"I'm Pleased, and Yet I'm Sad"
When twilight steals along the ground,And all the bells are ringing round,One, two, three, four, and five,I at my study window sit,And, wrapp'd in many a musing fit,To bliss am all alive.
But though impressions calm and sweetThrill round my heart a holy heat,And I am inly glad;The tear-drop stands in either eye,And yet I cannot tell thee why,I'm pleased, and yet I'm sad.
The silvery rack that flies away,Like mortal life or pleasure's ray,Does that disturb my breast?Nay, what have I, a studious man,To do with life's unstable plan,Or pleasure's fading vest?
Is it that here I must not stop,But o'er yon blue hill's woody topMust bend my lonely way?No, surely no! for give but meMy own fireside, and I shall beAt home where'er I stray.
Then is it that yon steeple there,With music sweet shall fill the air,When thou no more canst hear?Oh, no! oh, no! for then, forgiven,I shall be with my God in heaven,Released from every fear.
Then whence it is I cannot tell,But there is some mysterious spellThat holds me when I'm glad;And so the tear-drop fills my eye,When yet in truth I know not why,Or wherefore I am sad.
Words in this poem
- inly a.
- Internal; interior; secret. [OE. inlich, AS. inlic. See In.]
- fading n.
- An Irish dance; also, the burden of a song.
- vest n.
- An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.]
- fireside n.
- A place near the fire or hearth; home; domestic life or retirement.
- 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,]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
"I'm Pleased, and Yet I'm Sad" is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Henry Kirk White : With a Memoir by Sir Harris Nicolas, Project Gutenberg ebook #7149; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Kirke White, "I'm Pleased, and Yet I'm Sad", in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/i-m-pleased-and-yet-i-m-sad.html, id L10068.
Form and metre
"I'm Pleased, and Yet I'm Sad" is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% 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 AABCCB groundA · roundA · fiveB · sitC · fitC · aliveB
- 2 AABCCB sweetA · heatA · gladB · eyeC · whyC · sadB
- 3 AABCCB awayA · rayA · breastB · manC · planC · vestB
- 4 AABCCB stopA · topA · wayB · meC · beC · strayB
- 5 AAB--B thereA · airA · hearB · forgiven · heaven · fearB
- 6 AABCCB tellA · spellA · gladB · eyeC · whyC · sadB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When twilight steals along the ground, | 8 | ·/··˘/·· |
| And all the bells are ringing round, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| One, two, three, four, and five, | 6 | ······ |
| I at my study window sit, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And, wrapp'd in many a musing fit, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| To bliss am all alive. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| But though impressions calm and sweet | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Thrill round my heart a holy heat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And I am inly glad; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The tear-drop stands in either eye, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And yet I cannot tell thee why, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I'm pleased, and yet I'm sad. | 6 | ······ |
| The silvery rack that flies away, | 9 | ·/˘˘···˘/ |
| Like mortal life or pleasure's ray, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Does that disturb my breast? | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Nay, what have I, a studious man, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| To do with life's unstable plan, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Or pleasure's fading vest? | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Is it that here I must not stop, | 8 | ········ |
| But o'er yon blue hill's woody top | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Must bend my lonely way? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| No, surely no! for give but me | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My own fireside, and I shall be | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| At home where'er I stray. | 7 | ··˘˘/·· |
| Then is it that yon steeple there, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With music sweet shall fill the air, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When thou no more canst hear? | 6 | ······ |
| Oh, no! oh, no! for then, forgiven, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| I shall be with my God in heaven, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Released from every fear. | 7 | ˘/·/˘˘· |
| Then whence it is I cannot tell, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But there is some mysterious spell | 9 | ····˘/˘˘· |
| That holds me when I'm glad; | 6 | ······ |
| And so the tear-drop fills my eye, | 8 | ········ |
| When yet in truth I know not why, | 8 | ········ |
| Or wherefore I am sad. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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.