Parting
There's no use in weeping,Though we are condemned to part:There's such a thing as keepingA remembrance in one's heart:
There's such a thing as dwellingOn the thought ourselves have nursed,And with scorn and courage tellingThe world to do its worst.
We'll not let its follies grieve us,We'll just take them as they come;And then every day will leave usA merry laugh for home.
When we've left each friend and brother,When we're parted wide and far,We will think of one another,As even better than we are.
Every glorious sight above us,Every pleasant sight beneath,We'll connect with those that love us,Whom we truly love till death!
In the evening, when we're sittingBy the fire, perchance alone,Then shall heart with warm heart meeting,Give responsive tone for tone.
We can burst the bonds which chain us,Which cold human hands have wrought,And where none shall dare restrain usWe can meet again, in thought.
So there's no use in weeping,Bear a cheerful spirit still;Never doubt that Fate is keepingFuture good for present ill!
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- 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,]
- responsive a.
- That responds; ready or inclined to respond. [Cf. F. resposif.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Parting 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, Parting, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/parting.html, id L13227.
Form and metre
Parting is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% 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 ABAB weepingA · partB · keepingA · heartB
- 2 ABAB dwellingA · nursedB · tellingA · worstB
- 3 ABAB usA · comeB · usA · homeB
- 4 ABAB brotherA · farB · anotherA · areB
- 5 A-A- usA · beneath · usA · death
- 6 -A-A sitting · aloneA · meeting · toneA
- 7 ABAB usA · wroughtB · usA · thoughtB
- 8 ABAB weepingA · stillB · keepingA · illB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| There's no use in weeping, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Though we are condemned to part: | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| There's such a thing as keeping | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| A remembrance in one's heart: | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| There's such a thing as dwelling | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| On the thought ourselves have nursed, | 8 | ···˘˘/·· |
| And with scorn and courage telling | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| The world to do its worst. | 6 | ······ |
| We'll not let its follies grieve us, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| We'll just take them as they come; | 7 | ······· |
| And then every day will leave us | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| A merry laugh for home. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| When we've left each friend and brother, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| When we're parted wide and far, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| We will think of one another, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| As even better than we are. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Every glorious sight above us, | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| Every pleasant sight beneath, | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| We'll connect with those that love us, | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| Whom we truly love till death! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In the evening, when we're sitting | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| By the fire, perchance alone, | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘/ |
| Then shall heart with warm heart meeting, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Give responsive tone for tone. | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| We can burst the bonds which chain us, | 8 | ········ |
| Which cold human hands have wrought, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And where none shall dare restrain us | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| We can meet again, in thought. | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| So there's no use in weeping, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Bear a cheerful spirit still; | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Never doubt that Fate is keeping | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Future good for present ill! | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
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.