In Memory of a Happy Day in February
Blessed be Thou for all the joyMy soul has felt to-day!Oh, let its memory stay with me,And never pass away!
I was alone, for those I lovedWere far away from me;The sun shone on the withered grass,The wind blew fresh and free.
Was it the smile of early springThat made my bosom glow?'Twas sweet; but neither sun nor windCould cheer my spirit so.
Was it some feeling of delightAll vague and undefined?No; 'twas a rapture deep and strong,Expanding in the mind.
Was it a sanguine view of life,And all its transient bliss,A hope of bright prosperity?Oh, no! it was not this.
It was a glimpse of truth divineUnto my spirit given,Illumined by a ray of lightThat shone direct from heaven.
I felt there was a God on high,By whom all things were made;I saw His wisdom and His powerIn all his works displayed.
But most throughout the moral world,I saw his glory shine;I saw His wisdom infinite,His mercy all divine.
Deep secrets of His providence,In darkness long concealed,Unto the vision of my soulWere graciously revealed.
But while I wondered and adoredHis Majesty divine,I did not tremble at His power:I felt that God was mine;
I knew that my Redeemer lived;I did not fear to die;Full sure that I should rise againTo immortality.
I longed to view that bliss divine,Which eye hath never seen;Like Moses, I would see His faceWithout the veil between.
Words in this poem
- graciously adv.
- In a gracious manner; courteously; benignantly.
- wondered a.
- Having performed wonders; able to perform wonderful things.
- redeemer n.
- One who redeems.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Memory of a Happy Day in February 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, In Memory of a Happy Day in February, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/in-memory-of-a-happy-day-in-february.html, id L13287.
Form and metre
In Memory of a Happy Day in February is 48 lines in 12 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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 -A-A joy · dayA · me · awayA
- 2 -A-A loved · meA · grass · freeA
- 3 -A-A spring · glowA · wind · soA
- 4 -A-A delight · undefinedA · strong · mindA
- 5 -A-A life · blissA · prosperity · thisA
- 6 AA-A divineA · givenA · light · heavenA
- 7 -A-A high · madeA · power · displayedA
- 8 -A-A world · shineA · infinite · divineA
- 9 -A-A providence · concealedA · soul · revealedA
- 10 -A-A adored · divineA · power · mineA
- 12 -A-A divine · seenA · face · betweenA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Blessed be Thou for all the joy | 8 | ·˘······ |
| My soul has felt to-day! | 6 | ······ |
| Oh, let its memory stay with me, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And never pass away! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| I was alone, for those I loved | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Were far away from me; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| The sun shone on the withered grass, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The wind blew fresh and free. | 6 | ······ |
| Was it the smile of early spring | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That made my bosom glow? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| 'Twas sweet; but neither sun nor wind | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Could cheer my spirit so. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Was it some feeling of delight | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| All vague and undefined? | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| No; 'twas a rapture deep and strong, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Expanding in the mind. | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Was it a sanguine view of life, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And all its transient bliss, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| A hope of bright prosperity? | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Oh, no! it was not this. | 6 | ······ |
| It was a glimpse of truth divine | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Unto my spirit given, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Illumined by a ray of light | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| That shone direct from heaven. | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| I felt there was a God on high, | 8 | ········ |
| By whom all things were made; | 6 | ······ |
| I saw His wisdom and His power | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| In all his works displayed. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| But most throughout the moral world, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I saw his glory shine; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I saw His wisdom infinite, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| His mercy all divine. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Deep secrets of His providence, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| In darkness long concealed, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Unto the vision of my soul | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Were graciously revealed. | 7 | ·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| But while I wondered and adored | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| His Majesty divine, | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| I did not tremble at His power: | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| I felt that God was mine; | 6 | ······ |
| I knew that my Redeemer lived; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| I did not fear to die; | 6 | ······ |
| Full sure that I should rise again | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To immortality. | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| I longed to view that bliss divine, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Which eye hath never seen; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Like Moses, I would see His face | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Without the veil between. | 6 | ······ |
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