Home
I came back late and tired last nightInto my little room,To the long chair and the firelightAnd comfortable gloom.
But as I entered softly inI saw a woman there,The line of neck and cheek and chin,The darkness of her hair,The form of one I did not knowSitting in my chair.
I stood a moment fierce and still,Watching her neck and hair.I made a step to her; and sawThat there was no one there.
It was some trick of the firelightThat made me see her there.It was a chance of shade and lightAnd the cushion in the chair.
Oh, all you happy over the earth,That night, how could I sleep?I lay and watched the lonely gloom;And watched the moonlight creepFrom wall to basin, round the room.All night I could not sleep.
About this text
Home is in the public domain. This text is taken from 1914, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #33902; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rupert Brooke, Home, in 1914 and Other Poems (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #33902, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/brooke-1914/home.html, id L04749.
Form and metre
Home is 24 lines in 5 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 33% 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 nightA · roomB · firelightA · gloomB
- 2 ABAB-B inA · thereB · chinA · hairB · know · chairB
- 3 -A-A still · hairA · saw · thereA
- 4 ABAB firelightA · thereB · lightA · chairB
- 5 -ABABA earth · sleepA · gloomB · creepA · roomB · sleepA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I came back late and tired last night | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Into my little room, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To the long chair and the firelight | 9 | ········· |
| And comfortable gloom. | 6 | ·/˘˘˘· |
| But as I entered softly in | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| I saw a woman there, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The line of neck and cheek and chin, | 8 | ········ |
| The darkness of her hair, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The form of one I did not know | 8 | ········ |
| Sitting in my chair. | 5 | /˘··· |
| I stood a moment fierce and still, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Watching her neck and hair. | 6 | /˘···· |
| I made a step to her; and saw | 8 | ········ |
| That there was no one there. | 6 | ······ |
| It was some trick of the firelight | 9 | ········· |
| That made me see her there. | 6 | ······ |
| It was a chance of shade and light | 8 | ········ |
| And the cushion in the chair. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Oh, all you happy over the earth, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That night, how could I sleep? | 6 | ······ |
| I lay and watched the lonely gloom; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And watched the moonlight creep | 7 | ··˘·/·· |
| From wall to basin, round the room. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| All night I could not sleep. | 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.