The Elder's Rebuke
"Listen! When your hair, like mine,Takes a tint of silver gray;When your eyes, with dimmer shine,Watch life's bubbles float away:
When you, young man, have borne like meThe weary weight of sixty-three,Then shall penance sore be paidFor those hours so wildly squandered;And the words that now fall deadOn your ear, be deeply pondered--Pondered and approved at last:But their virtue will be past!
"Glorious is the prize of Duty,Though she be 'a serious power';Treacherous all the lures of Beauty,Thorny bud and poisonous flower!
"Mirth is but a mad beguilingOf the golden-gifted time;Love--a demon-meteor, wilingHeedless feet to gulfs of crime.
"Those who follow earthly pleasure,Heavenly knowledge will not lead;Wisdom hides from them her treasure,Virtue bids them evil-speed!
"Vainly may their hearts repenting.Seek for aid in future years;Wisdom, scorned, knows no relenting;Virtue is not won by fears."
Thus spake the ice-blooded elder gray;The young man scoffed as he turned away,Turned to the call of a sweet lute's measure,Waked by the lightsome touch of pleasure:Had he ne'er met a gentler teacher,Woe had been wrought by that pitiless preacher.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- 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.]
- beguiling a.
- Alluring by guile; deluding; misleading; diverting.
- lightsome a.
- Having light; lighted; not dark or gloomy; bright.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Elder's Rebuke 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 Elder's Rebuke, in Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bronte-poems/the-elder-s-rebuke.html, id L13276.
Form and metre
The Elder's Rebuke is 34 lines in 7 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 5 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 16 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 trochaic 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 mineA · grayB · shineA · awayB
- 2 AABBBBCC meA · threeA · paidB · squanderedB · deadB · ponderedB · lastC · pastC
- 3 ABAB dutyA · powerB · beautyA · flowerB
- 4 ABAB beguilingA · timeB · wilingA · crimeB
- 5 ABAB pleasureA · leadB · treasureA · speedB
- 6 ABAB repentingA · yearsB · relentingA · fearsB
- 7 AABBCC grayA · awayA · measureB · pleasureB · teacherC · preacherC
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "Listen! When your hair, like mine, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Takes a tint of silver gray; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| When your eyes, with dimmer shine, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Watch life's bubbles float away: | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| When you, young man, have borne like me | 8 | ········ |
| The weary weight of sixty-three, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Then shall penance sore be paid | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| For those hours so wildly squandered; | 9 | ··/˘·/˘/˘ |
| And the words that now fall dead | 7 | ······· |
| On your ear, be deeply pondered-- | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Pondered and approved at last: | 8 | /˘˘·˘/·· |
| But their virtue will be past! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| "Glorious is the prize of Duty, | 9 | /˘˘····/˘ |
| Though she be 'a serious power'; | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Treacherous all the lures of Beauty, | 9 | /˘˘····/˘ |
| Thorny bud and poisonous flower! | 9 | /˘··/˘˘/˘ |
| "Mirth is but a mad beguiling | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Of the golden-gifted time; | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Love--a demon-meteor, wiling | 9 | ··/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Heedless feet to gulfs of crime. | 7 | /˘····· |
| "Those who follow earthly pleasure, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Heavenly knowledge will not lead; | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| Wisdom hides from them her treasure, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Virtue bids them evil-speed! | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| "Vainly may their hearts repenting. | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| Seek for aid in future years; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Wisdom, scorned, knows no relenting; | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| Virtue is not won by fears." | 7 | /˘····· |
| Thus spake the ice-blooded elder gray; | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| The young man scoffed as he turned away, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Turned to the call of a sweet lute's measure, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Waked by the lightsome touch of pleasure: | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Had he ne'er met a gentler teacher, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Woe had been wrought by that pitiless preacher. | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
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.