My Cicely (17–)
“ALIVE?”—And I leapt in my wonder,Was faint of my joyance,And grasses and grove shone in garmentsOf glory to me.
“She lives, in a plenteous well-being,To-day as aforehand;The dead bore the name—though a rare one—The name that bore she.”
She lived . . . I, afar in the cityOf frenzy-led factions,Had squandered green years and maturerIn bowing the knee
To Baals illusive and specious,Till chance had there voiced meThat one I loved vainly in nonageHad ceased her to be.
The passion the planets had scowled on,And change had let dwindle,Her death-rumour smartly reliftedTo full apogee.
I mounted a steed in the dawningWith acheful remembrance,And made for the ancient West HighwayTo far Exonb’ry.
Passing heaths, and the House of Long Sieging,I neared the thin steepleThat tops the fair fane of Poore’s oldenEpiscopal see;
And, changing anew my onbearer,I traversed the downlandWhereon the bleak hill-graves of ChieftainsBulge barren of tree;
And still sadly onward I followedThat Highway the Icen,Which trails its pale riband down WessexO’er lynchet and lea.
Along through the Stour-bordered Forum,Where Legions had wayfared,And where the slow river upglassesIts green canopy,
And by Weatherbury Castle, and thencefromThrough Casterbridge held IStill on, to entomb her my visionSaw stretched pallidly.
No highwayman’s trot blew the night-windTo me so life-weary,But only the creak of the gibbetsOr waggoners’ jee.
Triple-ramparted Maidon gloomed graylyAbove me from southward,And north the hill-fortress of Eggar,And square Pummerie.
The Nine-Pillared Cromlech, the Bride-streams,The Axe, and the OtterI passed, to the gate of the cityWhere Exe scents the sea;
Till, spent, in the graveacre pausing,I learnt ’twas not my LoveTo whom Mother Church had just murmuredA last lullaby.
—“Then, where dwells the Canon’s kinswoman,My friend of aforetime?”—(’Twas hard to repress my heart-heavingsAnd new ecstasy.)
“She wedded.”—“Ah!”—“Wedded beneath her—She keeps the stage-hostelTen miles hence, beside the great Highway—The famed Lions-Three.
“Her spouse was her lackey—no option’Twixt wedlock and worse things;A lapse over-sad for a ladyOf her pedigree!”
I shuddered, said nothing, and wanderedTo shades of green laurel:Too ghastly had grown those first tidingsSo brightsome of blee!
For, on my ride hither, I’d haltedAwhile at the Lions,And her—her whose name had once openedMy heart as a key—
I’d looked on, unknowing, and witnessedHer jests with the tapsters,Her liquor-fired face, her thick accentsIn naming her fee.
“O God, why this seeming derision!”I cried in my anguish:“O once Loved, O fair Unforgotten—That Thing—meant it thee!
“Inurned and at peace, lost but sainted,Were grief I could compass;Depraved—’tis for Christ’s poor dependentA cruel decree!”
I backed on the Highway; but passed notThe hostel. Within thereToo mocking to Love’s re-expressionWas Time’s repartee!
Uptracking where Legions had wayfared,By cromlechs unstoried,And lynchets, and sepultured Chieftains,In self-colloquy,
A feeling stirred in me and strengthenedThat she was not my Love,But she of the garth, who lay rapt inHer long reverie.
And thence till to-day I persuade meThat this was the true one;That Death stole intact her young dearnessAnd innocency.
Frail-witted, illuded they call me;I may be. ’Tis betterTo dream than to own the debasementOf sweet Cicely.
Moreover I rate it unseemlyTo hold that kind HeavenCould work such device—to her ruinAnd my misery.
So, lest I disturb my choice vision,I shun the West Highway,Even now, when the knaps ring with rhythmsFrom blackbird and bee;
And feel that with slumber half-consciousShe rests in the church-hay,Her spirit unsoiled as in youth-timeWhen lovers were we.
Words in this poem 42
- joyance n.
- Enjoyment; gayety; festivity; joyfulness. [OF. joiance.]
- aforehand adv.
- Beforehand; in anticipation.
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- maturer n.
- One who brings to maturity.
- illusive a.
- Deceiving by false show; deceitful; deceptive; false; illusory; unreal. [See Illude.]
- voiced a.
- Furnished with a voice; expressed by the voice.
- nonage n.
- The ninth part of movable goods, formerly payable to the clergy on the death of persons in their parishes. Mozley & W. [LL. nonagium, from L. nonus ninth, novem nine.]
- dwindle v. i.
- To diminish; to become less; to shrink; to waste or consume away; to become degenerate; to fall away. [From OE. dwinen to languish, waste away, AS. dwinan; akin to LG. dwinen, D. dwijnen to vanish, Icel. dvina to cease, dwindle, Sw. tvina; of uncertain origin. Th]
- rumour n.
