Fare Thee Well
"Alas! they had been friends in youth;But whispering tongues can poison truth:And Constancy lives in realms above;And Life is thorny; and youth is vain:And to be wroth with one we love,Doth work like madness in the brain;
But never either found anotherTo free the hollow heart from paining--They stood aloof, the scars remaining,Like cliffs which had been rent asunder;A dreary sea now flows between,But neither heat, nor frost, nor thunder,Shall wholly do away, I ween,The marks of that which once hath been."Coleridge's Christabel.rh
Fare thee well! and if for ever,Still for ever, fare thee well:Even though unforgiving, never'Gainst thee shall my heart rebel.Would that breast were bared before theeriWhere thy head so oft hath lain,While that placid sleep came o'er theerjWhich thou ne'er canst know again:Would that breast, by thee glanced over,Every inmost thought could show!Then thou would'st at last discover'Twas not well to spurn it so.Though the world for this commend thee--Though it smile upon the blow,Even its praises must offend thee,Founded on another's woe:Though my many faults defaced me,Could no other arm be found,Than the one which once embraced me,To inflict a cureless wound?Yet, oh yet, thyself deceive not--Love may sink by slow decay,But by sudden wrench, believe notHearts can thus be torn away:Still thine own its life retaineth--Still must mine, though bleeding, beat;rkAnd the undying thought which painethrlIs--that we no more may meet.These are words of deeper sorrowrmThan the wail above the dead;Both shall live--but every morrowrnWake us from a widowed bed.And when thou would'st solace gather--When our child's first accents flow--Wilt thou teach her to say "Father!"Though his care she must forego?When her little hands shall press thee--When her lip to thine is pressed--Think of him whose prayer shall bless thee--Think of him thy love had blessed!Should her lineaments resembleThose thou never more may'st see,Then thy heart will softly trembleroWith a pulse yet true to me.All my faults perchance thou knowest--All my madness--none can know;rpAll my hopes--where'er thou goest--Wither--yet with thee they go.Every feeling hath been shaken;Pride--which not a world could bow--rqBows to thee--by thee forsaken,rrEven my soul forsakes me now.But 'tis done--all words are idle--Words from me are vainer still;rsBut the thoughts we cannot bridleForce their way without the will.Fare thee well! thus disunited--rtTorn from every nearer tie--Seared in heart--and lone--and blighted--More than this I scarce can die.
Words in this poem 17
- wroth a.
- Full of wrath; angry; incensed; much exasperated; wrathful. [OE. wroth, wrap, AS. wraedh wroth, crooked, bad; akin to wriedhan to writhe, and to OS. wreedhangry, D. wreed cruel, OHG. reid twisted, Icel. reiedhr angry, Dan]
- dreary a.
- Sorrowful; distressful. [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
- 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,]
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- rebel a.
- Pertaining to rebels or rebellion; acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops. [F. rebelle, fr. L. rebellis. See Rebel, v. t.]
- placid a.
- Pleased; contented; unruffied; undisturbed; serene; peaceful; tranquil; quiet; gentle. [L. placidus, originally, pleasing, mild, from placere to please: cf. F. placide. See Please.]
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- spurn v. t.
- To drive back or away, as with the foot; to kick. [OE. spurnen to kick against, to stumble over, AS. spurnan to kick, offend; akin to spura spur, OS. & OHG. spurnan to kick, Icel. spyrna, L. spernere to despise,]
- cureless a.
- Incapable of cure; incurable.
- wrench n.
- Trick; deceit; fraud; stratagem. [OE. wrench deceit, AS. wrenc deceit, a twisting; akin to G. rank intrigue, crookedness, renken to bend, twist, and E. wring. Wring, and cf. Ranch, v. t.]
- undying a.
- Not dying; imperishable; unending; immortal; as, the undying souls of men.
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
- forego v. t.
- To quit; to relinquish; to leave. [See Forgo.]
- seared a.
- Scorched; cauterized; hence, figuratively, insensible; not susceptible to moral influences.
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fare Thee Well is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 3, Project Gutenberg ebook #21811; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lord Byron, Fare Thee Well, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/fare-thee-well.html, id L23987.
