The Two Voices
Two solemn Voices, in a funeral strain,Met as rich sunbeams and dark bursts of rainMeet in the sky:“Thou art gone hence!” one sang; “our light is flown,Our beautiful, that seem’d too much our ownEver to die!
“Thou art gone hence!--our joyous hills amongNever again to pour thy soul in song,When spring-flowers rise!Never the friend’s familiar step to meetWith loving laughter, and the welcome sweetOf thy glad eyes.”
“Thou art gone home, gone home!” then, high and clear,Warbled that other Voice. “Thou hast no tearAgain to shed;Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain;Never, weigh’d down by memory’s clouds, againTo bow thy head.
“Thou art gone home! O early crown’d and blest!Where could the love of that deep heart find restWith aught below?Thou must have seen rich dream by dream decay,All the bright rose-leaves drop from life away--Thrice bless’d to go!”
Yet sigh’d again that breeze-like Voice of grief--“Thou art gone hence! Alas, that aught so briefSo loved should be!Thou takest our summer hence!--the flower, the tone,The music of our being, all in one,Depart with thee!
“Fair form, young spirit, morning vision fled!Canst thou be of the dead, the awful dead--The dark unknown?Yes! to the dwelling where no footsteps fall,Never again to light up hearth or hall,Thy smile is gone!”
“Home, home!” once more the exulting Voice arose:“Thou art gone home!--from that divine reposeNever to roam!Never to say farewell, to weep in vain,To read of change, in eyes beloved, again--Thou art gone home!
“By the bright waters now thy lot is cast--Joy for thee, happy friend! thy bark hath pastThe rough sea’s foam!Now the long yearnings of thy soul are still’d,Home! home!--thy peace is won, thy heart is fill’d:Thou art gone home!”
Words in this poem
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- exulting a.
- Rejoicing triumphantly or exceedingly; exultant.
- yearnings n.
- The maws, or stomachs, of young calves, used a rennet for curdling milk. [Cf. AS. geirnan, geyrnan, to rum. See 4th Earn.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Two Voices 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 Two Voices, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-two-voices.html, id L19508.
Form and metre
The Two Voices is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 5 of its 8 stanzas. 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 AABCCB strainA · rainA · skyB · flownC · ownC · dieB
- 2 --ABBA among · song · riseA · meetB · sweetB · eyesA
- 3 AABCCB clearA · tearA · shedB · painC · againC · headB
- 4 AABCCB blestA · restA · belowB · decayC · awayC · goB
- 5 AAB--B griefA · briefA · beB · tone · one · theeB
- 6 AA-BB- fledA · deadA · unknown · fallB · hallB · gone
- 7 AABCCB aroseA · reposeA · roamB · vainC · againC · homeB
- 8 AABCCB castA · pastA · foamB · still'dC · fill'dC · homeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Two solemn Voices, in a funeral strain, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Met as rich sunbeams and dark bursts of rain | 10 | ···/······ |
| Meet in the sky: | 4 | ···· |
| “Thou art gone hence!” one sang; “our light is flown, | 10 | ······/··· |
| Our beautiful, that seem’d too much our own | 10 | //˘˘····/· |
| Ever to die! | 4 | /˘·· |
| “Thou art gone hence!--our joyous hills among | 10 | ····//˘··· |
| Never again to pour thy soul in song, | 10 | /˘˘/······ |
| When spring-flowers rise! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Never the friend’s familiar step to meet | 10 | /˘··˘/˘··· |
| With loving laughter, and the welcome sweet | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Of thy glad eyes.” | 4 | ···· |
| “Thou art gone home, gone home!” then, high and clear, | 10 | ·········· |
| Warbled that other Voice. “Thou hast no tear | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Again to shed; | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain; | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Never, weigh’d down by memory’s clouds, again | 10 | /···/˘˘·˘/ |
| To bow thy head. | 4 | ···· |
| “Thou art gone home! O early crown’d and blest! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Where could the love of that deep heart find rest | 10 | ·········· |
| With aught below? | 4 | ···· |
| Thou must have seen rich dream by dream decay, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| All the bright rose-leaves drop from life away-- | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Thrice bless’d to go!” | 4 | ···· |
| Yet sigh’d again that breeze-like Voice of grief-- | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| “Thou art gone hence! Alas, that aught so brief | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| So loved should be! | 4 | ···· |
| Thou takest our summer hence!--the flower, the tone, | 11 | ···//˘··/·· |
| The music of our being, all in one, | 10 | ·/˘·//˘··· |
| Depart with thee! | 4 | ˘/·· |
| “Fair form, young spirit, morning vision fled! | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Canst thou be of the dead, the awful dead-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The dark unknown? | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Yes! to the dwelling where no footsteps fall, | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| Never again to light up hearth or hall, | 10 | /˘˘/······ |
| Thy smile is gone!” | 4 | ···· |
| “Home, home!” once more the exulting Voice arose: | 11 | ·····˘/˘·˘/ |
| “Thou art gone home!--from that divine repose | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| Never to roam! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Never to say farewell, to weep in vain, | 10 | /˘···/···· |
| To read of change, in eyes beloved, again-- | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| Thou art gone home! | 4 | ···· |
| “By the bright waters now thy lot is cast-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Joy for thee, happy friend! thy bark hath past | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The rough sea’s foam! | 4 | ···· |
| Now the long yearnings of thy soul are still’d, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Home! home!--thy peace is won, thy heart is fill’d: | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou art gone home!” | 4 | ···· |
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