Rain on a Grave
CLOUDS spout upon herTheir waters amainIn ruthless disdain,—Her who but latelyHad shivered with painAs at touch of dishonourIf there had lit on herSo coldly, so straightlySuch arrows of rain.
She who to shelterHer delicate headWould quicken and quickenEach tentative treadIf drops chanced to pelt herThat summertime spillsIn dust-paven rillsWhen thunder-clouds thickenAnd birds close their bills.
Would that I lay thereAnd she were housed here!Or better, togetherWere folded away thereExposed to one weatherWe both,—who would stray thereWhen sunny the day there,Or evening was clearAt the prime of the year.
Soon will be growingGreen blades from her mound,And daises be showingLike stars on the ground,Till she form part of them—Ay—the sweet heart of them,Loved beyond measureWith a child’s pleasureAll her life’s round.
Words in this poem
- amain adv.
- With might; with full force; vigorously; violently; exceedingly. [Pref. a- + main. See 2d Main, n.]
- ruthless a.
- Having no ruth; cruel; pitiless.
- dishonour n.
- Lack of honor; disgrace; ignominy; shame; reproach. [OE. deshonour, dishonour, OF. deshonor, deshonur, F. déshonneur; pref. des- (L. dis-) + honor, honur, F. honneur, fr. L. honor. See Honor.]
- coldly adv.
- In a cold manner; without warmth, animation, or feeling; with indifference; calmly.
- straightly adv.
- In a right line; not crookedly.
- tentative a.
- Of or pertaining to a trial or trials; essaying; experimental. [L. tentare to try: cf. F. tentatif. See Tempt.]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Rain on a Grave 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, Rain on a Grave, in Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2863, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-satires/rain-on-a-grave.html, id L24047.
Form and metre
Rain on a Grave is 36 lines in 4 stanzas of 9 lines each. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABB-B-A-B herA · amainB · disdainB · lately · painB · dishonour · herA · straightly · rainB
- 2 -ABA-CCBC shelter · headA · quickenB · treadA · her · spillsC · rillsC · thickenB · billsC
- 3 ABCACAABB thereA · hereB · togetherC · thereA · weatherC · thereA · thereA · clearB · yearB
- 4 ABABCCDDB growingA · moundB · showingA · groundB · themC · themC · measureD · pleasureD · roundB
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| CLOUDS spout upon her | 5 | ····· |
| Their waters amain | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| In ruthless disdain,— | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| Her who but lately | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Had shivered with pain | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| As at touch of dishonour | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| If there had lit on her | 6 | ······ |
| So coldly, so straightly | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Such arrows of rain. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| She who to shelter | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Her delicate head | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Would quicken and quicken | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Each tentative tread | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| If drops chanced to pelt her | 6 | ······ |
| That summertime spills | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| In dust-paven rills | 5 | ··/˘· |
| When thunder-clouds thicken | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| And birds close their bills. | 5 | ····· |
| Would that I lay there | 5 | ····· |
| And she were housed here! | 5 | ····· |
| Or better, together | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Were folded away there | 6 | ·/˘˘/· |
| Exposed to one weather | 6 | ˘/··/˘ |
| We both,—who would stray there | 6 | ······ |
| When sunny the day there, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Or evening was clear | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| At the prime of the year. | 6 | ······ |
| Soon will be growing | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Green blades from her mound, | 5 | ····· |
| And daises be showing | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Like stars on the ground, | 5 | ····· |
| Till she form part of them— | 6 | ······ |
| Ay—the sweet heart of them, | 6 | ······ |
| Loved beyond measure | 5 | ···/˘ |
| With a child’s pleasure | 5 | ···/˘ |
| All her life’s round. | 4 | ···· |
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.