Form and metre
Fare Thee Well is 75 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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 AABCBC youthA · truthA · aboveB · vainC · loveB · brainC
- 2 -AABCBCC- another · painingA · remainingA · asunderB · betweenC · thunderB · weenC · beenC · christabel.rh
- 3 ABAB-----C-CDCDCDEDE-F-F-----G-G-H-H-IJI-J-JK-K-----L-LL-M-M everA · wellB · neverA · rebelB · theeri · lain · theerj · again · over · showC · discover · soC · theeD · blowC · theeD · woeC · meD · foundE · meD · woundE · not · decayF · not · awayF · retaineth · beat;rk · painethrl · meet · sorrowrm · deadG · morrowrn · bedG · gather · flowH · father · foregoH · thee · pressedI · theeJ · blessedI · resemble · seeJ · tremblero · meJ · knowestK · know;rp · goestK · go · shaken · — · forsaken,rr · now · idleL · still;rs · bridleL · willL · — · tieM · blighted · dieM
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "Alas! they had been friends in youth; | 8 | ˘/······ |
| But whispering tongues can poison truth: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And Constancy lives in realms above; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And Life is thorny; and youth is vain: | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| And to be wroth with one we love, | 8 | ········ |
| Doth work like madness in the brain; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But never either found another | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| To free the hollow heart from paining-- | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| They stood aloof, the scars remaining, | 9 | ··˘/··˘/˘ |
| Like cliffs which had been rent asunder; | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| A dreary sea now flows between, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But neither heat, nor frost, nor thunder, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Shall wholly do away, I ween, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| The marks of that which once hath been." | 8 | ········ |
| Coleridge's Christabel.rh | 7 | /˘˘···· |
| Fare thee well! and if for ever, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Still for ever, fare thee well: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Even though unforgiving, never | 9 | /˘·˘˘/˘/˘ |
| 'Gainst thee shall my heart rebel. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Would that breast were bared before theeri | 9 | ········· |
| Where thy head so oft hath lain, | 7 | ······· |
| While that placid sleep came o'er theerj | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Which thou ne'er canst know again: | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Would that breast, by thee glanced over, | 8 | ········ |
| Every inmost thought could show! | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| Then thou would'st at last discover | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| 'Twas not well to spurn it so. | 7 | ······· |
| Though the world for this commend thee-- | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| Though it smile upon the blow, | 7 | ······· |
| Even its praises must offend thee, | 8 | /·/˘·˘/· |
| Founded on another's woe: | 7 | /˘·˘/˘· |
| Though my many faults defaced me, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/· |
| Could no other arm be found, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Than the one which once embraced me, | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| To inflict a cureless wound? | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Yet, oh yet, thyself deceive not-- | 8 | ···˘/˘/· |
| Love may sink by slow decay, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| But by sudden wrench, believe not | 8 | ··/˘·˘/· |
| Hearts can thus be torn away: | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Still thine own its life retaineth-- | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Still must mine, though bleeding, beat;rk | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| And the undying thought which painethrl | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Is--that we no more may meet. | 7 | ······· |
| These are words of deeper sorrowrm | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Than the wail above the dead; | 7 | ······· |
| Both shall live--but every morrowrn | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Wake us from a widowed bed. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| And when thou would'st solace gather-- | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| When our child's first accents flow-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Wilt thou teach her to say "Father!" | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Though his care she must forego? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| When her little hands shall press thee-- | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| When her lip to thine is pressed-- | 8 | ·······˘ |
| Think of him whose prayer shall bless thee-- | 8 | ········ |
| Think of him thy love had blessed! | 8 | ·······˘ |
| Should her lineaments resemble | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Those thou never more may'st see, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Then thy heart will softly tremblero | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| With a pulse yet true to me. | 7 | ······· |
| All my faults perchance thou knowest-- | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| All my madness--none can know;rp | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| All my hopes--where'er thou goest-- | 8 | ···˘˘/·· |
| Wither--yet with thee they go. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Every feeling hath been shaken; | 9 | /˘˘/˘··/˘ |
| Pride--which not a world could bow--rq | 8 | ········ |
| Bows to thee--by thee forsaken,rr | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
| Even my soul forsakes me now. | 8 | /˘··˘/·· |
| But 'tis done--all words are idle-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Words from me are vainer still;rs | 8 | ········ |
| But the thoughts we cannot bridle | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Force their way without the will. | 7 | ······· |
| Fare thee well! thus disunited--rt | 9 | ········· |
| Torn from every nearer tie-- | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| Seared in heart--and lone--and blighted-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| More than this I scarce can die. | 7 | ······· |
On this poem
It must have been a fair and complete copy that Moore saw (see Life, p. 302, note 3). There are no tear-marks on this (the first draft, sold at Sotheby's, April 11, 1885) draft, which must be the first, for it is incomplete, and every line (almost) tortured with alterations.
"Fare Thee Well!" was printed in Leigh Hunt's Examiner, April 21, 1816, at the end of an article (by L. H.) entitled "Distressing Circumstances in High Life." The text there has two readings different from that of the pamphlet, viz.--
Examiner: "Than the soft one which embraced me." Pamphlet: "Than the one which once embraced me." Examiner: "Yet the thoughts we cannot bridle." Pamphlet: "But," etc.
--MS. Notes taken by the late J. Dykes Campbell at Sotheby's, April 18, 1890, and re-transcribed for Mr. Murray, June 15, 1894.
A final proof, dated April 7, 1816, was endorsed by Murray, "Correct 50 copies as early as you can to-morrow."]
Notes from the edition 1
E. H. Coleridge's notes to The Works of Lord Byron, Poetry, Vol. III (John Murray, 1900; Project Gutenberg #21811). Bracketed passages are the editor's; unbracketed are Byron's own or earlier editors'. Lettered variant readings (manuscript and edition collations) are not harvested here, matching the treatment of Coleridge's Don Juan notes.
- Stanza 3, line 13 [Lines 13-20 do not appear in an early copy dated March 18, 1816. They were added on the margin of a proof dated April 4, 1816.]
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.