The Glimpse
SHE sped through the doorAnd, following in haste,And stirred to the core,I entered hot-faced;But I could not find her,No sign was behind her.“Where is she?” I said:—“Who?” they asked that sat there;“Not a soul’s come in sight.”—“A maid with red hair.”—“Ah.” They paled. “She is dead.People see her at night,But you are the firstOn whom she has burstIn the keen common light.”
It was ages ago,When I was quite strong:I have waited since,—O,I have waited so long!—Yea, I set me to ownThe house, where now loneI dwell in void roomsBooming hollow as tombs!But I never come near her,Though nightly I hear her.And my cheek has grown thinAnd my hair has grown grayWith this waiting therein;But she still keeps away!
Words in this poem
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- nightly a.
- Of or pertaining to the night, or to every night; happening or done by night, or every night; as, nightly shades; he kept nightly vigils.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Glimpse 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, The Glimpse, in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3255, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-moments-of-vision/the-glimpse.html, id L24189.
Form and metre
The Glimpse is 29 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in anapaestic dimeter.
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 ABABCCDEFEDFGGF doorA · hasteB · coreA · facedB · herC · herC · saidD · thereE · sightF · hairE · deadD · nightF · firstG · burstG · lightF
- 2 ABABCCDDEEFGFG agoA · strongB · oA · longB · ownC · loneC · roomsD · tombsD · herE · herE · thinF · grayG · thereinF · awayG
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 anapaestic dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| SHE sped through the door | 5 | ····· |
| And, following in haste, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| And stirred to the core, | 6 | ··˘··· |
| I entered hot-faced; | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| But I could not find her, | 6 | ······ |
| No sign was behind her. | 6 | ······ |
| “Where is she?” I said: | 5 | ····· |
| —“Who?” they asked that sat there; | 6 | ······ |
| “Not a soul’s come in sight.” | 6 | ······ |
| —“A maid with red hair.” | 5 | ····· |
| —“Ah.” They paled. “She is dead. | 6 | ······ |
| People see her at night, | 6 | /˘···· |
| But you are the first | 5 | ····· |
| On whom she has burst | 5 | ····· |
| In the keen common light.” | 6 | ···/˘· |
| It was ages ago, | 6 | ··/˘˘/ |
| When I was quite strong: | 5 | ····· |
| I have waited since,—O, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| I have waited so long! | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| —Yea, I set me to own | 6 | ······ |
| The house, where now lone | 5 | ····· |
| I dwell in void rooms | 5 | ····· |
| Booming hollow as tombs! | 6 | /˘/˘·· |
| But I never come near her, | 6 | ··/··· |
| Though nightly I hear her. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And my cheek has grown thin | 6 | ······ |
| And my hair has grown gray | 6 | ······ |
| With this waiting therein; | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| But she still keeps away! | 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.