Fluctuations
What though the Sun had left my sky;To save me from despairThe blessed Moon arose on high,And shone serenely there.
I watched her, with a tearful gaze,Rise slowly o'er the hill,While through the dim horizon's hazeHer light gleamed faint and chill.
I thought such wan and lifeless beamsCould ne'er my heart repayFor the bright sun's most transient gleamsThat cheered me through the day:
But, as above that mist's controlShe rose, and brighter shone,I felt her light upon my soul;But now--that light is gone!
Thick vapours snatched her from my sight,And I was darkling left,All in the cold and gloomy night,Of light and hope bereft:
Until, methought, a little starShone forth with trembling ray,To cheer me with its light afar--But that, too, passed away.
Anon, an earthly meteor blazedThe gloomy darkness through;I smiled, yet trembled while I gazed--But that soon vanished too!
And darker, drearier fell the nightUpon my spirit then;--But what is that faint struggling light?Is it the Moon again?
Kind Heaven! increase that silvery gleamAnd bid these clouds depart,And let her soft celestial beamRestore my fainting heart!
Words in this poem
- serenely adv.
- In a serene manner; clearly.
- tearful a.
- Abounding with tears; weeping; shedding tears; as, tearful eyes.
- darkling a.
- Becoming dark or gloomy; frowing.
- 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.]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fluctuations 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, Fluctuations, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/fluctuations.html, id L18597.
Form and metre
Fluctuations is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 8 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 skyA · despairB · highA · thereB
- 2 ABAB gazeA · hillB · hazeA · chillB
- 3 ABAB beamsA · repayB · gleamsA · dayB
- 4 A-A- controlA · shone · soulA · gone
- 5 ABAB sightA · leftB · nightA · bereftB
- 6 ABAB starA · rayB · afarA · awayB
- 7 ABAB blazedA · throughB · gazedA · tooB
- 8 ABAB nightA · thenB · lightA · againB
- 9 ABAB gleamA · departB · beamA · heartB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| What though the Sun had left my sky; | 8 | ········ |
| To save me from despair | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The blessed Moon arose on high, | 8 | ··˘·˘/·· |
| And shone serenely there. | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| I watched her, with a tearful gaze, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Rise slowly o'er the hill, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| While through the dim horizon's haze | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Her light gleamed faint and chill. | 7 | ···˘··· |
| I thought such wan and lifeless beams | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Could ne'er my heart repay | 6 | ····˘/ |
| For the bright sun's most transient gleams | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That cheered me through the day: | 7 | ··˘···· |
| But, as above that mist's control | 8 | ······˘/ |
| She rose, and brighter shone, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I felt her light upon my soul; | 8 | ········ |
| But now--that light is gone! | 6 | ······ |
| Thick vapours snatched her from my sight, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And I was darkling left, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| All in the cold and gloomy night, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of light and hope bereft: | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Until, methought, a little star | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Shone forth with trembling ray, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| To cheer me with its light afar-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But that, too, passed away. | 7 | ····˘˘/ |
| Anon, an earthly meteor blazed | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| The gloomy darkness through; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| I smiled, yet trembled while I gazed-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But that soon vanished too! | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| And darker, drearier fell the night | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Upon my spirit then;-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But what is that faint struggling light? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is it the Moon again? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Kind Heaven! increase that silvery gleam | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| And bid these clouds depart, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And let her soft celestial beam | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Restore my fainting heart! | 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.