In the Garden
ELSIE.I have one thing to ask of you.
What is it?It is already granted.
ELSIE.Promise me,When we are gone from here, and on our wayAre journeying to Salerno, you will not,By word or deed, endeavor to dissuade meAnd turn me from my purpose; but rememberThat as a pilgrim to the Holy CityWalks unmolested, and with thoughts of pardonOccupied wholly, so would I approachThe gates of Heaven, in this great jubilee,With my petition, putting off from meAll thoughts of earth, as shoes from off my feet.Promise me this.
Thy words fall from thy lipsLike roses from the lips of Angelo: and angelsMight stoop to pick them up!
ELSIE.Will you not promise?
If ever we depart upon this journey,So long to one or both of us, I promise.
ELSIE.Shall we not go, then? Have you lifted meInto the air, only to hurl me backWounded upon the ground? and offered meThe waters of eternal life, to bid meDrink the polluted puddles of the world?
O Elsie! what a lesson thou dost teach me!The life which is, and that which is to come,Suspended hang in such nice equipoiseA breath disturbs the balance; and that scaleIn which we throw our hearts preponderates,And the other, like an empty one, flies up,And is accounted vanity and air!To me the thought of death is terrible,Having such hold on life. To thee it is notSo much even as the lifting of a latch;Only a step into the open airOut of a tent already luminousWith light that shines through its transparent walls!O pure in heart! from thy sweet dust shall growLilies, upon whose petals will be written"Ave Maria" in characters of gold!
Words in this poem
- dissuade v. t.
- To advise or exhort against; to try to persuade (one from a course). [L. dissuadere, dissuasum; dis- + suadere to advise, persuade: cf. F. dissuader. See Suasion.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- 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,]
- latch v. t.
- To smear; to anoint. [Cf. F. lécher to lick (of German origin). Cf. Lick.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In the Garden is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; 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 Wadsworth Longfellow, In the Garden, in Christus: A Mystery (1872), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-christus/in-the-garden.html, id L19201.
Form and metre
In the Garden is 46 lines in 8 stanzas.
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.
- 3 -A--A----AA-- elsie · meA · way · not · meA · remember · city · pardon · approach · jubileeA · meA · feet · this
- 7 -A-AA- elsie · meA · back · meA · meA · world
- 8 ---A--BA--B----- me · come · equipoise · scaleA · preponderates · up · airB · terribleA · not · latch · airB · luminous · walls · grow · written · gold
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ELSIE. | 2 | /˘ |
| I have one thing to ask of you. | 8 | ········ |
| What is it? | 3 | ··· |
| It is already granted. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| ELSIE. | 2 | /˘ |
| Promise me, | 3 | /˘· |
| When we are gone from here, and on our way | 10 | ········/· |
| Are journeying to Salerno, you will not, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| By word or deed, endeavor to dissuade me | 11 | ····˘/˘·˘/· |
| And turn me from my purpose; but remember | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| That as a pilgrim to the Holy City | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Walks unmolested, and with thoughts of pardon | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| Occupied wholly, so would I approach | 10 | /˘·/˘···˘/ |
| The gates of Heaven, in this great jubilee, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| With my petition, putting off from me | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| All thoughts of earth, as shoes from off my feet. | 10 | ·········· |
| Promise me this. | 4 | /˘·· |
| Thy words fall from thy lips | 6 | ······ |
| Like roses from the lips of Angelo: and angels | 13 | ·/˘····/˘··/˘ |
| Might stoop to pick them up! | 6 | ······ |
| ELSIE. | 2 | /˘ |
| Will you not promise? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| If ever we depart upon this journey, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘ |
| So long to one or both of us, I promise. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| ELSIE. | 2 | /˘ |
| Shall we not go, then? Have you lifted me | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Into the air, only to hurl me back | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Wounded upon the ground? and offered me | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| The waters of eternal life, to bid me | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘···· |
| Drink the polluted puddles of the world? | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| O Elsie! what a lesson thou dost teach me! | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| The life which is, and that which is to come, | 10 | ·········· |
| Suspended hang in such nice equipoise | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘˘ |
| A breath disturbs the balance; and that scale | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| In which we throw our hearts preponderates, | 10 | ····/····· |
| And the other, like an empty one, flies up, | 11 | ··/˘··/˘··· |
| And is accounted vanity and air! | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| To me the thought of death is terrible, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Having such hold on life. To thee it is not | 11 | /˘········· |
| So much even as the lifting of a latch; | 10 | ··/··/˘··· |
| Only a step into the open air | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Out of a tent already luminous | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘˘ |
| With light that shines through its transparent walls! | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| O pure in heart! from thy sweet dust shall grow | 10 | ·········· |
| Lilies, upon whose petals will be written | 11 | /˘···/˘··/˘ |
| "Ave Maria" in characters of gold! | 10 | /˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
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.