A Retrospective Review
Oh, when I was a tiny boy,My days and nights were full of joy,My mates were blithe and kind!--No wonder that I sometimes sigh,And dash the tear-drop from my eye,To cast a look behind!
A hoop was an eternal roundOf pleasure. In those days I foundA top a joyous thing;--But now those past delights I drop,My head, alas! is all my top,And careful thoughts the string!
My marbles--once my bag was stored,--Now I must play with Elgin's lord,With Theseus for a taw!My playful horse has slipt his string,Forgotten all his capering,And harness'd to the law!
My kite--how fast and far it flew!Whilst I, a sort of Franklin, drewMy pleasure from the sky!'Twas paper'd o'er with studious themes,The tasks I wrote--my present dreamsWill never soar so high!
My joys are wingless all and dead;My dumps are made of more than lead;--My flights soon find a fall;My fears prevail, my fancies droop,Joy never cometh with a hoop,And seldom with a call!
My football's laid upon the shelf;I am a shuttlecock myselfThe world knocks to and fro;--My archery is all unlearn'd,And grief against myself has turn'dMy arrows and my bow!
No more in noontide sun I bask;My authorship's an endless task,My head's ne'er out of school:My heart is pain'd with scorn and slight,I have too many foes to fight,And friends grown strangely cool!
The very chum that shared my cakeHolds out so cold a hand to shake,It makes me shrink and sigh:--On this I will not dwell and hang,--The changeling would not feel a pangThough these should meet his eye!
No skies so blue or so sereneAs then;--no leaves look half so greenAs clothed the playground tree!All things I loved are altered so,Nor does it ease my heart to knowThat change resides in me!
Oh for the garb that marked the boy,The trousers made of corduroy,Well ink'd with black and red;The crownless hat, ne'er deem'd an ill--It only let the sunshine stillRepose upon my head!
Oh for the riband round the neck!The careless dogs-ears apt to deckMy book and collar both!How can this formal man be styledMerely an Alexandrine child,A boy of larger growth?
Oh for that small, small beer anew!And (heaven's own type) that mild sky-blueThat wash'd my sweet meals down;The master even!--and that small TurkThat fagg'd me!--worse is now my work--A fag for all the town!
Oh for the lessons learned by heart!Ay, though the very birch's smartShould mark those hours again;I'd "kiss the rod," and be resign'dBeneath the stroke, and even findSome sugar in the cane!
The Arabian Nights rehearsed in bed!The Fairy Tales in school-time read,By stealth, 'twixt verb and noun!The angel form that always walk'dIn all my dreams, and look'd and talk'dExactly like Miss Brown!
The omne bene--Christmas come!The prize of merit, won for home--Merit had prizes then!But now I write for days and days,For fame--a deal of empty praise,Without the silver pen!
Then "home, sweet home!" the crowded coach--The joyous shout--the loud approach--The winding horns like rams'!The meeting sweet that made me thrill,The sweetmeats, almost sweeter still,No 'satis' to the 'jams'!--
When that I was a tiny boyMy days and nights were full of joy,My mates were blithe and kind!No wonder that I sometimes sigh,And dash the tear-drop from my eye,To cast a look behind!
Words in this poem 17
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- franklin n.
- An English freeholder, or substantial householder. [OE. frankelein; cf. LL. franchilanus. See Frank, a.]
- wrote v. i.
- To root with the snout. See 1st Root. [OE. wroten. See 1st Root.]
- noontide n.
- The time of noon; midday. [From noon + tide time; cf. AS. n the ninth hour.]
- bask v. i.
- To lie in warmth; to be exposed to genial heat. [OScand. ba to bathe one's self, or perh. bakask to bake one's self, sk being reflexive. See Bath, n., Bake, v. t.]
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- chum n.
- A roommate, especially in a college or university; an old and intimate friend. [Perh. a contraction fr. comrade or chamber fellow: cf. also AS. cuma a comer, guest.]
- 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]
- changeling n.
- One who, or that which, is left or taken in the place of another, as a child exchanged by fairies. [Change + -ling.]
- playground n.
- A piece of ground used for recreation; as, the playground of a school.
- garb n.
- External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
- corduroy n.
- A sort of cotton velveteen, having the surface raised in ridges. [Prob. for F. corde du roi king's cord.]
- crownless a.
- Without a crown.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- alexandrine a.
- Belonging to Alexandria; Alexandrian. Bancroft.
- turk n.
- A member of any of numerous Tartar tribes of Central Asia, etc.; esp., one of the dominant race in Turkey. [Per. Turk; probably of Tartar origin: cf. F. Turc.]
- stealth n.
- The act of stealing; theft. [OE. staple. See Steal, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Retrospective Review is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, Project Gutenberg ebook #15652; 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, A Retrospective Review, in The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems (1826–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15652, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poetical-works/a-retrospective-review.html, id L26112.
