The Widow
BY Mellstock Lodge and AvenueTowards her door I went,And sunset on her window-panesReflected our intent.
The creeper on the gable nighWas fired to more than redAnd when I came to halt thereby“Bright as my joy!” I said.
Of late days it had been her aimTo meet me in the hall;Now at my footsteps no one came;And no one to my call.
Again I knocked; and tardilyAn inner step was heard,And I was shown her presence thenWith scarce an answering word.
She met me, and but barely tookMy proffered warm embrace;Preoccupation weighed her look,And hardened her sweet face.
“To-morrow—could you—would you call?Make brief your present stay?My child is ill—my one, my all!—And can’t be left to-day.”
And then she turns, and gives commandsAs I were out of sound,Or were no more to her and hersThan any neighbour round . . .
—As maid I wooed her; but one cameAnd coaxed her heart away,And when in time he wedded herI deemed her gone for aye.
He won, I lost her; and my lossI bore I know not how;But I do think I suffered thenLess wretchedness than now.
For Time, in taking him, had opedAn unexpected doorOf bliss for me, which grew to seemFar surer than before . . .
Her word is steadfast, and I knowThat plighted firm are we:But she has caught new love-calls sinceShe smiled as maid on me!
Words in this poem
- avenue n.
- A way or opening for entrance into a place; a passage by which a place may by reached; a way of approach or of exit. [F. avenue, fr. avenir to come to, L. advenire. See Advene.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- gable n.
- A cable. Chapman.
- tardily adv.
- In a tardy manner; slowly.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- preoccupation n.
- The act of preoccupying, or taking possession of beforehand; the state of being preoccupied; prepossession. [L. praeoccupatio: cf. F. préoccupation.]
- neighbour v. i.
- To dwell in the vicinity; to be a neighbor, or in the neighborhood; to be near.
- wedded a.
- Joined in wedlock; married.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Widow 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 Widow, 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-widow.html, id L16902.
Form and metre
The Widow is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 4 of the 11 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 46% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 -A-A avenue · wentA · panes · intentA
- 2 ABAB nighA · redB · therebyA · saidB
- 3 ABAB aimA · hallB · cameA · callB
- 4 -A-A tardily · heardA · then · wordA
- 5 ABAB tookA · embraceB · lookA · faceB
- 6 ABAB callA · stayB · allA · dayB
- 7 -A-A commands · soundA · hers · roundA
- 9 -A-A loss · howA · then · nowA
- 10 -A-A oped · doorA · seem · beforeA
- 11 -A-A know · weA · since · meA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| BY Mellstock Lodge and Avenue | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Towards her door I went, | 6 | ······ |
| And sunset on her window-panes | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Reflected our intent. | 7 | ˘/˘/˘˘/ |
| The creeper on the gable nigh | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Was fired to more than red | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| And when I came to halt thereby | 8 | ········ |
| “Bright as my joy!” I said. | 6 | ······ |
| Of late days it had been her aim | 8 | ········ |
| To meet me in the hall; | 6 | ······ |
| Now at my footsteps no one came; | 8 | ···/···· |
| And no one to my call. | 6 | ······ |
| Again I knocked; and tardily | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| An inner step was heard, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And I was shown her presence then | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With scarce an answering word. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| She met me, and but barely took | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My proffered warm embrace; | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| Preoccupation weighed her look, | 8 | ˘·˘/˘··· |
| And hardened her sweet face. | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| “To-morrow—could you—would you call? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Make brief your present stay? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| My child is ill—my one, my all!— | 8 | ········ |
| And can’t be left to-day.” | 6 | ······ |
| And then she turns, and gives commands | 8 | ······˘/ |
| As I were out of sound, | 6 | ······ |
| Or were no more to her and hers | 8 | ········ |
| Than any neighbour round . . . | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| —As maid I wooed her; but one came | 8 | ········ |
| And coaxed her heart away, | 7 | ··˘··˘/ |
| And when in time he wedded her | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I deemed her gone for aye. | 7 | ··˘···· |
| He won, I lost her; and my loss | 8 | ········ |
| I bore I know not how; | 6 | ······ |
| But I do think I suffered then | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Less wretchedness than now. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| For Time, in taking him, had oped | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An unexpected door | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Of bliss for me, which grew to seem | 8 | ········ |
| Far surer than before . . . | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Her word is steadfast, and I know | 8 | ···/···· |
| That plighted firm are we: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But she has caught new love-calls since | 8 | ········ |
| She smiled as maid on me! | 7 | ··˘···· |
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.