Lament
HOW she would have lovedA party to-day!—Bright-hatted and gloved,With table and trayAnd chairs on the lawnHer smiles would have shoneWith welcomings . . . ButShe is shut, she is shutFrom friendship’s spellIn the jailing shellOf her tiny cell.
Or she would have reignedAt a dinner to-nightWith ardours unfeigned,And a generous delight;All in her abodeShe’d have freely bestowedOn her guests . . . But alas,She is shut under grassWhere no cups flow,Powerless to knowThat it might be so.
And she would have soughtWith a child’s eager glanceThe shy snowdrops broughtBy the new year’s advance,And peered in the rimeOf Candlemas-timeFor crocuses . . . chancedIt that she were not trancedFrom sights she loved best;Wholly possessedBy an infinite rest!
And we are here stayingAmid these stale thingsWho care not for gaying,And those junketingsThat used so to joy her,And never to cloy herAs us they cloy! . . . ButShe is shut, she is shutFrom the cheer of them, deadTo all done and saidIn a yew-arched bed.
Words in this poem
- unfeigned a.
- Not feigned; not counterfeit; not hypocritical; real; sincere; genuine; as, unfeigned piety; unfeigned love to man.
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- rime n.
- A rent or long aperture; a chink; a fissure; a crack. Sir T. [L. rima.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- cloy v. t.
- To fill or choke up; to stop up; to clog. [OE. cloer to nail up, F. clouer, fr. OF. clo nail, F. clou, fr. L. clavus nail. Cf. 3d Clove.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lament 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, Lament, in Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2863, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-satires/lament.html, id L24050.
Form and metre
Lament is 44 lines in 4 stanzas of 11 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDDEEE, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in anapaestic dimeter.
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--CCDDD lovedA · dayB · glovedA · trayB · lawn · shone · butC · shutC · spellD · shellD · cellD
- 2 ABABCCDDEEE reignedA · nightB · unfeignedA · delightB · abodeC · bestowedC · alasD · grassD · flowE · knowE · soE
- 3 ABABCCDDEEE soughtA · glanceB · broughtA · advanceB · rimeC · timeC · chancedD · trancedD · bestE · possessedE · restE
- 4 ABABCCDDEEE stayingA · thingsB · gayingA · junketingsB · herC · herC · butD · shutD · deadE · saidE · bedE
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 anapaestic dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| HOW she would have loved | 5 | ····· |
| A party to-day!— | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Bright-hatted and gloved, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| With table and tray | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| And chairs on the lawn | 5 | ····· |
| Her smiles would have shone | 5 | ····· |
| With welcomings . . . But | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| She is shut, she is shut | 6 | ······ |
| From friendship’s spell | 4 | ·/˘· |
| In the jailing shell | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Of her tiny cell. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Or she would have reigned | 5 | ····· |
| At a dinner to-night | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| With ardours unfeigned, | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| And a generous delight; | 6 | ··/˘˘/ |
| All in her abode | 5 | ···˘/ |
| She’d have freely bestowed | 6 | ··/˘˘/ |
| On her guests . . . But alas, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| She is shut under grass | 6 | ······ |
| Where no cups flow, | 4 | ···· |
| Powerless to know | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| That it might be so. | 5 | ····· |
| And she would have sought | 5 | ····· |
| With a child’s eager glance | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The shy snowdrops brought | 5 | ····· |
| By the new year’s advance, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And peered in the rime | 5 | ····· |
| Of Candlemas-time | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| For crocuses . . . chanced | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| It that she were not tranced | 6 | ······ |
| From sights she loved best; | 5 | ····· |
| Wholly possessed | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| By an infinite rest! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| And we are here staying | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Amid these stale things | 5 | ˘/··· |
| Who care not for gaying, | 5 | ····· |
| And those junketings | 5 | ····· |
| That used so to joy her, | 6 | ······ |
| And never to cloy her | 5 | ·/··· |
| As us they cloy! . . . But | 5 | ····· |
| She is shut, she is shut | 6 | ······ |
| From the cheer of them, dead | 6 | ······ |
| To all done and said | 5 | ····· |
| In a yew-arched bed. | 5 | ····· |
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.