Last Words
I knew not 'twas so dire a crimeTo say the word, "Adieu;"But this shall be the only timeMy lips or heart shall sue.
That wild hill-side, the winter morn,The gnarled and ancient tree,If in your breast they waken scorn,Shall wake the same in me.
I can forget black eyes and brows,And lips of falsest charm,If you forget the sacred vowsThose faithless lips could form.
If hard commands can tame your love,Or strongest walls can hold,I would not wish to grieve aboveA thing so false and cold.
And there are bosoms bound to mineWith links both tried and strong:And there are eyes whose lightning shineHas warmed and blest me long:
Those eyes shall make my only day,Shall set my spirit free,And chase the foolish thoughts awayThat mourn your memory.
Words in this poem
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- gnarled a.
- Knotty; full of knots or gnarls; twisted; crossgrained.
- waken v. i.
- To wake; to cease to sleep; to be awakened. [OE. waknen, AS. wæcnan; akin to Goth. gawaknan. See Wake, v. i.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Last Words 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, Last Words, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/last-words.html, id L13279.
Form and metre
Last Words is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 4 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 96%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 crimeA · adieuB · timeA · sueB
- 2 ABAB mornA · treeB · scornA · meB
- 3 A-A- browsA · charm · vowsA · form
- 4 ABAB loveA · holdB · aboveA · coldB
- 5 ABAB mineA · strongB · shineA · longB
- 6 A-A- dayA · free · awayA · memory
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I knew not 'twas so dire a crime | 8 | ········ |
| To say the word, "Adieu;" | 6 | ····˘/ |
| But this shall be the only time | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My lips or heart shall sue. | 6 | ······ |
| That wild hill-side, the winter morn, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The gnarled and ancient tree, | 7 | ··˘·/˘· |
| If in your breast they waken scorn, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shall wake the same in me. | 6 | ······ |
| I can forget black eyes and brows, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And lips of falsest charm, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| If you forget the sacred vows | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Those faithless lips could form. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| If hard commands can tame your love, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Or strongest walls can hold, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I would not wish to grieve above | 8 | ········ |
| A thing so false and cold. | 6 | ······ |
| And there are bosoms bound to mine | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With links both tried and strong: | 6 | ······ |
| And there are eyes whose lightning shine | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Has warmed and blest me long: | 7 | ··˘···· |
| Those eyes shall make my only day, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shall set my spirit free, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And chase the foolish thoughts away | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| That mourn your memory. | 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.