Regret
Long ago I wished to leave"The house where I was born;"Long ago I used to grieve,My home seemed so forlorn.In other years, its silent roomsWere filled with haunting fears;Now, their very memory comesO'ercharged with tender tears.
Life and marriage I have known.Things once deemed so bright;Now, how utterly is flownEvery ray of light!'Mid the unknown sea, of lifeI no blest isle have found;At last, through all its wild wave's strife,My bark is homeward bound.
Farewell, dark and rolling deep!Farewell, foreign shore!Open, in unclouded sweep,Thou glorious realm before!Yet, though I had safely pass'dThat weary, vexed main,One loved voice, through surge and blastCould call me back again.
Though the soul's bright morning roseO'er Paradise for me,William! even from Heaven's reposeI'd turn, invoked by thee!Storm nor surge should e'er arrestMy soul, exalting then:All my heaven was once thy breast,Would it were mine again!
Words in this poem
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Regret 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, Regret, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/regret.html, id L13220.
Form and metre
Regret is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 31% 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-C-C leaveA · bornB · grieveA · forlornB · rooms · fearsC · comes · tearsC
- 2 ABABCDCD knownA · brightB · flownA · lightB · lifeC · foundD · strifeC · boundD
- 3 ABABCDCD deepA · shoreB · sweepA · beforeB · pass'dC · mainD · blastC · againD
- 4 ABABCDCD roseA · meB · reposeA · theeB · arrestC · thenD · breastC · againD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Long ago I wished to leave | 8 | ·˘/··˘·· |
| "The house where I was born;" | 6 | ······ |
| Long ago I used to grieve, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| My home seemed so forlorn. | 7 | ···˘·˘/ |
| In other years, its silent rooms | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Were filled with haunting fears; | 7 | ··˘·/˘· |
| Now, their very memory comes | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘· |
| O'ercharged with tender tears. | 7 | ··˘·/˘· |
| Life and marriage I have known. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Things once deemed so bright; | 5 | ····· |
| Now, how utterly is flown | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Every ray of light! | 6 | /˘˘··· |
| 'Mid the unknown sea, of life | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| I no blest isle have found; | 6 | ······ |
| At last, through all its wild wave's strife, | 8 | ········ |
| My bark is homeward bound. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Farewell, dark and rolling deep! | 7 | ·/··/˘· |
| Farewell, foreign shore! | 5 | ·//˘· |
| Open, in unclouded sweep, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Thou glorious realm before! | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Yet, though I had safely pass'd | 7 | ····/˘· |
| That weary, vexed main, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| One loved voice, through surge and blast | 8 | ··˘····· |
| Could call me back again. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Though the soul's bright morning rose | 7 | ····/˘· |
| O'er Paradise for me, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| William! even from Heaven's repose | 8 | /˘/·/˘˘/ |
| I'd turn, invoked by thee! | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| Storm nor surge should e'er arrest | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| My soul, exalting then: | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| All my heaven was once thy breast, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Would it were mine again! | 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.