Song of the Soldiers’ Wives
AT last! In sight of home again,Of home again;No more to range and roam againAs at that bygone time?No more to go away from usAnd stay from us?—Dawn, hold not long the day from us,But quicken it to prime!
Now all the town shall ring to them,Shall ring to them,And we who love them cling to themAnd clasp them joyfully;And cry, “O much we’ll do for youAnew for you,Dear Loves!—aye, draw and hew for you,Come back from oversea.”
Some told us we should meet no more,Should meet no more;Should wait, and wish, but greet no moreYour faces round our fires;That, in a while, uncharilyAnd drearilyMen gave their lives—even wearily,Like those whom living tires.
And now you are nearing home again,Dears, home again;No more, may be, to roam againAs at that bygone time,Which took you far away from usTo stay from us;Dawn, hold not long the day from us,But quicken it to prime!
Words in this poem
- bygone n.
- Something gone by or past; a past event.
- 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,]
- oversea a.
- Beyond the sea; foreign.
- drearily adv.
- Gloomily; dismally.
- wearily adv.
- In a weary manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Song of the Soldiers’ Wives 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, Song of the Soldiers’ Wives, in Poems of the Past and the Present (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3168, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-past-and-present/song-of-the-soldiers-wives.html, id L16861.
Form and metre
Song of the Soldiers’ Wives is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AAABCCCB, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.7 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AAABCCCB againA · againA · againA · timeB · usC · usC · usC · primeB
- 2 AAA-BBB- themA · themA · themA · joyfully · youB · youB · youB · oversea
- 3 AAABCCCB moreA · moreA · moreA · firesB · uncharilyC · drearilyC · wearilyC · tiresB
- 4 AAABCCCB againA · againA · againA · timeB · usC · usC · usC · primeB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| AT last! In sight of home again, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Of home again; | 4 | ··˘/ |
| No more to range and roam again | 8 | ······˘/ |
| As at that bygone time? | 6 | ···/·· |
| No more to go away from us | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And stay from us?— | 4 | ···· |
| Dawn, hold not long the day from us, | 8 | ········ |
| But quicken it to prime! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Now all the town shall ring to them, | 8 | ········ |
| Shall ring to them, | 4 | ···· |
| And we who love them cling to them | 8 | ········ |
| And clasp them joyfully; | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| And cry, “O much we’ll do for you | 8 | ········ |
| Anew for you, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Dear Loves!—aye, draw and hew for you, | 8 | ········ |
| Come back from oversea.” | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Some told us we should meet no more, | 8 | ········ |
| Should meet no more; | 4 | ···· |
| Should wait, and wish, but greet no more | 8 | ········ |
| Your faces round our fires; | 8 | ·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| That, in a while, uncharily | 8 | ········ |
| And drearily | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Men gave their lives—even wearily, | 9 | ····/˘/˘˘ |
| Like those whom living tires. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And now you are nearing home again, | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| Dears, home again; | 4 | ··˘/ |
| No more, may be, to roam again | 8 | ······˘/ |
| As at that bygone time, | 6 | ···/·· |
| Which took you far away from us | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| To stay from us; | 4 | ···· |
| Dawn, hold not long the day from us, | 8 | ········ |
| But quicken it to prime! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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