Afterthought
Man dwells apart, though not alone,He walks among his peers unread;The best of thoughts which he hath known.For lack of listeners are not said.
Yet dreaming on earth's clustered isles,He saith "They dwell not lone like men,Forgetful that their sunflecked smilesFlash far beyond each other's ken."
He looks on God's eternal sunsThat sprinkle the celestial blue,And saith, "Ah! happy shining ones,I would that men were grouped like you!"
Yet this is sure, the loveliest starThat clustered with its peers we see,Only because from us so farDoth near its fellows seem to be.
Words in this poem
- unread a.
- Not read or perused; as, an unread book. Hooker.
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- 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]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- forgetful a.
- Apt to forget; easily losing remembrance; as, a forgetful man should use helps to strengthen his memory.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Afterthought is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by Jean Ingelow, In Two Volumes, Volume I., Project Gutenberg ebook #13223; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jean Ingelow, Afterthought, in Poems, Volume I (1863), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13223, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/ingelow-poems/afterthought.html, id L12798.
Form and metre
Afterthought is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABAB aloneA · unreadB · knownA · saidB
- 2 ABAB islesA · menB · smilesA · kenB
- 3 ABAB sunsA · blueB · onesA · youB
- 4 ABAB starA · seeB · farA · beB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Man dwells apart, though not alone, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| He walks among his peers unread; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The best of thoughts which he hath known. | 8 | ········ |
| For lack of listeners are not said. | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Yet dreaming on earth's clustered isles, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| He saith "They dwell not lone like men, | 8 | ········ |
| Forgetful that their sunflecked smiles | 9 | ˘/˘····˘· |
| Flash far beyond each other's ken." | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| He looks on God's eternal suns | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| That sprinkle the celestial blue, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And saith, "Ah! happy shining ones, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| I would that men were grouped like you!" | 9 | ······˘·· |
| Yet this is sure, the loveliest star | 9 | ········· |
| That clustered with its peers we see, | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| Only because from us so far | 8 | /˘······ |
| Doth near its fellows seem to be. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
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.