The Consolation
Though bleak these woods, and damp the groundWith fallen leaves so thickly strown,And cold the wind that wanders roundWith wild and melancholy moan;
There IS a friendly roof, I know,Might shield me from the wintry blast;There is a fire, whose ruddy glowWill cheer me for my wanderings past.
And so, though still, where'er I go,Cold stranger-glances meet my eye;Though, when my spirit sinks in woe,Unheeded swells the unbidden sigh;
Though solitude, endured too long,Bids youthful joys too soon decay,Makes mirth a stranger to my tongue,And overclouds my noon of day;
When kindly thoughts that would have way,Flow back discouraged to my breast;I know there is, though far away,A home where heart and soul may rest.
Warm hands are there, that, clasped in mine,The warmer heart will not belie;While mirth, and truth, and friendship shineIn smiling lip and earnest eye.
The ice that gathers round my heartMay there be thawed; and sweetly, then,The joys of youth, that now depart,Will come to cheer my soul again.
Though far I roam, that thought shall beMy hope, my comfort, everywhere;While such a home remains to me,My heart shall never know despair!
Words in this poem
- wintry a.
- Suitable to winter; resembling winter, or what belongs to winter; brumal; hyemal; cold; stormy; wintery. [AS. wintrig.]
- unbidden a.
- Not bidden; not commanded.
- belie v. t.
- To show to be false; to convict of, or charge with, falsehood. [OE. bilien, bili, AS. beleógan; pref. be- + leógan to lie. See Lie, n.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Consolation 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, The Consolation, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/the-consolation.html, id L13264.
Form and metre
The Consolation is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 19% 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 groundA · strownB · roundA · moanB
- 2 ABAB knowA · blastB · glowA · pastB
- 3 ABAB goA · eyeB · woeA · sighB
- 4 -A-A long · decayA · tongue · dayA
- 5 ABAB wayA · breastB · awayA · restB
- 6 ABAB mineA · belieB · shineA · eyeB
- 7 ABAB heartA · thenB · departA · againB
- 8 ABAB beA · everywhereB · meA · despairB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Though bleak these woods, and damp the ground | 8 | ········ |
| With fallen leaves so thickly strown, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And cold the wind that wanders round | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With wild and melancholy moan; | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| There IS a friendly roof, I know, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Might shield me from the wintry blast; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| There is a fire, whose ruddy glow | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Will cheer me for my wanderings past. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And so, though still, where'er I go, | 9 | ····˘˘/·· |
| Cold stranger-glances meet my eye; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Though, when my spirit sinks in woe, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Unheeded swells the unbidden sigh; | 9 | ˘/˘······ |
| Though solitude, endured too long, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Bids youthful joys too soon decay, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Makes mirth a stranger to my tongue, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And overclouds my noon of day; | 8 | ········ |
| When kindly thoughts that would have way, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Flow back discouraged to my breast; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| I know there is, though far away, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A home where heart and soul may rest. | 8 | ········ |
| Warm hands are there, that, clasped in mine, | 8 | ········ |
| The warmer heart will not belie; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| While mirth, and truth, and friendship shine | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In smiling lip and earnest eye. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The ice that gathers round my heart | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| May there be thawed; and sweetly, then, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The joys of youth, that now depart, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Will come to cheer my soul again. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Though far I roam, that thought shall be | 8 | ········ |
| My hope, my comfort, everywhere; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| While such a home remains to me, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| My heart shall never know despair! | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
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.