Lines to a Lady on Her Departure for India

Thomas Hood (1799–1845) · 1827–1845

iambic pentameter · ABAB · 40 lines · from Poems

Go where the waves run rather Holborn-hilly,And tempests make a soda-water sea,Almost as rough as our rough Piccadilly,And think of me!

Go where the mild Madeira ripens her juice,--A wine more praised than it deserves to be!Go pass the Cape, just capable of ver-juice,And think of me!

Go where the Tiger in the darkness prowleth,Making a midnight meal of he and she;Go where the Lion in his hunger howleth,And think of me!

Go where the serpent dangerously coileth,Or lies along at full length like a tree,Go where the Suttee in her own soot broileth,And think of me!

Go where with human notes the Parrot dealethIn mono-polly-logue with tongue as free,And like a woman, all she can revealeth,And think of me!

Go to the land of muslin and nankeening,And parasols of straw where hats should be,Go to the land of slaves and palankeening,And think of me!

Go to the land of Jungles and of vast hills,And tall bamboos--may none bamboozle thee!Go gaze upon their Elephants and Castles,And think of me!

Go where a cook must always be a currier,And parch the pepper’d palate like a pea,Go where the fierce musquito is a worrier,And think of me!

Go where the maiden on a marriage plan goes,Consign’d for wedlock to Calcutta’s quay,Where woman goes for mart, the same as mangoes,And think of me!

Go where the sun is very hot and fervent,Go to the land of pagod and rupee,Where every black will be your slave and servant,And think of me!

Words in this poem

piccadilly n.: A high, stiff collar for the neck; also, a hem or band about the skirt of a garment, -- worn by men in the 17th century. [OF. piccagilles the several divisions of pieces fastened together about the brim of the collar of a doublet, a dim. fr. Sp. picado, p.p. of picar to prick. See ]
suttee n.: A Hindoo widow who immolates herself, or is immolated, on the funeral pile of her husband; -- so called because this act of self- immolation is regarded as envincing excellence of wifely character. [Skr. sati a faithful wife, fem. of sant existing, real, true, good, p.pr. of as to be. Cf. Sooth.]
polly n.: A woman's name; also, a popular name for a parrot.
bamboozle v. t.: To deceive by trickery; to cajole by confusing the senses; to hoax; to mystify; to humbug. [Said to be of Gipsy origin.]
currier n.: One who curries and dresses leather, after it is tanned. [From 1st Curry.]
parch v. t.: To burn the surface of; to scorch; to roast over the fire, as dry grain; as, to parch the skin; to parch corn. [OE. perchen to pierce, hence used of a piercing heat or cold, OF. perchier, another form of percier, F. percer. See Pierce.]
worrier n.: One who worries.
quay n.: A mole, bank, or wharf, formed toward the sea, or at the side of a harbor, river, or other navigable water, for convenience in loading and unloading vessels. [F. quai. See Key quay.]
mart v. t.: To buy or sell in, or as in, a mart.
fervent a.: Hot; glowing; boiling; burning; as, a fervent summer. [F. fervent, L. fervens, -entis. p.pr. of fervere o the boiling hot, to boil, glow.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Lines to a Lady on Her Departure for India is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Comic Poems of Thomas Hood A New and Complete Edition, Project Gutenberg ebook #56712; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Thomas Hood, Lines to a Lady on Her Departure for India, in Poems (1827–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56712, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poems/lines-to-a-lady-on-her-departure-for-india.html, id L06776.

Form and metre

Lines to a Lady on Her Departure for India is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 14 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.

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 ABAB hilly^A · sea^B · piccadilly^A · me^B
2 ABAB juice^A · be^B · juice^A · me^B
3 ABAB prowleth^A · she^B · howleth^A · me^B
4 ABAB coileth^A · tree^B · broileth^A · me^B
5 ABAB dealeth^A · free^B · revealeth^A · me^B
6 ABAB nankeening^A · be^B · palankeening^A · me^B
7 ABAB hills^A · thee^B · castles^A · me^B
8 ABAB currier^A · pea^B · worrier^A · me^B
9 ABAB goes^A · quay^B · mangoes^A · me^B
10 ABAB fervent^A · rupee^B · servant^A · me^B

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
Go where the waves run rather Holborn-hilly,	11	·····/˘··/˘
And tempests make a soda-water sea,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Almost as rough as our rough Piccadilly,	11	/····/·/˘·˘
And think of me!	4	····
Go where the mild Madeira ripens her juice,--	11	····˘/˘/˘··
A wine more praised than it deserves to be!	10	······˘/··
Go pass the Cape, just capable of ver-juice,	10	·····/˘···
And think of me!	4	····
Go where the Tiger in the darkness prowleth,	10	···/··/˘/˘
Making a midnight meal of he and she;	10	/˘·/······
Go where the Lion in his hunger howleth,	10	···/··/˘/˘
And think of me!	4	····
Go where the serpent dangerously coileth,	9	···/˘/˘/˘
Or lies along at full length like a tree,	10	··˘/······
Go where the Suttee in her own soot broileth,	11	···˘/····/˘
And think of me!	4	····
Go where with human notes the Parrot dealeth	11	···/˘··/˘/˘
In mono-polly-logue with tongue as free,	10	·/˘/˘·····
And like a woman, all she can revealeth,	11	···/˘···˘/˘
And think of me!	4	····
Go to the land of muslin and nankeening,	11	·····/˘····
And parasols of straw where hats should be,	10	··········
Go to the land of slaves and palankeening,	11	···········
And think of me!	4	····
Go to the land of Jungles and of vast hills,	11	·····/˘····
And tall bamboos--may none bamboozle thee!	10	··˘/··˘/˘·
Go gaze upon their Elephants and Castles,	10	·····/˘·/˘
And think of me!	4	····
Go where a cook must always be a currier,	11	·····/···/˘
And parch the pepper’d palate like a pea,	10	···/˘/˘···
Go where the fierce musquito is a worrier,	11	····˘/˘··/˘
And think of me!	4	····
Go where the maiden on a marriage plan goes,	11	···/˘··/˘··
Consign’d for wedlock to Calcutta’s quay,	10	˘/·/···/˘·
Where woman goes for mart, the same as mangoes,	11	·/˘······/˘
And think of me!	4	····
Go where the sun is very hot and fervent,	11	·····/˘··/˘
Go to the land of pagod and rupee,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Where every black will be your slave and servant,	11	·/˘······/˘
And think of me!	4	····

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.

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