He Never Smiled Again
The bark that held a prince went down,The sweeping waves roll’d on;And what was England’s glorious crownTo him that wept a son?He lived--for life may long be borneEre sorrow break its chain;Why comes not death to those who mourn?He never smiled again!
There stood proud forms around his throne,The stately and the brave;But which could fill the place of one,That one beneath the wave?Before him pass’d the young and fair,In pleasure’s reckless train;But seas dash’d o’er his son’s bright hair--He never smiled again!
He sat where festal bowls went round,He heard the minstrel sing,He saw the tourney’s victor crown’dAmidst the knightly ring:A murmur of the restless deepWas blent with every strain,A voice of winds that would not sleep--He never smiled again!
Hearts, in that time, closed o’er the traceOf vows once fondly pour’d,And strangers took the kinsman’s placeAt many a joyous board;Graves, which true love had bathed with tears,Were left to heaven’s bright rain,Fresh hopes were born for other years--He never smiled again!
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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.]
- festal a.
- Of or pertaining to a holiday or a feast; joyous; festive. [L. festum holiday, feast. See feast.]
- tourney v. i.
- To perform in tournaments; to tilt. [Cf.OF. torneier. See Tourney, n.]
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- knightly a.
- Of or pertaining to a knight; becoming a knight; chivalrous; as, a knightly combat; a knightly spirit. [AS. cnihtlic boyish.]
- blent p. p.
- Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth.
- fondly adv.
- Foolishly. Verstegan (1673).
- kinsman n.
- A man of the same race or family; one related by blood.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
He Never Smiled Again 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, He Never Smiled Again, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/he-never-smiled-again.html, id L19337.
Form and metre
He Never Smiled Again is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 A-A-BCBC downA · on · crownA · son · borneB · chainC · mournB · againC
- 2 -A-ABCBC throne · braveA · one · waveA · fairB · trainC · hairB · againC
- 3 ABABCDCD roundA · singB · crown'dA · ringB · deepC · strainD · sleepC · againD
- 4 ABABCDCD traceA · pour'dB · placeA · boardB · tearsC · rainD · yearsC · againD
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The bark that held a prince went down, | 8 | ········ |
| The sweeping waves roll’d on; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And what was England’s glorious crown | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘· |
| To him that wept a son? | 6 | ······ |
| He lived--for life may long be borne | 8 | ········ |
| Ere sorrow break its chain; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Why comes not death to those who mourn? | 8 | ········ |
| He never smiled again! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| There stood proud forms around his throne, | 8 | ········ |
| The stately and the brave; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But which could fill the place of one, | 8 | ········ |
| That one beneath the wave? | 6 | ······ |
| Before him pass’d the young and fair, | 8 | ········ |
| In pleasure’s reckless train; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| But seas dash’d o’er his son’s bright hair-- | 8 | ········ |
| He never smiled again! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| He sat where festal bowls went round, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He heard the minstrel sing, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| He saw the tourney’s victor crown’d | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Amidst the knightly ring: | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| A murmur of the restless deep | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Was blent with every strain, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| A voice of winds that would not sleep-- | 8 | ········ |
| He never smiled again! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Hearts, in that time, closed o’er the trace | 8 | ········ |
| Of vows once fondly pour’d, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And strangers took the kinsman’s place | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| At many a joyous board; | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Graves, which true love had bathed with tears, | 8 | ········ |
| Were left to heaven’s bright rain, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Fresh hopes were born for other years-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| He never smiled again! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
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