Molly Gone
NO more summer for Molly and me;There is snow on the tree,And the blackbirds plump large as the rooks are, almost,And the water is hardWhere they used to dip bills at the dawn ere her figure was lostTo these coasts, now my prison close-barred.
No more planting by Molly and meWhere the beds used to beOf sweet-william; no training the clambering roseBy the framework of firNow bowering the pathway, whereon it swings gaily and blowsAs if calling commendment from her.
No more jauntings by Molly and meTo the town by the sea,Or along over Whitesheet to Wynyard’s green Gap,Catching Montacute CrestTo the right against Sedgmoor, and Corton-Hill’s far-distant cap,And Pilsdon and Lewsdon to west.
No more singing by Molly to meIn the evenings when sheWas in mood and in voice, and the candles were lit,And past the porch-quoinThe rays would spring out on the laurels; and dumbledores hitOn the pane, as if wishing to join.
Where, then, is Molly, who’s no more with me?—As I stand on this lea,Thinking thus, there’s a many-flamed star in the air,That tosses a signThat her glance is regarding its face from her home, so that thereHer eyes may have meetings with mine.
Words in this poem
- molly n.
- A pet or colloquial name for Mary. Molly cottontail. (Zoöl.) See Cottontail.
- pathway n.
- A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- pane n.
- The narrow edge of a hammer head. See Peen. [F. panne.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Molly Gone is in the public domain. This text is taken from Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #3255; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Hardy, Molly Gone, in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3255, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-moments-of-vision/molly-gone.html, id L24186.
Form and metre
Molly Gone is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCBC, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic trimeter.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 AA-B-B meA · treeA · almost · hardB · lost · barredB
- 2 AABCBC meA · beA · roseB · firC · blowsB · herC
- 3 AABCBC meA · seaA · gapB · crestC · capB · westC
- 4 AABCBC meA · sheA · litB · quoinC · hitB · joinC
- 5 AABCBC meA · leaA · airB · signC · thereB · mineC
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| NO more summer for Molly and me; | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| There is snow on the tree, | 6 | ······ |
| And the blackbirds plump large as the rooks are, almost, | 12 | ··/˘······/· |
| And the water is hard | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Where they used to dip bills at the dawn ere her figure was lost | 15 | ···········/˘·· |
| To these coasts, now my prison close-barred. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| No more planting by Molly and me | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| Where the beds used to be | 6 | ······ |
| Of sweet-william; no training the clambering rose | 11 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘· |
| By the framework of fir | 6 | ··/··· |
| Now bowering the pathway, whereon it swings gaily and blows | 14 | ·/˘·/·˘/··/˘·· |
| As if calling commendment from her. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| No more jauntings by Molly and me | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| To the town by the sea, | 6 | ······ |
| Or along over Whitesheet to Wynyard’s green Gap, | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘·· |
| Catching Montacute Crest | 6 | /˘···· |
| To the right against Sedgmoor, and Corton-Hill’s far-distant cap, | 15 | ············/˘· |
| And Pilsdon and Lewsdon to west. | 8 | ········ |
| No more singing by Molly to me | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| In the evenings when she | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Was in mood and in voice, and the candles were lit, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| And past the porch-quoin | 5 | ····· |
| The rays would spring out on the laurels; and dumbledores hit | 14 | ·······/˘····· |
| On the pane, as if wishing to join. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Where, then, is Molly, who’s no more with me? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| —As I stand on this lea, | 6 | ······ |
| Thinking thus, there’s a many-flamed star in the air, | 11 | /˘···/····· |
| That tosses a sign | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| That her glance is regarding its face from her home, so that there | 15 | ····˘/˘········ |
| Her eyes may have meetings with mine. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
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.