“Who’s in the Next Room?”
“WHO’S in the next room?—who?I seemed to seeSomebody in the dawning passing through,Unknown to me.”“Nay: you saw nought. He passed invisibly.”
“Who’s in the next room?—who?I seem to hearSomebody muttering firm in a language newThat chills the ear.”“No: you catch not his tongue who has entered there.”
“Who’s in the next room?—who?I seem to feelHis breath like a clammy draught, as if it drewFrom the Polar Wheel.”“No: none who breathes at all does the door conceal.”
“Who’s in the next room?—who?A figure wanWith a message to one in there of something due?Shall I know him anon?”“Yea he; and he brought such; and you’ll know him anon.”
Words in this poem
- somebody n.
- A person unknown or uncertain; a person indeterminate; some person.
- invisibly adv.
- In an invisible manner, Denham.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
“Who’s in the Next Room?” 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, “Who’s in the Next Room?”, in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3255, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-moments-of-vision/who-s-in-the-next-room.html, id L24191.
Form and metre
“Who’s in the Next Room?” is 20 lines in 4 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABB, complete in 2 of its 4 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 ABAB- whoA · seeB · throughA · meB · invisibly
- 2 ABABB whoA · hearB · newA · earB · thereB
- 3 ABABB whoA · feelB · drewA · wheelB · concealB
- 4 A-ABB whoA · wan · dueA · anonB · anonB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “WHO’S in the next room?—who? | 6 | ······ |
| I seemed to see | 4 | ···· |
| Somebody in the dawning passing through, | 10 | /·˘··/˘/˘· |
| Unknown to me.” | 4 | ˘/·· |
| “Nay: you saw nought. He passed invisibly.” | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| “Who’s in the next room?—who? | 6 | ······ |
| I seem to hear | 4 | ···· |
| Somebody muttering firm in a language new | 11 | /˘˘/˘···/˘· |
| That chills the ear.” | 4 | ···· |
| “No: you catch not his tongue who has entered there.” | 11 | ········/˘· |
| “Who’s in the next room?—who? | 6 | ······ |
| I seem to feel | 4 | ···· |
| His breath like a clammy draught, as if it drew | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| From the Polar Wheel.” | 5 | ··/˘· |
| “No: none who breathes at all does the door conceal.” | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| “Who’s in the next room?—who? | 6 | ······ |
| A figure wan | 4 | ·/˘· |
| With a message to one in there of something due? | 12 | ··/˘·····/˘· |
| Shall I know him anon?” | 6 | ····˘/ |
| “Yea he; and he brought such; and you’ll know him anon.” | 12 | ··········˘/ |
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.