Sonnet 128
There blooms a plant, whose gaze from hour to hourStill to the sun with fond devotion turns,Wakes when Creation hails his dawning power,And most expands when most her idol burns:But when he seeks the bosom of the deep,His faithful plant’s reflected charms decay;Then fade her flowers, her leaves discolour’d weep,Still fondly pining for the vanish’d ray.Thou whom I love, the day-star of my sight!When thy dear presence wakes me to delight,Joy in my soul unfolds her fairest flower:But in thy heaven of smiles alone it blooms,And, of their light deprived, in grief consumes,Born but to live within thine eye-beam’s power.
Amidst the bitter tears that fellIn anguish at my last farewell,Oh! who would dream that joy could dwell,To make that moment bright?Yet be my judge, each heart! and say,Which then could most my bosom sway,Affliction or delight?
It was when Hope, oppress’d with woes,Seem’d her dim eyes in death to close,That rapture’s brightest beam aroseIn sorrow’s darkest night.Thus, if my soul survive that hour,’Tis that my fate o’ercame the powerOf anguish with delight.
For oh! her love, so long unknown,She then confess’d was all my own,And in that parting hour aloneReveal’d it to my sight.And now what pangs will rend my soul,Should fortune still, with stern control,Forbid me this delight!
I know not if my bliss were vain,For all the force of parting painForbade suspicious doubts to reign,When exiled from her sight:Yet now what double woe for me,Just at the close of eve, to seeThe dayspring of delight!
Words in this poem
- idol n.
- An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
- fondly adv.
- Foolishly. Verstegan (1673).
- 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]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- dayspring n.
- The beginning of the day, or first appearance of light; the dawn; hence, the beginning.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 128 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, Sonnet 128, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/sonnet-128.html, id L13443.
Form and metre
Sonnet 128 is 42 lines in 5 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AAABCCB, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCDCDEEAFFA hourA · turnsB · powerA · burnsB · deepC · decayD · weepC · rayD · sightE · delightE · flowerA · bloomsF · consumesF · powerA
- 2 AAABCCB fellA · farewellA · dwellA · brightB · sayC · swayC · delightB
- 3 AAABCCB woesA · closeA · aroseA · nightB · hourC · powerC · delightB
- 4 AAABCCB unknownA · ownA · aloneA · sightB · soulC · controlC · delightB
- 5 AAABCCB vainA · painA · reignA · sightB · meC · seeC · delightB
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There blooms a plant, whose gaze from hour to hour | 11 | ·······/·/˘ |
| Still to the sun with fond devotion turns, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Wakes when Creation hails his dawning power, | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| And most expands when most her idol burns: | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| But when he seeks the bosom of the deep, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| His faithful plant’s reflected charms decay; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Then fade her flowers, her leaves discolour’d weep, | 10 | ···/······ |
| Still fondly pining for the vanish’d ray. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thou whom I love, the day-star of my sight! | 10 | ·········· |
| When thy dear presence wakes me to delight, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Joy in my soul unfolds her fairest flower: | 11 | ····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| But in thy heaven of smiles alone it blooms, | 10 | ···/··˘/·· |
| And, of their light deprived, in grief consumes, | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Born but to live within thine eye-beam’s power. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Amidst the bitter tears that fell | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| In anguish at my last farewell, | 8 | ·/˘····/ |
| Oh! who would dream that joy could dwell, | 8 | ········ |
| To make that moment bright? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Yet be my judge, each heart! and say, | 8 | ········ |
| Which then could most my bosom sway, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Affliction or delight? | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| It was when Hope, oppress’d with woes, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Seem’d her dim eyes in death to close, | 8 | ········ |
| That rapture’s brightest beam arose | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| In sorrow’s darkest night. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Thus, if my soul survive that hour, | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| ’Tis that my fate o’ercame the power | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Of anguish with delight. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| For oh! her love, so long unknown, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| She then confess’d was all my own, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And in that parting hour alone | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘/ |
| Reveal’d it to my sight. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| And now what pangs will rend my soul, | 8 | ········ |
| Should fortune still, with stern control, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Forbid me this delight! | 6 | ˘/··˘/ |
| I know not if my bliss were vain, | 8 | ········ |
| For all the force of parting pain | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Forbade suspicious doubts to reign, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| When exiled from her sight: | 6 | ·/···· |
| Yet now what double woe for me, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Just at the close of eve, to see | 8 | ········ |
| The dayspring of delight! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
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