Beyond
Love's aftermath! I think the time is nowThat we must gather in, alone, apartThe saddest crop of all the crops that grow,Love's aftermath.Ah, sweet,--sweet yesterday, the tears that startCan not put back the dial; this is, I trow,Our harvesting! Thy kisses chill my heart,Our lips are cold; averted eyes avowThe twilight of poor love: we can but part,Dumbly and sadly, reaping as we sow,Love's aftermath.
Words in this poem
- trow v. i.
- To believe; to trust; to think or suppose. [OE. trowen, AS.treówan to trust, believe, fr. treów trust, treówe true, faithful. See True.]
- averted a.
- Turned away, esp. as an expression of feeling; also, offended; unpropitious.
- avow v. t.
- To bind, or to devote, by a vow. Wyclif. [OF. avouer, fr. LL. votare to vow, fr. L. votun. See Vote, n.]
- dumbly adv.
- In silence; mutely.
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Beyond is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With a Memoir by Arthur Symons, Project Gutenberg ebook #8497; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ernest Dowson, Beyond, in The Poems of Ernest Dowson (1896–1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8497, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dowson-poems/beyond.html, id L01662.
Form and metre
Beyond is 11 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABCDBCBABAD. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 36% 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 ABCDBCBABAD nowA · apartB · growC · aftermathD · startB · trowC · heartB · avowA · partB · sowA · aftermathD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Love's aftermath! I think the time is now | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That we must gather in, alone, apart | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘/ |
| The saddest crop of all the crops that grow, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Love's aftermath. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Ah, sweet,--sweet yesterday, the tears that start | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Can not put back the dial; this is, I trow, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Our harvesting! Thy kisses chill my heart, | 10 | //˘˘·/˘··· |
| Our lips are cold; averted eyes avow | 10 | /···˘/˘·˘/ |
| The twilight of poor love: we can but part, | 10 | ·/········ |
| Dumbly and sadly, reaping as we sow, | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Love's aftermath. | 4 | ·/˘· |
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.