My Comforter
Well hast thou spoken, and yet not taughtA feeling strange or new;Thou hast but roused a latent thought,A cloud-closed beam of sunshine broughtTo gleam in open view.
Deep down, concealed within my soul,That light lies hid from men;Yet glows unquenched--though shadows roll,Its gentle ray cannot control--About the sullen den.
Was I not vexed, in these gloomy waysTo walk alone so long?Around me, wretches uttering praise,Or howling o'er their hopeless days,And each with Frenzy's tongue;--
A brotherhood of misery,Their smiles as sad as sighs;Whose madness daily maddened me,Distorting into agonyThe bliss before my eyes!
So stood I, in Heaven's glorious sun,And in the glare of Hell;My spirit drank a mingled tone,Of seraph's song, and demon's moan;What my soul bore, my soul aloneWithin itself may tell!
Like a soft, air above a sea,Tossed by the tempest's stir;A thaw-wind, melting quietlyThe snow-drift on some wintry lea;No: what sweet thing resembles thee,My thoughtful Comforter?
And yet a little longer speak,Calm this resentful mood;And while the savage heart grows meek,For other token do not seek,But let the tear upon my cheekEvince my gratitude!
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- 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.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- thaw v. i.
- To melt, dissolve, or become fluid; to soften; -- said of that which is frozen; as, the ice thaws.
- wintry a.
- Suitable to winter; resembling winter, or what belongs to winter; brumal; hyemal; cold; stormy; wintery. [AS. wintrig.]
- comforter n.
- One who administers comfort or consolation.
- resentful a.
- Inclined to resent; easily provoked to anger; irritable.
- evince v. t.
- To conquer; to subdue. [L. evincere vanquish completely, prevail, succeed in proving; e out + vincere to vanquish. See Victor, and cf. Evict.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
My Comforter 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, My Comforter, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/my-comforter.html, id L13249.
Form and metre
My Comforter is 38 lines in 7 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAAB, in 2 of the 7 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% 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 ABAAB taughtA · newB · thoughtA · broughtA · viewB
- 2 ABAAB soulA · menB · rollA · controlA · denB
- 3 A-AA- waysA · long · praiseA · daysA · tongue
- 4 -A--A misery · sighsA · me · agony · eyesA
- 5 -ABBBA sun · hellA · toneB · moanB · aloneB · tellA
- 6 A--AA- seaA · stir · quietly · leaA · theeA · comforter
- 7 ABAAAB speakA · moodB · meekA · seekA · cheekA · gratitudeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Well hast thou spoken, and yet not taught | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| A feeling strange or new; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thou hast but roused a latent thought, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A cloud-closed beam of sunshine brought | 8 | ·····/·· |
| To gleam in open view. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Deep down, concealed within my soul, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| That light lies hid from men; | 6 | ······ |
| Yet glows unquenched--though shadows roll, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Its gentle ray cannot control-- | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| About the sullen den. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Was I not vexed, in these gloomy ways | 9 | ······/˘· |
| To walk alone so long? | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Around me, wretches uttering praise, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or howling o'er their hopeless days, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And each with Frenzy's tongue;-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| A brotherhood of misery, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Their smiles as sad as sighs; | 6 | ······ |
| Whose madness daily maddened me, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Distorting into agony | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| The bliss before my eyes! | 6 | ······ |
| So stood I, in Heaven's glorious sun, | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| And in the glare of Hell; | 6 | ······ |
| My spirit drank a mingled tone, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of seraph's song, and demon's moan; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| What my soul bore, my soul alone | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Within itself may tell! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Like a soft, air above a sea, | 8 | ········ |
| Tossed by the tempest's stir; | 7 | ·˘··/˘· |
| A thaw-wind, melting quietly | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| The snow-drift on some wintry lea; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| No: what sweet thing resembles thee, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| My thoughtful Comforter? | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| And yet a little longer speak, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Calm this resentful mood; | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| And while the savage heart grows meek, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For other token do not seek, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| But let the tear upon my cheek | 8 | ········ |
| Evince my gratitude! | 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.