In the Study
HE enters, and mute on the edge of a chairSits a thin-faced lady, a stranger there,A type of decayed gentility;And by some small signs he well can guessThat she comes to him almost breakfastless.
“I have called—I hope I do not err—I am looking for a purchaserOf some score volumes of the worksOf eminent divines I own,—Left by my father—though it irksMy patience to offer them.” And she smilesAs if necessity were unknown;“But the truth of it is that oftenwhilesI have wished, as I am fond of art,To make my rooms a little smart.”And lightly still she laughs to him,As if to sell were a mere gay whim,And that, to be frank, Life were indeedTo her not vinegar and gall,But fresh and honey-like; and NeedNo household skeleton at all.
Words in this poem
- gentility n.
- Good extraction; dignity of birth. [L. gentilitas the relationship of those who belong to the same clan, also, heathenism: cf. F. gentilité heathenism. See Gentile.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In the Study is in the public domain. This text is taken from Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries, with Miscellaneous Pieces, Project Gutenberg ebook #2863; 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, In the Study, in Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2863, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-satires/in-the-study.html, id L24026.
Form and metre
In the Study is 21 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%).
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 AA--- chairA · thereA · gentility · guess · breakfastless
- 2 --ABACBCDDEEFGFG err · purchaser · worksA · ownB · irksA · smilesC · unknownB · oftenwhilesC · artD · smartD · himE · whimE · indeedF · gallG · needF · allG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| HE enters, and mute on the edge of a chair | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Sits a thin-faced lady, a stranger there, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| A type of decayed gentility; | 9 | ···˘/˘/˘˘ |
| And by some small signs he well can guess | 9 | ········· |
| That she comes to him almost breakfastless. | 10 | ·····/···· |
| “I have called—I hope I do not err— | 9 | ········· |
| I am looking for a purchaser | 9 | ··/˘··/˘˘ |
| Of some score volumes of the works | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of eminent divines I own,— | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| Left by my father—though it irks | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| My patience to offer them.” And she smiles | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| As if necessity were unknown; | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| “But the truth of it is that oftenwhiles | 10 | ·········· |
| I have wished, as I am fond of art, | 9 | ········· |
| To make my rooms a little smart.” | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And lightly still she laughs to him, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As if to sell were a mere gay whim, | 9 | ········· |
| And that, to be frank, Life were indeed | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| To her not vinegar and gall, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| But fresh and honey-like; and Need | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No household skeleton at all. | 8 | ·/·/˘˘·· |
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.