To-morrow
Lord, what am I, that with unceasing care,Thou didst seek after me, that thou didst waitWet with unhealthy dews, before my gate,And pass the gloomy nights of winter there?O strange delusion! that I did not greetThy blest approach, and O, to Heaven how lost,If my ingratitude's unkindly frostHas chilled the bleeding wounds upon thy feet.How oft my guardian angel gently cried,"Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt seeHow he persists to knock and wait for thee!"And, O! how often to that voice of sorrow,"To-morrow we will open," I replied,And when the morrow came I answered still "To-morrow."
Words in this poem
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- unkindly a.
- Not kindly; unkind; ungracious.
- chilled a.
- Hardened on the surface or edge by chilling; as, chilled iron; a chilled wheel.
- casement n.
- A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window. [Shortened fr. encasement. See Incase 1st Case, and cf. Incasement.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To-morrow 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, To-morrow, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/to-morrow-2.html, id L18617.
Form and metre
To-morrow is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBACDDCEFFGEG. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABBACDDCEFFGEG careA · waitB · gateB · thereA · greetC · lostD · frostD · feetC · criedE · seeF · theeF · sorrowG · repliedE · morrowG
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Lord, what am I, that with unceasing care, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Thou didst seek after me, that thou didst wait | 10 | ·········· |
| Wet with unhealthy dews, before my gate, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| And pass the gloomy nights of winter there? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| O strange delusion! that I did not greet | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Thy blest approach, and O, to Heaven how lost, | 10 | ··˘/···/·· |
| If my ingratitude's unkindly frost | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Has chilled the bleeding wounds upon thy feet. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| How oft my guardian angel gently cried, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| "Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt see | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| How he persists to knock and wait for thee!" | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| And, O! how often to that voice of sorrow, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| "To-morrow we will open," I replied, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And when the morrow came I answered still "To-morrow." | 13 | ···/˘··/˘··/˘ |
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.