Form and metre
A Retrospective Review is 102 lines in 17 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 15 of its 17 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 boyA · joyA · kindB · sighC · eyeC · behindB
- 2 AABCCB roundA · foundA · thingB · dropC · topC · stringB
- 3 AA-BB- storedA · lordA · taw · stringB · caperingB · law
- 4 AABCCB flewA · drewA · skyB · themesC · dreamsC · highB
- 5 AABCCB deadA · leadA · fallB · droopC · hoopC · callB
- 6 AAB--B shelfA · myselfA · froB · unlearn'd · turn'd · bowB
- 7 AABCCB baskA · taskA · schoolB · slightC · fightC · coolB
- 8 AABCCB cakeA · shakeA · sighB · hangC · pangC · eyeB
- 9 AABCCB sereneA · greenA · treeB · soC · knowC · meB
- 10 AABCCB boyA · corduroyA · redB · illC · stillC · headB
- 11 AABCCB neckA · deckA · bothB · styledC · childC · growthB
- 12 AABCCB anewA · blueA · downB · turkC · workC · townB
- 13 AABCCB heartA · smartA · againB · resign'dC · findC · caneB
- 14 AABCCB bedA · readA · nounB · walk'dC · talk'dC · brownB
- 15 AABCCB comeA · homeA · thenB · daysC · praiseC · penB
- 16 AABCCB coachA · approachA · ramsB · thrillC · stillC · jamsB
- 17 AABCCB boyA · joyA · kindB · sighC · eyeC · behindB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Oh, when I was a tiny boy, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My days and nights were full of joy, | 8 | ········ |
| My mates were blithe and kind!-- | 6 | ······ |
| No wonder that I sometimes sigh, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| And dash the tear-drop from my eye, | 8 | ········ |
| To cast a look behind! | 6 | ······ |
| A hoop was an eternal round | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Of pleasure. In those days I found | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A top a joyous thing;-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But now those past delights I drop, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| My head, alas! is all my top, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And careful thoughts the string! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| My marbles--once my bag was stored,-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Now I must play with Elgin's lord, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With Theseus for a taw! | 6 | ······ |
| My playful horse has slipt his string, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Forgotten all his capering, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| And harness'd to the law! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| My kite--how fast and far it flew! | 8 | ········ |
| Whilst I, a sort of Franklin, drew | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My pleasure from the sky! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| 'Twas paper'd o'er with studious themes, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The tasks I wrote--my present dreams | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Will never soar so high! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| My joys are wingless all and dead; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| My dumps are made of more than lead;-- | 8 | ········ |
| My flights soon find a fall; | 6 | ······ |
| My fears prevail, my fancies droop, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Joy never cometh with a hoop, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And seldom with a call! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| My football's laid upon the shelf; | 8 | ·/······ |
| I am a shuttlecock myself | 8 | ···/˘˘·/ |
| The world knocks to and fro;-- | 6 | ······ |
| My archery is all unlearn'd, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| And grief against myself has turn'd | 8 | ·····/·· |
| My arrows and my bow! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| No more in noontide sun I bask; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| My authorship's an endless task, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| My head's ne'er out of school: | 6 | ······ |
| My heart is pain'd with scorn and slight, | 8 | ········ |
| I have too many foes to fight, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And friends grown strangely cool! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The very chum that shared my cake | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Holds out so cold a hand to shake, | 8 | ········ |
| It makes me shrink and sigh:-- | 6 | ······ |
| On this I will not dwell and hang,-- | 8 | ········ |
| The changeling would not feel a pang | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Though these should meet his eye! | 6 | ······ |
| No skies so blue or so serene | 8 | ······˘/ |
| As then;--no leaves look half so green | 8 | ········ |
| As clothed the playground tree! | 6 | ···/·· |
| All things I loved are altered so, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor does it ease my heart to know | 8 | ········ |
| That change resides in me! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Oh for the garb that marked the boy, | 8 | ········ |
| The trousers made of corduroy, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Well ink'd with black and red; | 6 | ······ |
| The crownless hat, ne'er deem'd an ill-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| It only let the sunshine still | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Repose upon my head! | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Oh for the riband round the neck! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The careless dogs-ears apt to deck | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My book and collar both! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| How can this formal man be styled | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Merely an Alexandrine child, | 8 | /˘··˘/˘· |
| A boy of larger growth? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Oh for that small, small beer anew! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And (heaven's own type) that mild sky-blue | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| That wash'd my sweet meals down; | 6 | ······ |
| The master even!--and that small Turk | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| That fagg'd me!--worse is now my work-- | 8 | ········ |
| A fag for all the town! | 6 | ······ |
| Oh for the lessons learned by heart! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ay, though the very birch's smart | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Should mark those hours again; | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| I'd "kiss the rod," and be resign'd | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Beneath the stroke, and even find | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Some sugar in the cane! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The Arabian Nights rehearsed in bed! | 9 | ·˘/˘·˘/·· |
| The Fairy Tales in school-time read, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| By stealth, 'twixt verb and noun! | 6 | ······ |
| The angel form that always walk'd | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| In all my dreams, and look'd and talk'd | 8 | ········ |
| Exactly like Miss Brown! | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| The omne bene--Christmas come! | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| The prize of merit, won for home-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Merit had prizes then! | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| But now I write for days and days, | 8 | ········ |
| For fame--a deal of empty praise, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Without the silver pen! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Then "home, sweet home!" the crowded coach-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The joyous shout--the loud approach-- | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The winding horns like rams'! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The meeting sweet that made me thrill, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The sweetmeats, almost sweeter still, | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| No 'satis' to the 'jams'!-- | 6 | ······ |
| When that I was a tiny boy | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My days and nights were full of joy, | 8 | ········ |
| My mates were blithe and kind! | 6 | ······ |
| No wonder that I sometimes sigh, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| And dash the tear-drop from my eye, | 8 | ········ |
| To cast a look behind! | 6 | ······ |
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