A Parting Song
When will ye think of me, my friends?When will ye think of me?--When the last red light, the farewell of day,From the rock and the river is passing away--When the air with a deepening hush is fraught,And the heart grows burden’d with tender thought,Then let it be!
When will ye think of me, kind friends?When will ye think of me?--When the rose of the rich midsummer-timeIs fill’d with the hues of its glorious prime--When ye gather its bloom, as in bright hours fled,From the walks where my footsteps no more may tread--Then let it be!
When will ye think of me, sweet friends?When will ye think of me?--When the sudden tears o’erflow your eyeAt the sound of some olden melody--When ye hear the voice of a mountain stream,When ye feel the charm of a poet’s dream--Then let it be!
Thus let my memory be with you, friends!Thus ever think of me!Kindly and gently, but as of oneFor whom ’tis well to be fled and gone--As of a bird from a chain unbound,As of a wanderer whose home is found--So let it be.
‘The sound of thy streams in my spirit I bear--Farewell! and a blessing be with thee, green land!On thy hearths, on thy halls, on thy pure mountain air,On the chords of the harp, and the minstrel’s free hand,From the love of my soul with my tears it is shed,As I leave thee, green land of my home and my dead!
Words in this poem
- fraught n.
- A freight; a cargo. [OE.fraight, fraght; akin to Dan. fragt, Sw. frakt, D. vracht, G. fracht, cf. OHG. fr merit, reward; perh. from corresponding to E. for + The root of E. own. Cf.]
- midsummer n.
- The middle of summer. Shak. Midsummer daisy (Bot.), the oxeye daisy. [AS. midsumor.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- olden a.
- Old; ancient; as, the olden time.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Parting Song is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Felicia Hemans, Project Gutenberg ebook #66785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Felicia Hemans, A Parting Song, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/a-parting-song.html, id L19565.
Form and metre
A Parting Song is 34 lines in 5 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
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 -ABBCCA friends · meA · dayB · awayB · fraughtC · thoughtC · beA
- 2 -ABBCCA friends · meA · timeB · primeB · fledC · treadC · beA
- 3 -AA-BBA friends · meA · eyeA · melody · streamB · dreamB · beA
- 4 -A--BBA friends · meA · one · gone · unboundB · foundB · beA
- 5 ABABCC bearA · landB · airA · handB · shedC · deadC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When will ye think of me, my friends? | 8 | ········ |
| When will ye think of me?-- | 6 | ······ |
| When the last red light, the farewell of day, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| From the rock and the river is passing away-- | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| When the air with a deepening hush is fraught, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And the heart grows burden’d with tender thought, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| Then let it be! | 4 | ···· |
| When will ye think of me, kind friends? | 8 | ········ |
| When will ye think of me?-- | 6 | ······ |
| When the rose of the rich midsummer-time | 10 | ······//˘· |
| Is fill’d with the hues of its glorious prime-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When ye gather its bloom, as in bright hours fled, | 11 | ··/˘·····/· |
| From the walks where my footsteps no more may tread-- | 11 | ·····/····· |
| Then let it be! | 4 | ···· |
| When will ye think of me, sweet friends? | 8 | ········ |
| When will ye think of me?-- | 6 | ······ |
| When the sudden tears o’erflow your eye | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| At the sound of some olden melody-- | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| When ye hear the voice of a mountain stream, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When ye feel the charm of a poet’s dream-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Then let it be! | 4 | ···· |
| Thus let my memory be with you, friends! | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Thus ever think of me! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Kindly and gently, but as of one | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| For whom ’tis well to be fled and gone-- | 9 | ········· |
| As of a bird from a chain unbound, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| As of a wanderer whose home is found-- | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| So let it be. | 4 | ···· |
| ‘The sound of thy streams in my spirit I bear-- | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Farewell! and a blessing be with thee, green land! | 11 | ·/··/˘····· |
| On thy hearths, on thy halls, on thy pure mountain air, | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| On the chords of the harp, and the minstrel’s free hand, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| From the love of my soul with my tears it is shed, | 12 | ············ |
| As I leave thee, green land of my home and my dead! | 12 | ············ |
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.