- A flying or popular report; the common talk; hence, public fame; notoriety. [F. rumeur, L. rumor; cf. rumificare, rumitare to rumor, Skr. ru to cry.]
- smartly adv.
- In a smart manner.
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- olden a.
- Old; ancient; as, the olden time.
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- bulge n.
- The bilge or protuberant part of a cask. [OE. bulge a swelling; cf. AS. belgan to swell, OSw. bulgja, Icel. bolginn swollen, OHG. belgan to swell, G. bulge leathern sack, Skr. b to be large, strong; the]
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
- forum n.
- A market place or public place in Rome, where causes were judicially tried, and orations delivered to the people. [L.; akin to foris, foras, out of doors. See Foreign.]
- thencefrom adv.
- From that place.
- pallidly adv.
- In a pallid manner.
- creak v. i.
- To make a prolonged sharp grating or ssqueaking sound, as by the friction of hard substances; as, shoes creak. [OE. creken, prob. of imitative origin; cf. E. crack, and. D. kreiken to crackle, chirp.]
- eggar n.
- Any bombycid moth of the genera Eriogaster and Lasiocampa; as, the oak eggar (L. roboris) of Europe. [Etymol. uncertain.]
- otter n.
- Any carnivorous animal of the genus Lutra, and related genera. [OE. oter, AS. Otor; akin to D. & G. otter, Icel. otr, Dan. odder, Sw. utter, Lith. udra, Russ, vuidra, Gr. udra otter, and also to E. water. Water, and cf. Hydr]
- lullaby n.
- A song to quiet babes or lull them to sleep; that which quiets. [From Lull, v. t.]
- kinswoman n.
- A female relative.
- aforetime adv.
- In time past; formerly.
- wedded a.
- Joined in wedlock; married.
- spouse v. t.
- To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
- lackey n.
- An attending male servant; a footman; a servile follower. [F. laquais; cf. Sp. & Pg. lacayo; of uncertain origin; perh. of German origin, and akin to E.lick, v.]
- option n.
- The power of choosing; the right of choice or election; an alternative. [L. optio; akin to optare to choose, wish, optimus best, and perh. to E. apt: cf. F. option.]
- pedigree n.
- A line of ancestors; descent; lineage; genealogy; a register or record of a line of ancestors. [Of unknown origin; possibly fr. F. par degrés by degrees, -- for a pedigree is properly a genealogical table which records the relationship of families by degre]
- brightsome a.
- Bright; clear; luminous; brilliant. Marlowe.
- blee n.
- Complexion; color; hue; likeness; form. [AS. bleó, bleóh.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- sainted a.
- Consecrated; sacred; holy; pious.
- repartee n.
- A smart, ready, and witty reply. [F. repartie, fr. repartir to reply, depart again; pref. re- re- partir to part, depart. See Part.]
- rapt n.
- An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
- reverie n.
- A loose or irregular train of thought occurring in musing or mediation; deep musing; daydream. [F. réverie, fr. rêver to dream, rave, be light-headed. Cf. Rave.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- intact a.
- Untouched, especially by anything that harms, defiles, or the like; uninjured; undefiled; left complete or entire. Buckle. [L. intactus; pref. in- not + tactus, p. p. of tangere to touch: cf. F. intact. See In- not, and Tact, Tangent.]
- dearness n.
- The quality or state of being dear; costliness; excess of price.
- debasement n.
- The act of debasing or the state of being debased.
- cicely n.
- Any one of several umbelliferous plants, of the genera Myrrhis, Osmorrhiza, etc.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
My Cicely (17–) 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, My Cicely (17–), in Wessex Poems and Other Verses (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3167, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-wessex-poems/my-cicely-17.html, id L04464.
Form and metre
My Cicely (17–) is 124 lines in 31 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 66 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 42% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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.
