“I Have Lived with Shades”
I HAVE lived with shades so long,And talked to them so oft,Since forth from cot and croftI went mankind among,That sometimes theyIn their dim styleWill pause awhileTo hear my say;
And take me by the hand,And lead me through their roomsIn the To-be, where DoomsHalf-wove and shapeless stand:And show from thereThe dwindled dustAnd rot and rustOf things that were.
“Now turn,” spake they to meOne day: “Look whence we came,And signify his nameWho gazes thence at thee.”——“Nor name nor raceKnow I, or can,”I said, “Of manSo commonplace.
“He moves me not at all;I note no ray or jotOf rareness in his lot,Or star exceptional.Into the dimDead throngs aroundHe’ll sink, nor soundBe left of him.”
“Yet,” said they, “his frail speech,Hath accents pitched like thine—Thy mould and his defineA likeness each to each—But go! Deep painAlas, would beHis name to thee,And told in vain!”
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- wove
- p. pr. & rare vb. n. of Weave.
- rareness n.
- The state or quality of being rare.
- exceptional a.
- Forming an exception; not ordinary; uncommon; rare; hence, better than the average; superior. Lyell. [Cf. F. exceptionnel.]
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
“I Have Lived with Shades” is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of the Past and the Present, Project Gutenberg ebook #3168; 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, “I Have Lived with Shades”, in Poems of the Past and the Present (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3168, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-past-and-present/i-have-lived-with-shades.html, id L18609.
Form and metre
“I Have Lived with Shades” is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBACDDC, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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-BCCB long · oftA · croftA · among · theyB · styleC · awhileC · sayB
- 2 ABBA-CC- handA · roomsB · doomsB · standA · there · dustC · rustC · were
- 3 ABBACDDC meA · cameB · nameB · theeA · raceC · canD · manD · commonplaceC
- 4 ABBACDDC allA · jotB · lotB · exceptionalA · dimC · aroundD · soundD · himC
- 5 ABBACDDC speechA · thineB · defineB · eachA · painC · beD · theeD · vainC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I HAVE lived with shades so long, | 7 | ······· |
| And talked to them so oft, | 6 | ······ |
| Since forth from cot and croft | 6 | ······ |
| I went mankind among, | 6 | ··//·· |
| That sometimes they | 4 | ·˘/· |
| In their dim style | 4 | ···· |
| Will pause awhile | 4 | ··˘/ |
| To hear my say; | 4 | ···· |
| And take me by the hand, | 6 | ······ |
| And lead me through their rooms | 6 | ······ |
| In the To-be, where Dooms | 6 | ······ |
| Half-wove and shapeless stand: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And show from there | 4 | ···· |
| The dwindled dust | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And rot and rust | 4 | ···· |
| Of things that were. | 4 | ···· |
| “Now turn,” spake they to me | 6 | ······ |
| One day: “Look whence we came, | 6 | ······ |
| And signify his name | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Who gazes thence at thee.”— | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| —“Nor name nor race | 4 | ···· |
| Know I, or can,” | 4 | ···· |
| I said, “Of man | 4 | ···· |
| So commonplace. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| “He moves me not at all; | 6 | ······ |
| I note no ray or jot | 6 | ······ |
| Of rareness in his lot, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Or star exceptional. | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Into the dim | 4 | ···· |
| Dead throngs around | 4 | ···· |
| He’ll sink, nor sound | 4 | ···· |
| Be left of him.” | 4 | ···· |
| “Yet,” said they, “his frail speech, | 6 | ······ |
| Hath accents pitched like thine— | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thy mould and his define | 6 | ····˘/ |
| A likeness each to each— | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But go! Deep pain | 4 | ···· |
| Alas, would be | 4 | ˘/·· |
| His name to thee, | 4 | ···· |
| And told in vain!” | 4 | ···· |
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