Written at Midnight
Hence, away, vindictive thought;Thy pictures are of pain;The visions through thy dark eye caught,They with no gentle charms are fraught,So pr'y thee back again.I would not weep,I wish to sleep,Then why, thou busy foe, with me thy vigils keep?
Why dost o'er bed and couch recline?Is this thy new delight?Pale visitant, it is not thineTo keep thy sentry through the mine,The dark vault of the night:'Tis thine to die,While o'er the eyeThe dews of slumber press, and waking sorrows fly.
Go thou, and bide with him who guidesHis bark through lonely seas;And as reclining on his helm,Sadly he marks the starry realm,To him thou mayst bring ease:But thou to meArt misery,So pr'ythee, pr'ythee, plume thy wings, and from my pillow flee.
And, memory, pray what art thou?Art thou of pleasure born?Does bliss untainted from thee flow?The rose that gems thy pensive brow,Is it without a thorn?With all thy smiles,And witching wiles,Yet not unfrequent bitterness thy mournful sway defiles.
The drowsy night-watch has forgotTo call the solemn hour;Lull'd by the winds, he slumbers deep,While I in vain, capricious sleep,Invoke thy tardy power;And restless lie,With unclosed eye,And count the tedious hours as slow they minute by.
Words in this poem
- vindictive a.
- Disposed to revenge; prompted or characterized by revenge; revengeful. [For vindicative, confused with L. vindicta revenge, punishment, fr. vindicare to vindicate. Cf. Vindicative.]
- fraught n.
- A freight; a cargo. [OE.fraight, fraght; akin to Dan. fragt, Sw. frakt, D. vracht, G. fracht, cf. OHG. fr merit, reward; perh. from corresponding to E. for + The root of E. own. Cf.]
- visitant n.
- One who visits; a guest; a visitor. [L. visitans, -antis; p. pr.: cf. F. visitant.]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- witching a.
- That witches or enchants; suited to enchantment or witchcraft; bewitching.
- unfrequent v. t.
- To cease to frequent. [1st pref. un- + frequent.]
- unclosed a.
- Not separated by inclosures; open. Clarendon. [Pref. un- not + closed.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Written at Midnight 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, Written at Midnight, in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/written-at-midnight.html, id L10099.
Form and metre
Written at Midnight is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAABCCC, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABAABCCC thoughtA · painB · caughtA · fraughtA · againB · weepC · sleepC · keepC
- 2 ABAABCCC reclineA · delightB · thineA · mineA · nightB · dieC · eyeC · flyC
- 3 -ABBAC-C guides · seasA · helmB · realmB · easeA · meC · misery · fleeC
- 4 AB-ABCCC thouA · bornB · flow · browA · thornB · smilesC · wilesC · defilesC
- 5 -ABBACCC forgot · hourA · deepB · sleepB · powerA · lieC · eyeC · byC
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Hence, away, vindictive thought; | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘· |
| Thy pictures are of pain; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The visions through thy dark eye caught, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| They with no gentle charms are fraught, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So pr'y thee back again. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I would not weep, | 4 | ···· |
| I wish to sleep, | 4 | ···· |
| Then why, thou busy foe, with me thy vigils keep? | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| Why dost o'er bed and couch recline? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Is this thy new delight? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Pale visitant, it is not thine | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| To keep thy sentry through the mine, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The dark vault of the night: | 6 | ······ |
| 'Tis thine to die, | 4 | ···· |
| While o'er the eye | 4 | ···· |
| The dews of slumber press, and waking sorrows fly. | 12 | ···/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Go thou, and bide with him who guides | 8 | ········ |
| His bark through lonely seas; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And as reclining on his helm, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Sadly he marks the starry realm, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| To him thou mayst bring ease: | 6 | ······ |
| But thou to me | 4 | ···· |
| Art misery, | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| So pr'ythee, pr'ythee, plume thy wings, and from my pillow flee. | 14 | ·/˘/˘······/˘· |
| And, memory, pray what art thou? | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Art thou of pleasure born? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Does bliss untainted from thee flow? | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| The rose that gems thy pensive brow, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is it without a thorn? | 6 | ······ |
| With all thy smiles, | 4 | ···· |
| And witching wiles, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Yet not unfrequent bitterness thy mournful sway defiles. | 13 | ··˘/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| The drowsy night-watch has forgot | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To call the solemn hour; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Lull'd by the winds, he slumbers deep, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While I in vain, capricious sleep, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Invoke thy tardy power; | 7 | ˘/·/˘/˘ |
| And restless lie, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| With unclosed eye, | 4 | ·˘/· |
| And count the tedious hours as slow they minute by. | 12 | ···/˘/···/˘· |
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.