In the Dark
I've had my supper,And had my supper,And HAD my supper and all;I've heard the storyOf Cinderella,And how she went to the ball;I've cleaned my teeth,And I've said my prayers,And I've cleaned and said them right;And they've all of them beenAnd kissed me lots,They've all of them said "Good-night."
So—here I am in the dark alone,There's nobody here to see;I think to myself,I play to myself,And nobody knows what I say to myself;Here I am in the dark alone,What is it going to be?I can think whatever I like to think,I can play whatever I like to play,I can laugh whatever I like to laugh,There's nobody here but me.
I'm talking to a rabbit ...I'm talking to the sun ...I think I am a hundred—I'm one.I'm lying in a forest ...I'm lying in a cave ...I'm talking to a Dragon ...I'm BRAVE.I'm lying on my left side ...I'm lying on my right ...I'll play a lot to-morrow ..........I'll think a lot to-morrow ..........I'll laugh ...a lot ...to-morrow ...(Heigh-ho!)Good-night.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In the Dark is in the public domain. This text is taken from Now We Are Six, Project Gutenberg ebook #70516; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: A. A. Milne, In the Dark, in Now We Are Six (1927), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70516, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/milne-now-we-are-six/in-the-dark.html, id L27252.
Form and metre
In the Dark is 42 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 AAB--B--C--C supperA · supperA · allB · story · cinderella · ballB · teeth · prayers · rightC · been · lots · nightC
- 2 ABCCCAB---B aloneA · seeB · myselfC · myselfC · myselfC · aloneA · beB · think · play · laugh · meB
- 3 -A-A-BAB-CDEDE--D-C rabbit · sunA · hundred · oneA · forest · caveB · dragonA · braveB · side · rightC · morrowD · — · morrowD · — · laugh · lot · morrowD · ho · nightC
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I've had my supper, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And had my supper, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And HAD my supper and all; | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| I've heard the story | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Of Cinderella, | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| And how she went to the ball; | 7 | ······· |
| I've cleaned my teeth, | 5 | ··˘·· |
| And I've said my prayers, | 5 | ····· |
| And I've cleaned and said them right; | 7 | ······· |
| And they've all of them been | 6 | ······ |
| And kissed me lots, | 5 | ··˘·· |
| They've all of them said "Good-night." | 7 | ······· |
| So—here I am in the dark alone, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| There's nobody here to see; | 7 | ·/····· |
| I think to myself, | 5 | ····/ |
| I play to myself, | 5 | ····/ |
| And nobody knows what I say to myself; | 11 | ·/········/ |
| Here I am in the dark alone, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| What is it going to be? | 6 | ···/·· |
| I can think whatever I like to think, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| I can play whatever I like to play, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| I can laugh whatever I like to laugh, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| There's nobody here but me. | 7 | ·/····· |
| I'm talking to a rabbit ... | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| I'm talking to the sun ... | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I think I am a hundred— | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I'm one. | 2 | ·· |
| I'm lying in a forest ... | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| I'm lying in a cave ... | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I'm talking to a Dragon ... | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| I'm BRAVE. | 2 | ·· |
| I'm lying on my left side ... | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| I'm lying on my right ... | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I'll play a lot to-morrow ... | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| ....... | 0 | |
| I'll think a lot to-morrow ... | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| ....... | 0 | |
| I'll laugh ... | 2 | ·· |
| a lot ... | 2 | ·· |
| to-morrow ... | 3 | ·/˘ |
| (Heigh-ho!) | 2 | ·· |
| Good-night. | 2 | ·· |
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.