Stars
Ah! why, because the dazzling sunRestored our Earth to joy,Have you departed, every one,And left a desert sky?
All through the night, your glorious eyesWere gazing down in mine,And, with a full heart's thankful sighs,I blessed that watch divine.
I was at peace, and drank your beamsAs they were life to me;And revelled in my changeful dreams,Like petrel on the sea.
Thought followed thought, star followed star,Through boundless regions, on;While one sweet influence, near and far,Thrilled through, and proved us one!
Why did the morning dawn to breakSo great, so pure, a spell;And scorch with fire the tranquil cheek,Where your cool radiance fell?
Blood-red, he rose, and, arrow-straight,His fierce beams struck my brow;The soul of nature sprang, elate,But mine sank sad and low!
My lids closed down, yet through their veilI saw him, blazing, still,And steep in gold the misty dale,And flash upon the hill.
I turned me to the pillow, then,To call back night, and seeYour worlds of solemn light, again,Throb with my heart, and me!
It would not do--the pillow glowed,And glowed both roof and floor;And birds sang loudly in the wood,And fresh winds shook the door;
The curtains waved, the wakened fliesWere murmuring round my room,Imprisoned there, till I should rise,And give them leave to roam.
Oh, stars, and dreams, and gentle night;Oh, night and stars, return!And hide me from the hostile lightThat does not warm, but burn;
That drains the blood of suffering men;Drinks tears, instead of dew;Let me sleep through his blinding reign,And only wake with you!
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.]
- thankful a.
- Obtaining or deserving thanks; thankworthy. [AS. Þancfull.]
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- changeful a.
- Full of change; mutable; inconstant; fickle; uncertain.
- scorch v. t.
- To burn superficially; to parch, or shrivel, the surface of, by heat; to subject to so much heat as changes color and texture without consuming; as, to scorch linen. [OE. scorchen, probably akin to scorcnen; cf. Norw. skrokken shrunk up, skrekka, skrökka, to shrink, to become wrinkled up, dial. Sw. skråkkla to wrinkle (see Sh]
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
- throb v. i.
- To beat, or pulsate, with more than usual force or rapidity; to beat in consequence of agitation; to palpitate; -- said of the heart, pulse, etc. [OE. ; of uncertain origin; cf. Russ. trepete a trembling, and E. trepidation.]
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Stars 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, Stars, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/stars.html, id L13232.
Form and metre
Stars is 48 lines in 12 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 5 of the 12 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 17% 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 A-A- sunA · joy · oneA · sky
- 2 ABAB eyesA · mineB · sighsA · divineB
- 3 ABAB beamsA · meB · dreamsA · seaB
- 4 A-A- starA · on · farA · one
- 5 -A-A break · spellA · cheek · fellA
- 6 A-A- straightA · brow · elateA · low
- 7 ABAB veilA · stillB · daleA · hillB
- 8 ABAB thenA · seeB · againA · meB
- 9 -A-A glowed · floorA · wood · doorA
- 10 A-A- fliesA · room · riseA · roam
- 11 ABAB nightA · returnB · lightA · burnB
- 12 -A-A men · dewA · reign · youA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ah! why, because the dazzling sun | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Restored our Earth to joy, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| Have you departed, every one, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| And left a desert sky? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| All through the night, your glorious eyes | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Were gazing down in mine, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And, with a full heart's thankful sighs, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I blessed that watch divine. | 7 | ··˘··˘/ |
| I was at peace, and drank your beams | 8 | ········ |
| As they were life to me; | 6 | ······ |
| And revelled in my changeful dreams, | 8 | ·˘/··/˘· |
| Like petrel on the sea. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thought followed thought, star followed star, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Through boundless regions, on; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| While one sweet influence, near and far, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thrilled through, and proved us one! | 8 | ·˘···˘·· |
| Why did the morning dawn to break | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So great, so pure, a spell; | 6 | ······ |
| And scorch with fire the tranquil cheek, | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Where your cool radiance fell? | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Blood-red, he rose, and, arrow-straight, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| His fierce beams struck my brow; | 6 | ······ |
| The soul of nature sprang, elate, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| But mine sank sad and low! | 6 | ······ |
| My lids closed down, yet through their veil | 8 | ········ |
| I saw him, blazing, still, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And steep in gold the misty dale, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And flash upon the hill. | 6 | ······ |
| I turned me to the pillow, then, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To call back night, and see | 6 | ······ |
| Your worlds of solemn light, again, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Throb with my heart, and me! | 6 | ······ |
| It would not do--the pillow glowed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And glowed both roof and floor; | 7 | ··˘···· |
| And birds sang loudly in the wood, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And fresh winds shook the door; | 6 | ······ |
| The curtains waved, the wakened flies | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Were murmuring round my room, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Imprisoned there, till I should rise, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| And give them leave to roam. | 6 | ······ |
| Oh, stars, and dreams, and gentle night; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Oh, night and stars, return! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And hide me from the hostile light | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That does not warm, but burn; | 6 | ······ |
| That drains the blood of suffering men; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Drinks tears, instead of dew; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Let me sleep through his blinding reign, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And only wake with you! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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