Vain Hope
Sometimes, to solace my sad heart, I say,Though late it be, though lily-time be past,Though all the summer skies be overcast,Haply I will go down to her, some day,And cast my rests of life before her feet,That she may have her will of me, being so sweetAnd none gainsay!
So might she look on me with pitying eyes,And lay calm hands of healing on my head:"Because of thy long pains be comforted;For I, even I, am Love: sad soul, arise!"So, for her graciousness, I might at lastGaze on the very face of Love, and hold Him fastIn no disguise.
Haply, I said, she will take pity on me,Though late I come, long after lily-time,With burden of waste days and drifted rhyme:Her kind, calm eyes, down drooping maidenly,Shall change, grow soft: there yet is time, meseems,I said, for solace; though I know these things are dreamsAnd may not be!
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- overcast v. t.
- To cast or cover over; hence, to cloud; to darken.
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- pitying a.
- Expressing pity; as, a pitying eye, glance, or word.
- graciousness n.
- Quality of being gracious.
- maidenly a.
- Like a maid; suiting a maid; maiden-like; gentle, modest, reserved.
- 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,]
- meseems v.
- It seems to me.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Vain Hope 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, Vain Hope, in The Poems of Ernest Dowson (1896–1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8497, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dowson-poems/vain-hope.html, id L01636.
Form and metre
Vain Hope is 21 lines in 3 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBACCA, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.4 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% 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 ABBACCA sayA · pastB · overcastB · dayA · feetC · sweetC · gainsayA
- 2 ABBACCA eyesA · headB · comfortedB · ariseA · lastC · fastC · disguiseA
- 3 ABB-CCA meA · timeB · rhymeB · maidenly · meseemsC · dreamsC · beA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sometimes, to solace my sad heart, I say, | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Though late it be, though lily-time be past, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Though all the summer skies be overcast, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Haply I will go down to her, some day, | 10 | /˘········ |
| And cast my rests of life before her feet, | 10 | ·········· |
| That she may have her will of me, being so sweet | 11 | ········/·· |
| And none gainsay! | 4 | ··/· |
| So might she look on me with pitying eyes, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And lay calm hands of healing on my head: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| "Because of thy long pains be comforted; | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| For I, even I, am Love: sad soul, arise!" | 10 | ··/·····˘/ |
| So, for her graciousness, I might at last | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Gaze on the very face of Love, and hold Him fast | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| In no disguise. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Haply, I said, she will take pity on me, | 11 | /˘·····/˘·· |
| Though late I come, long after lily-time, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| With burden of waste days and drifted rhyme: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Her kind, calm eyes, down drooping maidenly, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Shall change, grow soft: there yet is time, meseems, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| I said, for solace; though I know these things are dreams | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| And may not be! | 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.