Near Lanivet, 1872
THERE was a stunted handpost just on the crest,Only a few feet high:She was tired, and we stopped in the twilight-time for her rest,At the crossways close thereby.
She leant back, being so weary, against its stem,And laid her arms on its own,Each open palm stretched out to each end of them,Her sad face sideways thrown.
Her white-clothed form at this dim-lit cease of dayMade her look as one crucifiedIn my gaze at her from the midst of the dusty way,And hurriedly “Don’t,” I cried.
I do not think she heard. Loosing thence she said,As she stepped forth ready to go,“I am rested now.—Something strange came into my head;I wish I had not leant so!”
And wordless we moved onward down from the hillIn the west cloud’s murked obscure,And looking back we could see the handpost stillIn the solitude of the moor.
“It struck her too,” I thought, for as if afraidShe heavily breathed as we trailed;Till she said, “I did not think how ’twould look in the shade,When I leant there like one nailed.”
I, lightly: “There’s nothing in it. For you, anyhow!”—“O I know there is not,” said she . . .“Yet I wonder . . . If no one is bodily crucified now,In spirit one may be!”
And we dragged on and on, while we seemed to seeIn the running of Time’s far glassHer crucified, as she had wondered if she might beSome day.—Alas, alas!
Words in this poem
- wordless a.
- Not using words; not speaking; silent; speechless.
- anyhow adv.
- In any way or manner whatever; at any rate; in any event.
- wondered a.
- Having performed wonders; able to perform wonderful things.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Near Lanivet, 1872 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, Near Lanivet, 1872, in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3255, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-moments-of-vision/near-lanivet-1872.html, id L24112.
Form and metre
Near Lanivet, 1872 is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. 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 ABAB crestA · highB · restA · therebyB
- 2 ABAB stemA · ownB · themA · thrownB
- 3 ABAB dayA · crucifiedB · wayA · criedB
- 4 ABAB saidA · goB · headA · soB
- 5 ABAB hillA · obscureB · stillA · moorB
- 6 ABAB afraidA · trailedB · shadeA · nailedB
- 7 ABAB anyhowA · sheB · nowA · beB
- 8 ABAB seeA · glassB · beA · alasB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THERE was a stunted handpost just on the crest, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Only a few feet high: | 6 | /˘···· |
| She was tired, and we stopped in the twilight-time for her rest, | 14 | ··/·····/····· |
| At the crossways close thereby. | 7 | ······· |
| She leant back, being so weary, against its stem, | 12 | ·/˘·/·/˘···· |
| And laid her arms on its own, | 7 | ······· |
| Each open palm stretched out to each end of them, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Her sad face sideways thrown. | 6 | ···/·· |
| Her white-clothed form at this dim-lit cease of day | 11 | ··········· |
| Made her look as one crucified | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In my gaze at her from the midst of the dusty way, | 13 | ··········/˘· |
| And hurriedly “Don’t,” I cried. | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| I do not think she heard. Loosing thence she said, | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| As she stepped forth ready to go, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| “I am rested now.—Something strange came into my head; | 13 | ··/˘·/˘······ |
| I wish I had not leant so!” | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And wordless we moved onward down from the hill | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| In the west cloud’s murked obscure, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| And looking back we could see the handpost still | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| In the solitude of the moor. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| “It struck her too,” I thought, for as if afraid | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| She heavily breathed as we trailed; | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Till she said, “I did not think how ’twould look in the shade, | 13 | ············· |
| When I leant there like one nailed.” | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| I, lightly: “There’s nothing in it. For you, anyhow!” | 13 | ·/˘·/˘····/˘· |
| —“O I know there is not,” said she . . . | 8 | ········ |
| “Yet I wonder . . . If no one is bodily crucified now, | 14 | ··/˘····/˘/˘·· |
| In spirit one may be!” | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And we dragged on and on, while we seemed to see | 11 | ··········· |
| In the running of Time’s far glass | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Her crucified, as she had wondered if she might be | 13 | ·/˘····/˘···· |
| Some day.—Alas, alas! | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
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