The Satin Shoes
“IF ever I walk to church to wed,As other maidens use,And face the gathered eyes,” she said,“I’ll go in satin shoes!”
She was as fair as early dayShining on meads unmown,And her sweet syllables seemed to playLike flute-notes softly blown.
The time arrived when it was meetThat she should be a bride;The satin shoes were on her feet,Her father was at her side.
They stood within the dairy door,And gazed across the green;The church loomed on the distant moor,But rain was thick between.
“The grass-path hardly can be stepped,The lane is like a pool!”—Her dream is shown to be inept,Her wish they overrule.
“To go forth shod in satin softA coach would be required!”For thickest boots the shoes were doffed—Those shoes her soul desired . . .
All day the bride, as overborne,Was seen to brood apart,And that the shoes had not been wornSat heavy on her heart.
From her wrecked dream, as months flew on,Her thought seemed not to range.“What ails the wife?” they said anon,“That she should be so strange?” . . .
Ah—what coach comes with furtive glide—A coach of closed-up kind?It comes to fetch the last year’s bride,Who wanders in her mind.
She strove with them, and fearfully ranStairward with one low scream:“Nay—coax her,” said the madhouse man,“With some old household theme.”
“If you will go, dear, you must fainPut on those shoes—the pairMeant for your marriage, which the rainForbade you then to wear.”
She clapped her hands, flushed joyous hues;“O yes—I’ll up and rideIf I am to wear my satin shoesAnd be a proper bride!”
Out then her little foot held she,As to depart with speed;The madhouse man smiled pleasantlyTo see the wile succeed.
She turned to him when all was done,And gave him her thin hand,Exclaiming like an enraptured one,“This time it will be grand!”
She mounted with a face elate,Shut was the carriage door;They drove her to the madhouse gate,And she was seen no more . . .
Yet she was fair as early dayShining on meads unmown,And her sweet syllables seemed to playLike flute-notes softly blown.
EVERYBODY else, then, going,And I still left where the fair was? . . .Much have I seen of neighbour loungersMaking a lusty showing,Each now past all knowing.
There is an air of blanknessIn the street and the littered spaces;Thoroughfare, steeple, bridge and highwayWizen themselves to lankness;Kennels dribble dankness.
Folk all fade. And whither,As I wait alone where the fair was?Into the clammy and numbing night-fogWhence they entered hither.Soon do I follow thither!
Words in this poem 20
- inept a.
- Not apt or fit; unfit; unsuitable; improper; unbecoming. [L. ineptus; prefix. in- not + aptus apt, fit: cf. F. inepte. Cf. Inapt.]
- overrule v. t.
- To rule over; to govern or determine by superior authority.
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- furtive a.
- Stolen; obtained or characterized by stealth; sly; secret; stealthy; as, a furtive look. Prior. [L. furtivus, fr. furtum theft, fr. fur thief, akin to ferre to bear: cf. F. furtif. See Fertile.]
- fearfully adv.
- In a fearful manner.
- madhouse n.
- A house where insane persons are confined; an insane asylum; a bedlam.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- pleasantly adv.
- In a pleasant manner.
- wile n.
- A trick or stratagem practiced for insnaring or deception; a sly, insidious; artifice; a beguilement; an allurement. [OE. wile, AS. wil; cf. Icel. v, væl. Cf. Guile.]
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- neighbour v. i.
- To dwell in the vicinity; to be a neighbor, or in the neighborhood; to be near.
- blankness n.
- The state of being blank.
- thoroughfare n.
- A passage through; a passage from one street or opening to another; an unobstructed way open to the public; a public road; hence, a frequented street. [AS. þurhfaru.]
- wizen v. i.
- To wither; to dry. [OE. wisenen, AS. wisnian akin to weornian to decay, OHG. wesan to grow dry, G. verwesen to rot, Icel. visna to wither, Sw. vissna, Dan. visne, and probably to L]
- lankness n.
- The state or quality of being lank.
- dribble v. i.
- To fall in drops or small drops, or in a quick succession of drops; as, water dribbles from the eaves. [Freq. of drib, which is a variant of drip.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Satin Shoes 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 Satin Shoes, in Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2863, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-satires/the-satin-shoes.html, id L24096.