- 4 -A-A specious · meA · nonage · 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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| “ALIVE?”—And I leapt in my wonder, | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| Was faint of my joyance, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And grasses and grove shone in garments | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Of glory to me. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| “She lives, in a plenteous well-being, | 9 | ····/˘˘·/ |
| To-day as aforehand; | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| The dead bore the name—though a rare one— | 9 | ········· |
| The name that bore she.” | 5 | ····· |
| She lived . . . I, afar in the city | 9 | ···˘/··/˘ |
| Of frenzy-led factions, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Had squandered green years and maturer | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| In bowing the knee | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| To Baals illusive and specious, | 8 | ··˘/˘·/˘ |
| Till chance had there voiced me | 6 | ······ |
| That one I loved vainly in nonage | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Had ceased her to be. | 6 | ··˘··· |
| The passion the planets had scowled on, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| And change had let dwindle, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Her death-rumour smartly relifted | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| To full apogee. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| I mounted a steed in the dawning | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| With acheful remembrance, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| And made for the ancient West Highway | 9 | ····/˘·/· |
| To far Exonb’ry. | 5 | ····· |
| Passing heaths, and the House of Long Sieging, | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| I neared the thin steeple | 6 | ····/˘ |
| That tops the fair fane of Poore’s olden | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Episcopal see; | 5 | ˘/˘˘· |
| And, changing anew my onbearer, | 9 | ·/˘˘/···· |
| I traversed the downland | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Whereon the bleak hill-graves of Chieftains | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| Bulge barren of tree; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| And still sadly onward I followed | 9 | ··/˘/˘·/˘ |
| That Highway the Icen, | 6 | ·/···· |
| Which trails its pale riband down Wessex | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| O’er lynchet and lea. | 5 | ····· |
| Along through the Stour-bordered Forum, | 9 | ˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Where Legions had wayfared, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And where the slow river upglasses | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Its green canopy, | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| And by Weatherbury Castle, and thencefrom | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| Through Casterbridge held I | 6 | ······ |
| Still on, to entomb her my vision | 9 | ···˘/··/˘ |
| Saw stretched pallidly. | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| No highwayman’s trot blew the night-wind | 9 | ········· |
| To me so life-weary, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| But only the creak of the gibbets | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Or waggoners’ jee. | 5 | ····· |
| Triple-ramparted Maidon gloomed grayly | 10 | /˘········ |
| Above me from southward, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And north the hill-fortress of Eggar, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| And square Pummerie. | 5 | ····· |
| The Nine-Pillared Cromlech, the Bride-streams, | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| The Axe, and the Otter | 6 | ····/˘ |
| I passed, to the gate of the city | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Where Exe scents the sea; | 5 | ····· |
| Till, spent, in the graveacre pausing, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I learnt ’twas not my Love | 6 | ······ |
| To whom Mother Church had just murmured | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| A last lullaby. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| —“Then, where dwells the Canon’s kinswoman, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| My friend of aforetime?”— | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| (’Twas hard to repress my heart-heavings | 9 | ···˘/··/˘ |
| And new ecstasy.) | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| “She wedded.”—“Ah!”—“Wedded beneath her— | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| She keeps the stage-hostel | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Ten miles hence, beside the great Highway— | 9 | ···˘/··/· |
| The famed Lions-Three. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| “Her spouse was her lackey—no option | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| ’Twixt wedlock and worse things; | 6 | ·/···· |
| A lapse over-sad for a lady | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Of her pedigree!” | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| I shuddered, said nothing, and wandered | 9 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| To shades of green laurel: | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Too ghastly had grown those first tidings | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| So brightsome of blee! | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| For, on my ride hither, I’d halted | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Awhile at the Lions, | 6 | ˘/··/˘ |
| And her—her whose name had once opened | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| My heart as a key— | 5 | ····· |
| I’d looked on, unknowing, and witnessed | 9 | ···˘/˘·/˘ |
| Her jests with the tapsters, | 6 | ······ |
| Her liquor-fired face, her thick accents | 9 | ·/˘/···/˘ |
| In naming her fee. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| “O God, why this seeming derision!” | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| I cried in my anguish: | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “O once Loved, O fair Unforgotten— | 9 | ········· |
| That Thing—meant it thee! | 5 | ····· |
| “Inurned and at peace, lost but sainted, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Were grief I could compass; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Depraved—’tis for Christ’s poor dependent | 9 | ˘/····˘/˘ |
| A cruel decree!” | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| I backed on the Highway; but passed not | 9 | ····/···· |
| The hostel. Within there | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Too mocking to Love’s re-expression | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Was Time’s repartee! | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Uptracking where Legions had wayfared, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| By cromlechs unstoried, | 5 | ····· |
| And lynchets, and sepultured Chieftains, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| In self-colloquy, | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| A feeling stirred in me and strengthened | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| That she was not my Love, | 6 | ······ |
| But she of the garth, who lay rapt in | 9 | ········· |
| Her long reverie. | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| And thence till to-day I persuade me | 9 | ······˘/· |
| That this was the true one; | 6 | ······ |
| That Death stole intact her young dearness | 9 | ···˘/··/˘ |
| And innocency. | 5 | ·/˘˘˘ |
| Frail-witted, illuded they call me; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| I may be. ’Tis better | 6 | ····/˘ |
| To dream than to own the debasement | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Of sweet Cicely. | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| Moreover I rate it unseemly | 9 | ˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| To hold that kind Heaven | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Could work such device—to her ruin | 8 | ···˘/··/ |
| And my misery. | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| So, lest I disturb my choice vision, | 9 | ···˘/··/˘ |
| I shun the West Highway, | 6 | ····/· |
| Even now, when the knaps ring with rhythms | 9 | /······/˘ |
| From blackbird and bee; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| And feel that with slumber half-conscious | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| She rests in the church-hay, | 6 | ······ |
| Her spirit unsoiled as in youth-time | 8 | ·/······ |
| When lovers were we. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
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.