Misgiving
All crying "We will go with you, O Wind!"The foliage follow him, leaf and stem;But a sleep oppresses them as they go,And they end by bidding him stay with them.
Since ever they flung abroad in springThe leaves had promised themselves this flight,Who now would fain seek sheltering wall,Or thicket, or hollow place for the night.
And now they answer his summoning blastWith an ever vaguer and vaguer stir,Or at utmost a little reluctant whirlThat drops them no further than where they were.
I only hope that when I am freeAs they are free to go in questOf the knowledge beyond the bounds of lifeIt may not seem better to me to rest.
Words in this poem
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Misgiving is in the public domain. This text is taken from New Hampshire, A Poem; with Notes and Grace Notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #58611; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Frost, Misgiving, in New Hampshire (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #58611, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/frost-new-hampshire/misgiving.html, id L02711.
Form and metre
Misgiving is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.7 syllables. 38% 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 -A-A wind · stemA · go · themA
- 2 -A-A spring · flightA · wall · nightA
- 3 -A-A blast · stirA · whirl · wereA
- 4 -A-A free · questA · life · restA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| All crying "We will go with you, O Wind!" | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The foliage follow him, leaf and stem; | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| But a sleep oppresses them as they go, | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| And they end by bidding him stay with them. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Since ever they flung abroad in spring | 9 | ·/˘··˘/·· |
| The leaves had promised themselves this flight, | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/·· |
| Who now would fain seek sheltering wall, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Or thicket, or hollow place for the night. | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| And now they answer his summoning blast | 10 | ···/˘·/˘˘· |
| With an ever vaguer and vaguer stir, | 10 | ··/˘/˘·/˘· |
| Or at utmost a little reluctant whirl | 11 | ··/··/˘˘/˘· |
| That drops them no further than where they were. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| I only hope that when I am free | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| As they are free to go in quest | 8 | ········ |
| Of the knowledge beyond the bounds of life | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| It may not seem better to me to rest. | 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.