Self-Interrogation
"The evening passes fast away.'Tis almost time to rest;What thoughts has left the vanished day,What feelings in thy breast?
"The vanished day? It leaves a senseOf labour hardly done;Of little gained with vast expense--A sense of grief alone?
"Time stands before the door of Death,Upbraiding bitterlyAnd Conscience, with exhaustless breath,Pours black reproach on me:
"And though I've said that Conscience liesAnd Time should Fate condemn;Still, sad Repentance clouds my eyes,And makes me yield to them!
"Then art thou glad to seek repose?Art glad to leave the sea,And anchor all thy weary woesIn calm Eternity?
"Nothing regrets to see thee go--Not one voice sobs' farewell;'And where thy heart has suffered so,Canst thou desire to dwell?"
"Alas! the countless links are strongThat bind us to our clay;The loving spirit lingers long,And would not pass away!
"And rest is sweet, when laurelled fameWill crown the soldier's crest;But a brave heart, with a tarnished name,Would rather fight than rest.
"Well, thou hast fought for many a year,Hast fought thy whole life through,Hast humbled Falsehood, trampled Fear;What is there left to do?
"'Tis true, this arm has hotly striven,Has dared what few would dare;Much have I done, and freely given,But little learnt to bear!
"Look on the grave where thou must sleepThy last, and strongest foe;It is endurance not to weep,If that repose seem woe.
"The long war closing in defeat--Defeat serenely borne,--Thy midnight rest may still be sweet,And break in glorious morn!"
Words in this poem
- bitterly adv.
- In a bitter manner.
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- exhaustless a.
- Not be exhausted; inexhaustible; as, an exhaustless fund or store.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- countless a.
- Incapable of being counted; not ascertainable; innumerable.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- hotly adv.
- In a hot or fiery manner; ardently; vehemently; violently; hastily; as, a hotly pursued. [From Hot, a.]
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- serenely adv.
- In a serene manner; clearly.
- 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.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Self-Interrogation 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, Self-Interrogation, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/self-interrogation.html, id L18595.
Form and metre
Self-Interrogation is 48 lines in 12 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 9 of its 12 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% 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 awayA · restB · dayA · breastB
- 2 A-A- senseA · done · expenseA · alone
- 3 A-A- deathA · bitterly · breathA · me
- 4 ABAB liesA · condemnB · eyesA · themB
- 5 A-A- reposeA · sea · woesA · eternity
- 6 ABAB goA · farewellB · soA · dwellB
- 7 ABAB strongA · clayB · longA · awayB
- 8 ABAB fameA · crestB · nameA · restB
- 9 ABAB yearA · throughB · fearA · doB
- 10 ABAB strivenA · dareB · givenA · bearB
- 11 ABAB sleepA · foeB · weepA · woeB
- 12 ABAB defeatA · borneB · sweetA · mornB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "The evening passes fast away. | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| 'Tis almost time to rest; | 6 | ·/···· |
| What thoughts has left the vanished day, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| What feelings in thy breast? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "The vanished day? It leaves a sense | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Of labour hardly done; | 6 | ·/·/˘· |
| Of little gained with vast expense-- | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| A sense of grief alone? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| "Time stands before the door of Death, | 8 | ········ |
| Upbraiding bitterly | 6 | /·˘/˘˘ |
| And Conscience, with exhaustless breath, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Pours black reproach on me: | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| "And though I've said that Conscience lies | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And Time should Fate condemn; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Still, sad Repentance clouds my eyes, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And makes me yield to them! | 6 | ······ |
| "Then art thou glad to seek repose? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Art glad to leave the sea, | 6 | ······ |
| And anchor all thy weary woes | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In calm Eternity? | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| "Nothing regrets to see thee go-- | 8 | /˘˘/···· |
| Not one voice sobs' farewell;' | 6 | ·····/ |
| And where thy heart has suffered so, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Canst thou desire to dwell?" | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| "Alas! the countless links are strong | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| That bind us to our clay; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The loving spirit lingers long, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| And would not pass away! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| "And rest is sweet, when laurelled fame | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Will crown the soldier's crest; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But a brave heart, with a tarnished name, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Would rather fight than rest. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Well, thou hast fought for many a year, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Hast fought thy whole life through, | 6 | ······ |
| Hast humbled Falsehood, trampled Fear; | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| What is there left to do? | 6 | ······ |
| "'Tis true, this arm has hotly striven, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Has dared what few would dare; | 7 | ··˘···· |
| Much have I done, and freely given, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| But little learnt to bear! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Look on the grave where thou must sleep | 8 | ········ |
| Thy last, and strongest foe; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| It is endurance not to weep, | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| If that repose seem woe. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| "The long war closing in defeat-- | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Defeat serenely borne,-- | 7 | ˘/˘/˘˘· |
| Thy midnight rest may still be sweet, | 8 | ·/······ |
| And break in glorious morn!" | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
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