The Visionary Hope
Sad lot, to have no Hope! Though lowly kneelingHe fain would frame a prayer within his breast,Would fain entreat for some sweet breath of healing,That his sick body might have ease and rest;He strove in vain! the dull sighs from his chestAgainst his will the stifling load revealing,Though Nature forced; though like some captive guest,Some royal prisoner at his conqueror's feast,An alien's restless mood but half concealing,The sternness on his gentle brow confessed,Sickness within and miserable feeling:Though obscure pangs made curses of his dreams,And dreaded sleep, each night repelled in vain,Each night was scattered by its own loud screams:Yet never could his heart command, though fain,One deep full wish to be no more in pain.
That Hope, which was his inward bliss and boast,Which waned and died, yet ever near him stood,Though changed in nature, wander where he would--For Love's Despair is but Hope's pining Ghost!For this one hope he makes his hourly moan,He wishes and can wish for this alone!Pierced, as with light from Heaven, before its gleams(So the love-stricken visionary deems)Disease would vanish, like a summer shower,Whose dews fling sunshine from the noon-tide bower!Or let it stay! yet this one Hope should giveSuch strength that he would bless his pains and live.
Words in this poem
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- entreat v. t.
- To treat, or conduct toward; to deal with; to use. [OE. entreten to treat, request, OF. entraiter to treat of; pref. en- (L. in) + traitier to treat. See Treat.]
- sternness n.
- The quality or state of being stern.
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- hourly a.
- Happening or done every hour; occurring hour by hour; frequent; often repeated; renewed hour by hour; continual.
- stricken p. p.
- Struck; smitten; wounded; as, the stricken deer.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Visionary Hope is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Coleridge, Project Gutenberg ebook #8208; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Visionary Hope, in Poems of Coleridge (1796–1817), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8208, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/coleridge-poems/the-visionary-hope.html, id L00355.
Form and metre
The Visionary Hope is 28 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABBAB-ABACDCDD kneelingA · breastB · healingA · restB · chestB · revealingA · guestB · feast · concealingA · confessedB · feelingA · dreamsC · vainD · screamsC · fainD · painD
- 2 ABBACCDDEEFF boastA · stoodB · wouldB · ghostA · moanC · aloneC · gleamsD · deemsD · showerE · bowerE · giveF · liveF
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Sad lot, to have no Hope! Though lowly kneeling | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| He fain would frame a prayer within his breast, | 10 | ·········· |
| Would fain entreat for some sweet breath of healing, | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| That his sick body might have ease and rest; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He strove in vain! the dull sighs from his chest | 10 | ·········· |
| Against his will the stifling load revealing, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Though Nature forced; though like some captive guest, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Some royal prisoner at his conqueror's feast, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| An alien's restless mood but half concealing, | 11 | ·/˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| The sternness on his gentle brow confessed, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Sickness within and miserable feeling: | 11 | /˘···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Though obscure pangs made curses of his dreams, | 10 | ·˘/··/˘··· |
| And dreaded sleep, each night repelled in vain, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Each night was scattered by its own loud screams: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Yet never could his heart command, though fain, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| One deep full wish to be no more in pain. | 10 | ·········· |
| That Hope, which was his inward bliss and boast, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Which waned and died, yet ever near him stood, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Though changed in nature, wander where he would-- | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| For Love's Despair is but Hope's pining Ghost! | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| For this one hope he makes his hourly moan, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| He wishes and can wish for this alone! | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Pierced, as with light from Heaven, before its gleams | 10 | ·····/···· |
| (So the love-stricken visionary deems) | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘· |
| Disease would vanish, like a summer shower, | 11 | ˘/·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Whose dews fling sunshine from the noon-tide bower! | 11 | ···/·····/˘ |
| Or let it stay! yet this one Hope should give | 10 | ·········· |
| Such strength that he would bless his pains and live. | 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.