The Child’s Last Sleep: Suggested by a Monument of Chantrey’s
Thou sleepest--but when wilt thou wake, fair child?When the fawn awakes in the forest wild?When the lark’s wing mounts with the breeze of morn?When the first rich breath of the rose is born?--Lovely thou sleepest! yet something liesToo deep and still on thy soft-seal’d eyes;Mournful, though sweet, is thy rest to see--When will the hour of thy rising be?
Not when the fawn wakes--not when the larkOn the crimson cloud of the morn floats dark.Grief with vain passionate tears hath wetThe hair, shedding gleams from thy pale brow yet;Love, with sad kisses unfelt, hath press’dThy meek-dropt eyelids and quiet breast;And the glad Spring, calling out bird and bee,Shall colour all blossoms, fair child! but thee.
Thou’rt gone from us, bright one!--that thou shouldst die,And life be left to the butterfly!Thou’rt gone as a dewdrop is swept from the bough:Oh! for the world where thy home is now!How may we love but in doubt and fear,How may we anchor our fond hearts here;How should e’en joy but a trembler be,Beautiful dust! when we look on thee?
Words in this poem
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- trembler n.
- One who trembles.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Child’s Last Sleep: Suggested by a Monument of Chantrey’s 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, The Child’s Last Sleep: Suggested by a Monument of Chantrey’s, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-child-s-last-sleep-suggested-by-a-monument-of-chantrey-s.html, id L19452.
Form and metre
The Child’s Last Sleep: Suggested by a Monument of Chantrey’s is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABBCCDD. 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 AABBCCDD childA · wildA · mornB · bornB · liesC · eyesC · seeD · beD
- 2 AABBCCDD larkA · darkA · wetB · yetB · press'dC · breastC · beeD · theeD
- 3 AABBCCDD dieA · butterflyA · boughB · nowB · fearC · hereC · beD · theeD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thou sleepest--but when wilt thou wake, fair child? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| When the fawn awakes in the forest wild? | 10 | ···˘/··/˘· |
| When the lark’s wing mounts with the breeze of morn? | 10 | ·········· |
| When the first rich breath of the rose is born?-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Lovely thou sleepest! yet something lies | 9 | /˘·/˘·/˘· |
| Too deep and still on thy soft-seal’d eyes; | 9 | ········· |
| Mournful, though sweet, is thy rest to see-- | 9 | /˘······· |
| When will the hour of thy rising be? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Not when the fawn wakes--not when the lark | 9 | ········· |
| On the crimson cloud of the morn floats dark. | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Grief with vain passionate tears hath wet | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| The hair, shedding gleams from thy pale brow yet; | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Love, with sad kisses unfelt, hath press’d | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Thy meek-dropt eyelids and quiet breast; | 9 | ···/··/˘· |
| And the glad Spring, calling out bird and bee, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Shall colour all blossoms, fair child! but thee. | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| Thou’rt gone from us, bright one!--that thou shouldst die, | 10 | ·········· |
| And life be left to the butterfly! | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Thou’rt gone as a dewdrop is swept from the bough: | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Oh! for the world where thy home is now! | 9 | ········· |
| How may we love but in doubt and fear, | 9 | ········· |
| How may we anchor our fond hearts here; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| How should e’en joy but a trembler be, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Beautiful dust! when we look on thee? | 9 | /˘˘······ |
Notes from the edition 1
Notes from The Poems of Felicia Hemans (Project Gutenberg #66785), largely Mrs Hemans's own.
- Stanza 3, line 2 A butterfly, as if resting on a flower, is sculptured on the monument.
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