Paying Calls
I WENT by footpath and by stileBeyond where bustle ends,Strayed here a mile and there a mileAnd called upon some friends.
On certain ones I had not seenFor years past did I call,And then on others who had beenThe oldest friends of all.
It was the time of midsummerWhen they had used to roam;But now, though tempting was the air,I found them all at home.
I spoke to one and other of themBy mound and stone and treeOf things we had done ere days were dim,But they spoke not to me.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- footpath n.
- A narrow path or way for pedestrains only; a footway.
- stile n.
- A pin set on the face of a dial, to cast a shadow; a style. See Style. Moxon. [See Style.]
- midsummer n.
- The middle of summer. Shak. Midsummer daisy (Bot.), the oxeye daisy. [AS. midsumor.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Paying Calls 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, Paying Calls, in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3255, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-moments-of-vision/paying-calls.html, id L24195.
Form and metre
Paying Calls is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 stileA · endsB · mileA · friendsB
- 2 -A-A seen · callA · been · allA
- 3 -A-A midsummer · roamA · air · homeA
- 4 -A-A them · treeA · dim · meA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I WENT by footpath and by stile | 8 | ···/···· |
| Beyond where bustle ends, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Strayed here a mile and there a mile | 8 | ········ |
| And called upon some friends. | 6 | ······ |
| On certain ones I had not seen | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For years past did I call, | 6 | ······ |
| And then on others who had been | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The oldest friends of all. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| It was the time of midsummer | 8 | ·····//˘ |
| When they had used to roam; | 6 | ······ |
| But now, though tempting was the air, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I found them all at home. | 6 | ······ |
| I spoke to one and other of them | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| By mound and stone and tree | 6 | ······ |
| Of things we had done ere days were dim, | 9 | ········· |
| But they spoke not to me. | 6 | ······ |
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.