The Dame of Athelhall
“SOUL! Shall I see thy face,” she said,“In one brief hour?And away with thee from a loveless bedTo a far-off sun, to a vine-wrapt bower,And be thine own unseparated,And challenge the world’s white glower?”
She quickened her feet, and met him whereThey had predesigned:And they clasped, and mounted, and cleft the airUpon whirling wheels; till the will to bindHer life with his made the moments thereEfface the years behind.
Miles slid, and the sight of the port upgrewAs they sped on;When slipping its bond the bracelet flewFrom her fondled arm. Replaced anon,Its cameo of the abjured one drewHer musings thereupon.
The gaud with his image once had beenA gift from him:And so it was that its carving keenRefurbished memories wearing dim,Which set in her soul a throe of teen,And a tear on her lashes’ brim.
“I may not go!” she at length upspake,“Thoughts call me back—I would still lose all for your dear, dear sake;My heart is thine, friend! But my trackI home to Athelhall must takeTo hinder household wrack!”
He appealed. But they parted, weak and wan:And he left the shore;His ship diminished, was low, was gone;And she heard in the waves as the daytide wore,And read in the leer of the sun that shone,That they parted for evermore.
She homed as she came, at the dip of eveOn Athel CoombRegaining the Hall she had sworn to leave . . .The house was soundless as a tomb,And she entered her chamber, there to grieveLone, kneeling, in the gloom.
From the lawn without rose her husband’s voiceTo one his friend:“Another her Love, another my choice,Her going is good. Our conditions mend;In a change of mates we shall both rejoice;I hoped that it thus might end!
“A quick divorce; she will make him hers,And I wed mine.So Time rights all things in long, long years—Or rather she, by her bold design!I admire a woman no balk deters:She has blessed my life, in fine.
“I shall build new rooms for my new true bride,Let the bygone be:By now, no doubt, she has crossed the tideWith the man to her mind. Far happier sheIn some warm vineland by his sideThan ever she was with me.”
Words in this poem 15
- 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,]
- loveless a.
- Void of love; void of tenderness or kindness. Milton. Shelton.
- glower v. i.
- to look intently; to stare angrily or with a scowl. Thackeray. [Cf. Gloar.]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- thereupon adv.
- Upon that or this; thereon.
- gaud n.
- Trick; jest; sport. [OE. gaude jest, trick, gaudi bead of a rosary, fr. L. gaudium joy, gladness. See Joy.]
- throe n.
- Extreme pain; violent pang; anguish; agony; especially, one of the pangs of travail in childbirth, or purturition. [OE. , , AS. a threatening, oppression, suffering, perhaps influenced by Icel. a throe, a pang, a longing; cf. AS. to suffer.]
- teen n.
- Grief; sorrow; affiction; pain. Chaucer. [OE. tene, AS. teóna reproach, wrong, fr. teón to accuse; akin to G. zeihen, Goth. gateihan to tell, announce, L. dicere to say. See Token.]
- wrack n.
- Wreck; ruin; destruction. [OE. wrak wreck. See Wreck.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- coomb n.
- A dry measure of four bushels, or half a quarter. [AS. cumb a liquid measure, perh. from LL. cumba boat, tomb of stone, fr. Gr. kumpf bowl.]
- soundless a.
- Not capable of being sounded or fathomed; unfathomable.
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- bygone n.
- Something gone by or past; a past event.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Dame of Athelhall 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, The Dame of Athelhall, in Poems of the Past and the Present (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3168, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-past-and-present/the-dame-of-athelhall.html, id L16923.
Form and metre
The Dame of Athelhall is 60 lines in 10 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABAB, complete in 5 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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-B saidA · hourB · bedA · bowerB · unseparated · glowerB
- 2 ABABAB whereA · predesignedB · airA · bindB · thereA · behindB
- 3 ABA-AB upgrewA · onB · flewA · anon · drewA · thereuponB
- 4 -ABABA been · himA · keenB · dimA · teenB · brimA
- 5 ABABAB upspakeA · backB · sakeA · trackB · takeA · wrackB
- 6 -A-A-A wan · shoreA · gone · woreA · shone · evermoreA
- 7 A-ABAB eveA · coomb · leaveA · tombB · grieveA · gloomB
- 8 ABABAB voiceA · friendB · choiceA · mendB · rejoiceA · endB
- 9 ABABAB hersA · mineB · yearsA · designB · detersA · fineB
- 10 ABABAB brideA · beB · tideA · sheB · sideA · meB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| “SOUL! Shall I see thy face,” she said, | 8 | ········ |
| “In one brief hour? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And away with thee from a loveless bed | 10 | ·˘/····/˘· |
| To a far-off sun, to a vine-wrapt bower, | 10 | ·········/ |
| And be thine own unseparated, | 9 | ········· |
| And challenge the world’s white glower?” | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| She quickened her feet, and met him where | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| They had predesigned: | 5 | ····· |
| And they clasped, and mounted, and cleft the air | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Upon whirling wheels; till the will to bind | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Her life with his made the moments there | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Efface the years behind. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Miles slid, and the sight of the port upgrew | 10 | ·········· |
| As they sped on; | 4 | ···· |
| When slipping its bond the bracelet flew | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| From her fondled arm. Replaced anon, | 9 | ··/˘··/˘/ |
| Its cameo of the abjured one drew | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Her musings thereupon. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| The gaud with his image once had been | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| A gift from him: | 4 | ···· |
| And so it was that its carving keen | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Refurbished memories wearing dim, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Which set in her soul a throe of teen, | 9 | ········· |
| And a tear on her lashes’ brim. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| “I may not go!” she at length upspake, | 9 | ········· |
| “Thoughts call me back— | 4 | ···· |
| I would still lose all for your dear, dear sake; | 10 | ·········· |
| My heart is thine, friend! But my track | 8 | ········ |
| I home to Athelhall must take | 8 | ········ |
| To hinder household wrack!” | 6 | ·/˘/·· |
| He appealed. But they parted, weak and wan: | 10 | ·˘/··/˘··· |
| And he left the shore; | 5 | ····· |
| His ship diminished, was low, was gone; | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| And she heard in the waves as the daytide wore, | 11 | ··········· |
| And read in the leer of the sun that shone, | 10 | ·········· |
| That they parted for evermore. | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| She homed as she came, at the dip of eve | 10 | ·········· |
| On Athel Coomb | 4 | ···· |
| Regaining the Hall she had sworn to leave . . . | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| The house was soundless as a tomb, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And she entered her chamber, there to grieve | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| Lone, kneeling, in the gloom. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| From the lawn without rose her husband’s voice | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To one his friend: | 4 | ···· |
| “Another her Love, another my choice, | 10 | ˘/˘··˘/˘·· |
| Her going is good. Our conditions mend; | 9 | ·/··/˘/˘· |
| In a change of mates we shall both rejoice; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| I hoped that it thus might end! | 8 | ··˘····· |
| “A quick divorce; she will make him hers, | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| And I wed mine. | 4 | ···· |
| So Time rights all things in long, long years— | 9 | ········· |
| Or rather she, by her bold design! | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| I admire a woman no balk deters: | 10 | ·˘/·/˘··˘/ |
| She has blessed my life, in fine. | 8 | ···˘···· |
| “I shall build new rooms for my new true bride, | 10 | ·········· |
| Let the bygone be: | 5 | ··/·· |
| By now, no doubt, she has crossed the tide | 9 | ········· |
| With the man to her mind. Far happier she | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In some warm vineland by his side | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Than ever she was with me.” | 7 | ·/˘···· |
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