“In Vision I Roamed”
IN vision I roamed the flashing Firmament,So fierce in blazon that the Night waxed wan,As though with an awed sense of such ostent;And as I thought my spirit ranged on and on
In footless traverse through ghast heights of sky,To the last chambers of the monstrous Dome,Where stars the brightest here to darkness die:Then, any spot on our own Earth seemed Home!
And the sick grief that you were far awayGrew pleasant thankfulness that you were near?Who might have been, set on some outstep sphere,Less than a Want to me, as day by dayI lived unware, uncaring all that layLocked in that Universe taciturn and drear.
Words in this poem
- firmament n.
- Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
- blazon v. t.
- To depict in colors; to display; to exhibit conspicuously; to publish or make public far and wide. [From blazon, n.; confused with 4th blaze: cf. F. blasonner.]
- ostent n.
- Appearance; air; mien. [L. ostentus, ostentum, fr. ostendere (p. p. ostensus and ostentus) to show. See Ostensible.]
- ghast v. t.
- To strike aghast; to affright. [OE. gasten. See Ghastly, a.]
- outstep v. t.
- To exceed in stepping.
- unware a.
- Unaware; not foreseeing; being off one's guard. [AS. unwær unwary. See Un- not, and Wary.]
- taciturn a.
- Habitually silent; not given to converse; not apt to talk or speak. [L. taciturnus: cf. F. taciturne. See Tacit.]
- drear n.
- Sadness; dismalness.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
“In Vision I Roamed” 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, “In Vision I Roamed”, in Wessex Poems and Other Verses (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3167, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-wessex-poems/in-vision-i-roamed.html, id L04441.
Form and metre
“In Vision I Roamed” is 14 lines in 3 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 firmamentA · wanB · ostentA · onB
- 2 ABAB skyA · domeB · dieA · homeB
- 3 ABBAAB awayA · nearB · sphereB · dayA · layA · drearB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| IN vision I roamed the flashing Firmament, | 11 | ·/˘···/˘/˘˘ |
| So fierce in blazon that the Night waxed wan, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| As though with an awed sense of such ostent; | 10 | ········/˘ |
| And as I thought my spirit ranged on and on | 10 | ·····/···· |
| In footless traverse through ghast heights of sky, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| To the last chambers of the monstrous Dome, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Where stars the brightest here to darkness die: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Then, any spot on our own Earth seemed Home! | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| And the sick grief that you were far away | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Grew pleasant thankfulness that you were near? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Who might have been, set on some outstep sphere, | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| Less than a Want to me, as day by day | 10 | ·········· |
| I lived unware, uncaring all that lay | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Locked in that Universe taciturn and drear. | 11 | ···/˘·/˘··· |
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.