Memorial of a Conversation
Yes! all things tell us of a birthright lost--A brightness from our nature pass’d away!Wanderers we seem that from an alien coastWould turn to where their Father’s mansion lay;And but by some lone flower, that midst decaySmiles mournfully, or by some sculptured stone,Revealing dimly, with gray moss o’ergrown,The faint, worn impress of its glory’s day,Can trace their once-free heritage, though dreams,Fraught with its picture, oft in startling gleamsFlash o’er their souls. But One, oh! One alone,For us the ruin’d fabric may rebuild,And bid the wilderness again be fill’dWith Eden-flowers--One mighty to atone!
Words in this poem
- mansion n.
- A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- dimly adv.
- In a dim or obscure manner; not brightly or clearly; with imperfect sight.
- heritage a.
- That which is inherited, or passes from heir to heir; inheritance. [OE. heritage, eritage, OF. heritage, eritage, F. héritage, fr. hériter to inherit, LL. heriditare. See Hereditable.]
- 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.]
- rebuild v. t.
- To build again, as something which has been demolished; to construct anew; as, to rebuild a house, a wall, a wharf, or a city.
- eden n.
- The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
- atone v. t.
- To set at one; to reduce to concord; to reconcile, as parties at variance; to appease.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Memorial of a Conversation 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, Memorial of a Conversation, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/memorial-of-a-conversation.html, id L19815.
Form and metre
Memorial of a Conversation is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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 -A-AABBACCBDDB lost · awayA · coast · layA · decayA · stoneB · o'ergrownB · dayA · dreamsC · gleamsC · aloneB · rebuildD · fill'dD · atoneB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Yes! all things tell us of a birthright lost-- | 10 | ·······/·· |
| A brightness from our nature pass’d away! | 10 | ·/˘·//˘·˘/ |
| Wanderers we seem that from an alien coast | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Would turn to where their Father’s mansion lay; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And but by some lone flower, that midst decay | 10 | ·····/··˘/ |
| Smiles mournfully, or by some sculptured stone, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Revealing dimly, with gray moss o’ergrown, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| The faint, worn impress of its glory’s day, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Can trace their once-free heritage, though dreams, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Fraught with its picture, oft in startling gleams | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Flash o’er their souls. But One, oh! One alone, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| For us the ruin’d fabric may rebuild, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And bid the wilderness again be fill’d | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/·· |
| With Eden-flowers--One mighty to atone! | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘·˘/ |
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.