A Meeting with Despair
AS evening shaped I found me on a moorWhich sight could scarce sustain:The black lean land, of featureless contour,Was like a tract in pain.
“This scene, like my own life,” I said, “is oneWhere many glooms abide;Toned by its fortune to a deadly dun—Lightless on every side.
I glanced aloft and halted, pleasure-caughtTo see the contrast there:The ray-lit clouds gleamed glory; and I thought,“There’s solace everywhere!”
Then bitter self-reproaches as I stoodI dealt me silentlyAs one perverse—misrepresenting GoodIn graceless mutiny.
Against the horizon’s dim-discernèd wheelA form rose, strange of mould:That he was hideous, hopeless, I could feelRather than could behold.
“’Tis a dead spot, where even the light lies spentTo darkness!” croaked the Thing.“Not if you look aloft!” said I, intentOn my new reasoning.
“Yea—but await awhile!” he cried. “Ho-ho!—Look now aloft and see!”I looked. There, too, sat night: Heaven’s radiant showHad gone. Then chuckled he.
Words in this poem
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- featureless a.
- Having no distinct or distinctive features.
- lightless a.
- Destitute of light; dark.
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
- graceless a.
- Wanting in grace or excellence; departed from, or deprived of, divine grace; hence, depraved; corrupt.
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- await v. t.
- To watch for; to look out for. [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Meeting with Despair is in the public domain. This text is taken from Wessex Poems and Other Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #3167; 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, A Meeting with Despair, in Wessex Poems and Other Verses (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3167, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-wessex-poems/a-meeting-with-despair.html, id L04467.
Form and metre
A Meeting with Despair is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 39% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABAB moorA · sustainB · contourA · painB
- 2 ABAB oneA · abideB · dunA · sideB
- 3 ABAB caughtA · thereB · thoughtA · everywhereB
- 4 A-A- stoodA · silently · goodA · mutiny
- 5 ABAB wheelA · mouldB · feelA · beholdB
- 6 ABAB spentA · thingB · intentA · reasoningB
- 7 ABAB hoA · seeB · showA · heB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AS evening shaped I found me on a moor | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Which sight could scarce sustain: | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The black lean land, of featureless contour, | 9 | ·····/˘/· |
| Was like a tract in pain. | 6 | ······ |
| “This scene, like my own life,” I said, “is one | 10 | ·········· |
| Where many glooms abide; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Toned by its fortune to a deadly dun— | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Lightless on every side. | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| I glanced aloft and halted, pleasure-caught | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| To see the contrast there: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The ray-lit clouds gleamed glory; and I thought, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| “There’s solace everywhere!” | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Then bitter self-reproaches as I stood | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| I dealt me silently | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| As one perverse—misrepresenting Good | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| In graceless mutiny. | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Against the horizon’s dim-discernèd wheel | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| A form rose, strange of mould: | 6 | ······ |
| That he was hideous, hopeless, I could feel | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Rather than could behold. | 6 | /˘··˘/ |
| “’Tis a dead spot, where even the light lies spent | 10 | ·····/···· |
| To darkness!” croaked the Thing. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “Not if you look aloft!” said I, intent | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| On my new reasoning. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| “Yea—but await awhile!” he cried. “Ho-ho!— | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| Look now aloft and see!” | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| I looked. There, too, sat night: Heaven’s radiant show | 11 | ······/˘/˘· |
| Had gone. Then chuckled he. | 6 | ···/˘· |
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