The Convict
The glory of evening was spread through the west;--On the slope of a mountain I stood;While the joy that precedes the calm season of restRang loud through the meadow and wood.
“And must we then part from a dwelling so fair?”In the pain of my spirit I said,And with a deep sadness I turned, to repairTo the cell where the convict is laid.
The thick-ribbed walls that o’ershadow the gateResound; and the dungeons unfold:I pause; and at length, through the glimmering grate,That outcast of pity behold.
His black matted head on his shoulder is bent,And deep is the sigh of his breath,And with stedfast dejection his eyes are intentOn the fetters that link him to death.
’Tis sorrow enough on that visage to gaze.That body dismiss’d from his care;Yet my fancy has pierced to his heart, and pourtraysMore terrible images there.
His bones are consumed, and his life-blood is dried,With wishes the past to undo;And his crime, through the pains that o’erwhelm him, descried,Still blackens and grows on his view.
When from the dark synod, or blood-reeking field,To his chamber the monarch is led,All soothers of sense their soft virtue shall yield,And quietness pillow his head.
But if grief, self-consumed, in oblivion would doze,And conscience her tortures appease,’Mid tumult and uproar this man must repose;In the comfortless vault of disease.
When his fetters at night have so press’d on his limbs,That the weight can no longer be borne,If, while a half-slumber his memory bedims,The wretch on his pallet should turn,
While the jail-mastiff howls at the dull clanking chain,From the roots of his hair there shall startA thousand sharp punctures of cold-sweating pain,And terror shall leap at his heart.
But now he half-raises his deep-sunken eye,And the motion unsettles a tear;The silence of sorrow it seems to supply,And asks of me why I am here.
“Poor victim! no idle intruder has stood“With o’erweening complacence our state to compare,“But one, whose first wish is the wish to be good,“Is come as a brother thy sorrows to share.
“At thy name though compassion her nature resign,“Though in virtue’s proud mouth thy report be a stain,“My care, if the arm of the mighty were mine,“Would plant thee where yet thou might’st blossom again.”
Words in this poem
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
- outcast a.
- Cast out; degraded. [Cf. Sw. utkasta to cast out.]
- dejection n.
- A casting down; depression. Hallywell. [L. dejectio a casting down: cf. F. déjection.]
- visage n.
- The face, countenance, or look of a person or an animal; -- chiefly applied to the human face. [F. visage, from L. visus a seeing, a look, fr. videre, visum, to see. See Vision.]
- 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,]
- oblivion n.
- The act of forgetting, or the state of being forgotten; cessation of remembrance; forgetfulness. [L. oblivio, akin to oblivisci to forget: cf. OF. oblivion.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- comfortless a.
- Without comfort or comforts; in want or distress; cheerless.
- pallet n.
- A small and mean bed; a bed of straw. [OE. paillet, F. paillet a heap of straw, fr. paille straw, fr. L. palea chaff; cf. Gr. pala straw, palava chaff. Cf. Paillasse.]
- intruder n.
- One who intrudes; one who thrusts himself in, or enters without right, or without leave or welcome; a trespasser.
- complacence n.
- Calm contentment; satisfaction; gratification. [LL. complacentia: cf. F. complaisance. See Complacent, and cf. Complaisance.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Convict is in the public domain. This text is taken from Lyrical Ballads, With a Few Other Poems (1798), Project Gutenberg ebook #9622; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Wordsworth, The Convict, in Lyrical Ballads (1798), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9622, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lyrical-ballads/the-convict.html, id L20641.
Form and metre
The Convict is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 11 of its 13 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic common measure.
