The Newcomer’s Wife
HE paused on the sill of a door ajarThat screened a lively liquor-bar,For the name had reached him through the doorOf her he had married the week before.
“We called her the Hack of the Parade;But she was discreet in the games she played;If slightly worn, she’s pretty yet,And gossips, after all, forget.
“And he knows nothing of her past;I am glad the girl’s in luck at last;Such ones, though stale to native eyes,Newcomers snatch at as a prize.”
“Yes, being a stranger he sees her blentOf all that’s fresh and innocent,Nor dreams how many a love-campaignShe had enjoyed before his reign!”
That night there was the splash of a fallOver the slimy harbour-wall:They searched, and at the deepest placeFound him with crabs upon his face.
Words in this poem
- ajar adv.
- Slightly turned or opened; as, the door was standing ajar. [OE. on char ajar, on the turn; AS. cerr, cyrr, turn, akin to G. kehren to turn, and to D. akerre. See Char.]
- discreet a.
- Possessed of discernment, especially in avoiding error or evil, and in the adaptation of means to ends; prudent; sagacious; judicious; not rash or heedless; cautious. [F. discret, L. discretus separated (whence the meaning reserved, prudent), p. p. of discernere. See Discern, and cf. Discrete.]
- blent p. p.
- Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth.
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Newcomer’s Wife 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 Newcomer’s Wife, in Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2863, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-satires/the-newcomer-s-wife.html, id L24067.
Form and metre
The Newcomer’s Wife is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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 AABB ajarA · barA · doorB · beforeB
- 2 AABB paradeA · playedA · yetB · forgetB
- 3 AABB pastA · lastA · eyesB · prizeB
- 4 AABB blentA · innocentA · campaignB · reignB
- 5 AABB fallA · wallA · placeB · faceB
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 paused on the sill of a door ajar | 10 | ········˘/ |
| That screened a lively liquor-bar, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| For the name had reached him through the door | 9 | ········· |
| Of her he had married the week before. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| “We called her the Hack of the Parade; | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| But she was discreet in the games she played; | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| If slightly worn, she’s pretty yet, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And gossips, after all, forget. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| “And he knows nothing of her past; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I am glad the girl’s in luck at last; | 9 | ········· |
| Such ones, though stale to native eyes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Newcomers snatch at as a prize.” | 8 | /·˘····· |
| “Yes, being a stranger he sees her blent | 9 | ·/·/˘···· |
| Of all that’s fresh and innocent, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Nor dreams how many a love-campaign | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| She had enjoyed before his reign!” | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| That night there was the splash of a fall | 9 | ········· |
| Over the slimy harbour-wall: | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| They searched, and at the deepest place | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Found him with crabs upon his face. | 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.