Form and metre
The Satin Shoes is 79 lines in 19 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 12 of its 19 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 wedA · useB · saidA · shoesB
- 2 ABAB dayA · unmownB · playA · blownB
- 3 ABAB meetA · brideB · feetA · sideB
- 4 -A-A door · greenA · moor · betweenA
- 5 ABAB steppedA · poolB · ineptA · overruleB
- 6 -A-A soft · requiredA · doffed · desiredA
- 7 ABAB overborneA · apartB · wornA · heartB
- 8 -A-A on · rangeA · anon · strangeA
- 9 ABAB glideA · kindB · brideA · mindB
- 10 ABAB ranA · screamB · manA · themeB
- 11 ABAB fainA · pairB · rainA · wearB
- 12 ABAB huesA · rideB · shoesA · brideB
- 13 -A-A she · speedA · pleasantly · succeedA
- 14 ABAB doneA · handB · oneA · grandB
- 15 ABAB elateA · doorB · gateA · moreB
- 16 ABAB dayA · unmownB · playA · blownB
- 17 A--AA goingA · was · loungers · showingA · knowingA
- 18 A--AA blanknessA · spaces · highway · lanknessA · danknessA
- 19 A--AA whitherA · was · fog · hitherA · thitherA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| “IF ever I walk to church to wed, | 8 | ·/······ |
| As other maidens use, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And face the gathered eyes,” she said, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| “I’ll go in satin shoes!” | 6 | ···/˘· |
| She was as fair as early day | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shining on meads unmown, | 6 | /˘···· |
| And her sweet syllables seemed to play | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Like flute-notes softly blown. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The time arrived when it was meet | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| That she should be a bride; | 6 | ······ |
| The satin shoes were on her feet, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her father was at her side. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| They stood within the dairy door, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And gazed across the green; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| The church loomed on the distant moor, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But rain was thick between. | 6 | ······ |
| “The grass-path hardly can be stepped, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The lane is like a pool!”— | 6 | ······ |
| Her dream is shown to be inept, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Her wish they overrule. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| “To go forth shod in satin soft | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A coach would be required!” | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| For thickest boots the shoes were doffed— | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Those shoes her soul desired . . . | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| All day the bride, as overborne, | 8 | ········ |
| Was seen to brood apart, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And that the shoes had not been worn | 8 | ········ |
| Sat heavy on her heart. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| From her wrecked dream, as months flew on, | 8 | ········ |
| Her thought seemed not to range. | 6 | ······ |
| “What ails the wife?” they said anon, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| “That she should be so strange?” . . . | 6 | ······ |
| Ah—what coach comes with furtive glide— | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A coach of closed-up kind? | 6 | ······ |
| It comes to fetch the last year’s bride, | 8 | ········ |
| Who wanders in her mind. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| She strove with them, and fearfully ran | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Stairward with one low scream: | 6 | ······ |
| “Nay—coax her,” said the madhouse man, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| “With some old household theme.” | 6 | ···/·· |
| “If you will go, dear, you must fain | 8 | ········ |
| Put on those shoes—the pair | 6 | ······ |
| Meant for your marriage, which the rain | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Forbade you then to wear.” | 6 | ˘/···· |
| She clapped her hands, flushed joyous hues; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| “O yes—I’ll up and ride | 6 | ······ |
| If I am to wear my satin shoes | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And be a proper bride!” | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Out then her little foot held she, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As to depart with speed; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| The madhouse man smiled pleasantly | 8 | ·/···/˘˘ |
| To see the wile succeed. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| She turned to him when all was done, | 8 | ········ |
| And gave him her thin hand, | 6 | ······ |
| Exclaiming like an enraptured one, | 9 | ˘/˘··˘/˘· |
| “This time it will be grand!” | 6 | ······ |
| She mounted with a face elate, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Shut was the carriage door; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| They drove her to the madhouse gate, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| And she was seen no more . . . | 6 | ······ |
| Yet she was fair as early day | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shining on meads unmown, | 6 | /˘···· |
| And her sweet syllables seemed to play | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Like flute-notes softly blown. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| EVERYBODY else, then, going, | 8 | /˘·˘··/˘ |
| And I still left where the fair was? . . . | 8 | ········ |
| Much have I seen of neighbour loungers | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Making a lusty showing, | 7 | /˘·/˘/˘ |
| Each now past all knowing. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| There is an air of blankness | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| In the street and the littered spaces; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Thoroughfare, steeple, bridge and highway | 9 | /˘·/˘··/· |
| Wizen themselves to lankness; | 7 | /˘˘/·/˘ |
| Kennels dribble dankness. | 6 | /˘/˘·· |
| Folk all fade. And whither, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| As I wait alone where the fair was? | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| Into the clammy and numbing night-fog | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| Whence they entered hither. | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Soon do I follow thither! | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
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.