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 westA · stoodB · restA · woodB
- 2 A-A- fairA · said · repairA · laid
- 3 ABAB gateA · unfoldB · grateA · beholdB
- 4 ABAB bentA · breathB · intentA · deathB
- 5 ABAB gazeA · careB · pourtraysA · thereB
- 6 ABAB driedA · undoB · descriedA · viewB
- 7 ABAB fieldA · ledB · yieldA · headB
- 8 ABAB dozeA · appeaseB · reposeA · diseaseB
- 9 A-A- limbsA · borne · bedimsA · turn
- 10 ABAB chainA · startB · painA · heartB
- 11 ABAB eyeA · tearB · supplyA · hereB
- 12 ABAB stoodA · compareB · goodA · shareB
- 13 ABAB resignA · stainB · mineA · againB
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 anapaestic common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The glory of evening was spread through the west; | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| --On the slope of a mountain I stood; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| While the joy that precedes the calm season of rest | 12 | ····˘/··/˘·· |
| Rang loud through the meadow and wood. | 8 | ····/··· |
| “And must we then part from a dwelling so fair?” | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| In the pain of my spirit I said, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| And with a deep sadness I turned, to repair | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| To the cell where the convict is laid. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| The thick-ribbed walls that o’ershadow the gate | 10 | ·········· |
| Resound; and the dungeons unfold: | 8 | ·/··/˘˘/ |
| I pause; and at length, through the glimmering grate, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That outcast of pity behold. | 8 | ·/··/˘˘/ |
| His black matted head on his shoulder is bent, | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| And deep is the sigh of his breath, | 8 | ········ |
| And with stedfast dejection his eyes are intent | 12 | ····˘/˘···˘/ |
| On the fetters that link him to death. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| ’Tis sorrow enough on that visage to gaze. | 11 | ·/˘˘/··/˘·· |
| That body dismiss’d from his care; | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| Yet my fancy has pierced to his heart, and pourtrays | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| More terrible images there. | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘˘· |
| His bones are consumed, and his life-blood is dried, | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| With wishes the past to undo; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And his crime, through the pains that o’erwhelm him, descried, | 11 | ··········· |
| Still blackens and grows on his view. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When from the dark synod, or blood-reeking field, | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| To his chamber the monarch is led, | 9 | ··/˘·/··· |
| All soothers of sense their soft virtue shall yield, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| And quietness pillow his head. | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| But if grief, self-consumed, in oblivion would doze, | 12 | ····˘/·˘/˘·· |
| And conscience her tortures appease, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| ’Mid tumult and uproar this man must repose; | 11 | ·/˘·/····˘/ |
| In the comfortless vault of disease. | 9 | ··/˘˘··˘/ |
| When his fetters at night have so press’d on his limbs, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| That the weight can no longer be borne, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| If, while a half-slumber his memory bedims, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| The wretch on his pallet should turn, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| While the jail-mastiff howls at the dull clanking chain, | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| From the roots of his hair there shall start | 9 | ········· |
| A thousand sharp punctures of cold-sweating pain, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘· |
| And terror shall leap at his heart. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But now he half-raises his deep-sunken eye, | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| And the motion unsettles a tear; | 9 | ··/˘˘/˘·· |
| The silence of sorrow it seems to supply, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘···˘/ |
| And asks of me why I am here. | 8 | ········ |
| “Poor victim! no idle intruder has stood | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/˘·· |
| “With o’erweening complacence our state to compare, | 12 | ·······/··˘/ |
| “But one, whose first wish is the wish to be good, | 11 | ··········· |
| “Is come as a brother thy sorrows to share. | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| “At thy name though compassion her nature resign, | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| “Though in virtue’s proud mouth thy report be a stain, | 12 | ··/˘···˘/··· |
| “My care, if the arm of the mighty were mine, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| “Would plant thee where yet thou might’st blossom again.” | 11 | ·······/˘˘/ |
On this poem
Notes from the edition 1
Notes credited “[Hutchinson]” are Thomas Hutchinson’s, from his edition Lyrical Ballads 1798 (Duckworth, 3rd ed. 1920; Internet Archive lyricalballads00worduoft), keyed to his own line numbers within each poem (the Ancyent Marinere numbered continuously 1-658 across all seven Parts). Notes credited “[W. Wordsworth, 1798]” are the poet’s own five footnotes printed in the site’s own source text (Project Gutenberg #9622).
- Stanza 11, line 1 he half-raises his deep-sunken eye, and the motion unsettles a tear. This image was revived by the poet in his Lament of Mary Queen of Scots (1817): ‘Hark! the death-note of the year / Sounded by the castle-clock! / From her sunk eyes a stagnant tear / Stole forth, unsettled by the shock.’ [Hutchinson]
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