The Cheval-Glass
WHY do you harbour that great cheval-glassFilling up your narrow room?You never preen or plume,Or look in a week at your full-length figure—Picture of bachelor gloom!
“Well, when I dwelt in ancient England,Renting the valley farm,Thoughtless of all heart-harm,I used to gaze at the parson’s daughter,A creature of nameless charm.
“Thither there came a lover and won her,Carried her off from my view.O it was then I knewMisery of a cast undreamt of—More than, indeed, my due!
“Then far rumours of her ill-usageCame, like a chilling breathWhen a man languisheth;Followed by news that her mind lost balance,And, in a space, of her death.
“Soon sank her father; and next was the auction—Everything to be sold:Mid things new and oldStood this glass in her former chamber,Long in her use, I was told.
“Well, I awaited the sale and bought it . . .There by my bed it stands,And as the dawn expandsOften I see her pale-faced form thereBrushing her hair’s bright bands.
“There, too, at pallid midnight momentsQuick she will come to my call,Smile from the frame withalPonderingly, as she used to regard mePassing her father’s wall.
“So that it was for its revelationsI brought it oversea,And drag it about with me . . .Anon I shall break it and bury its fragmentsWhere my grave is to be.”
Words in this poem
- harbour n.
- A station for rest and entertainment; a place of security and comfort; a refuge; a shelter. [OE herbor, herberwe, herberge, Icel. herbergi (cf. OHG. heriberga), orig., a shelter for soldiers; herr army + bjarga to save, help, defend; akin to AS. here ar]
- preen n.
- A forked tool used by clothiers in dressing cloth. [AS. preón a clasp, bodkin; akin to D. priem punch, bodkin, awl, G. pfriem, Icel. prjonn a knitting needle, pin, Dan. preen a bodkin, punch.]
- nameless a.
- Without a name; not having been given a name; as, a nameless star.
- undreamt a.
- Not dreamed, or dreamed of; not thof.
- brushing a.
- Constructed or used to brush with; as a brushing machine.
- withal adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- oversea a.
- Beyond the sea; foreign.
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Cheval-Glass 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, The Cheval-Glass, in Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2863, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-satires/the-cheval-glass.html, id L24063.
Form and metre
The Cheval-Glass is 40 lines in 8 stanzas of 5 lines each. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
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 -AA-A glass · roomA · plumeA · figure · gloomA
- 2 -AA-A england · farmA · harmA · daughter · charmA
- 3 -AA-A her · viewA · knewA · of · dueA
- 4 -AA-A usage · breathA · languishethA · balance · deathA
- 5 -AA-A auction · soldA · oldA · chamber · toldA
- 6 -AA-A it · standsA · expandsA · there · bandsA
- 7 -AA-A moments · callA · withalA · me · wallA
- 8 -AA-A revelations · overseaA · meA · fragments · beA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| WHY do you harbour that great cheval-glass | 10 | ···/˘··˘/· |
| Filling up your narrow room? | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| You never preen or plume, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Or look in a week at your full-length figure— | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Picture of bachelor gloom! | 7 | /˘·/˘˘· |
| “Well, when I dwelt in ancient England, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Renting the valley farm, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Thoughtless of all heart-harm, | 6 | /˘···· |
| I used to gaze at the parson’s daughter, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| A creature of nameless charm. | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| “Thither there came a lover and won her, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Carried her off from my view. | 7 | /˘····· |
| O it was then I knew | 6 | ······ |
| Misery of a cast undreamt of— | 8 | /˘······ |
| More than, indeed, my due! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| “Then far rumours of her ill-usage | 9 | ···˘···/˘ |
| Came, like a chilling breath | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When a man languisheth; | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Followed by news that her mind lost balance, | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| And, in a space, of her death. | 7 | ······· |
| “Soon sank her father; and next was the auction— | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Everything to be sold: | 6 | /˘···· |
| Mid things new and old | 5 | ····· |
| Stood this glass in her former chamber, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Long in her use, I was told. | 7 | ······· |
| “Well, I awaited the sale and bought it . . . | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| There by my bed it stands, | 6 | ······ |
| And as the dawn expands | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Often I see her pale-faced form there | 9 | /˘······· |
| Brushing her hair’s bright bands. | 6 | /˘···· |
| “There, too, at pallid midnight moments | 9 | ···/˘/·/˘ |
| Quick she will come to my call, | 7 | ······· |
| Smile from the frame withal | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Ponderingly, as she used to regard me | 11 | ········˘/· |
| Passing her father’s wall. | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| “So that it was for its revelations | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| I brought it oversea, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And drag it about with me . . . | 7 | ······· |
| Anon I shall break it and bury its fragments | 12 | ˘/·····/˘·/˘ |
| Where my grave is to be.” | 6 | ······ |
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.