. clavus nail. Cf. 3d Clove.]
- maturer n.
- One who brings to maturity.
- undergo v. t.
- To go or move below or under. [AS. undergan. See Under, and Go.]
- comforter n.
- One who administers comfort or consolation.
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Anticipation is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, Project Gutenberg ebook #1019; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, Anticipation, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/anticipation.html, id L13237.
Form and metre
Anticipation is 52 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% 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 ABABCCDEED stillA · happinessB · illA · distressB · yetC · forgetC · timeD · fastE · pastE · primeD
- 2 AAAB-CCB compeersA · yearsA · tearsA · dayB · young · wrongC · strongC · preyB
- 3 AABB--CC enjoyedA · destroyedA · breastB · restB · soon · done · joyC · cloyC
- 4 ABAAABC-C- chaseA · treacheriesB · faceA · raceA · effaceA · seasB · desireC · eternity · tireC · be
- 5 AAABCCCB glorifiesA · eyesA · mysteriesA · fairB · knowC · woeC · undergoC · bearB
- 6 AAA-BBB- braveA · graveA · raveA · thee · fateB · elateB · anticipateB · destiny
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How beautiful the earth is still, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| To thee--how full of happiness? | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| How little fraught with real ill, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Or unreal phantoms of distress! | 8 | ·˘//˘·˘/ |
| How spring can bring thee glory, yet, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And summer win thee to forget | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| December's sullen time! | 6 | ˘/˘/˘· |
| Why dost thou hold the treasure fast, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of youth's delight, when youth is past, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And thou art near thy prime? | 6 | ······ |
| When those who were thy own compeers, | 8 | ········ |
| Equals in fortune and in years, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Have seen their morning melt in tears, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To clouded, smileless day; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Blest, had they died untried and young, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Before their hearts went wandering wrong,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Poor slaves, subdued by passions strong, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| A weak and helpless prey! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| 'Because, I hoped while they enjoyed, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And by fulfilment, hope destroyed; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| As children hope, with trustful breast, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| I waited bliss--and cherished rest. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A thoughtful spirit taught me soon, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| That we must long till life be done; | 8 | ········ |
| That every phase of earthly joy | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Must always fade, and always cloy: | 8 | ·/···/·· |
| 'This I foresaw--and would not chase | 8 | ···/···· |
| The fleeting treacheries; | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| But, with firm foot and tranquil face, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Held backward from that tempting race, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Gazed o'er the sands the waves efface, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To the enduring seas-- | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| There cast my anchor of desire | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Deep in unknown eternity; | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Nor ever let my spirit tire, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| With looking for WHAT IS TO BE! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "It is hope's spell that glorifies, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Like youth, to my maturer eyes, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| All Nature's million mysteries, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| The fearful and the fair-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Hope soothes me in the griefs I know; | 8 | ········ |
| She lulls my pain for others' woe, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And makes me strong to undergo | 8 | ······˘/ |
| What I am born to bear. | 6 | ······ |
| Glad comforter! will I not brave, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Unawed, the darkness of the grave? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Nay, smile to hear Death's billows rave-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Sustained, my guide, by thee? | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| The more unjust seems present fate, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| The more my spirit swells elate, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Strong, in thy strength, to anticipate | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
| Rewarding destiny! | 6 | ˘/˘/˘˘ |
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.