Another Year
One year entombs another year, as menDeliver fellow-men to death's dominion;And now a year is sepulchred again,Smitten by hurrying time's destructive pinion.O be extinguished, dying year! EffaceAll footprints of thy presence, buried year!Amidst the records to my memory dear,Of thy past history I would find no trace.
Thou busyedst me with many smiling schemes,Thou scatteredst broadcast many hopeful seeds,Filledst my soul with flattering, flowery dreams,With words of promise, plans of prosperous deeds;Thy gleams of sunshine brightened on my face,Thy fame-proclaiming voices filled mine ear;Yet midst the records to my memory dear,Of thy past history I would find no trace.
My heart was but the football of hard fate,And bore the brand of suffering; at thy smile,That heart, relieved, felt less disconsolate,And its fierce burnings were extinguished, whileThe crater of its fires had yet a placeWithin me—still tormenting, troubling there,And midst my memory's records, parting year!Of thy past history I would find no trace.
O dying year! upon thy grave is rockedMy fragile cradle, by a gentle hand,And by hope's sweet embraces kindly lockedIn visions, I on Eden's borders stand.Should they deceive me, should the future chaseSuch dreamings—I will drop no bitter tear;But midst my memory's records, dying year!Of thy past history thou shalt leave no trace.
But then, but then, Hungaria's curse shall fallUpon them, bringing hate and wail and woe,If to her liberty-arousing call—If thou shouldst answer with a thund'ring—No!Tear up her garlands, let her hide her faceIn shame and sorrow, let her disappearIn darkness—dying, but deceitful year!Of thy past history I will find no trace.
Words in this poem
- pinion n.
- A moth of the genus Lithophane, as L. antennata, whose larva bores large holes in young peaches and apples.
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- broadcast n.
- A casting or throwing seed in all directions, as from the hand in sowing.
- hopeful a.
- Full of hope, or agreeable expectation; inclined to hope; expectant.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- disconsolate n.
- Disconsolateness. Barrow.
- crater n.
- The basinlike opening or mouth of a volcano, through which the chief eruption comes; similarly, the mouth of a gevser, about which a cone of silica is often built up. [L. crater, cratera, a mixing vessel, the mouth of a volcano, Gr. ir to cook, Crail, in Holy Grail.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Another Year is in the public domain. This text is taken from Translations from Alexander Petofi, the Magyar Poet, by Sir John Bowring (London: Trübner & Co., 1866), Internet Archive, the John Bowring translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Sándor Petőfi, Another Year, in Translations from Alexander Petofi, the Magyar Poet (1866), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petofi-poems-bowring/another-year.html, id L29854.
Form and metre
Another Year is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDDC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
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 ABABCDDC menA · dominionB · againA · pinionB · effaceC · yearD · dearD · traceC
- 2 ABABCDDC schemesA · seedsB · dreamsA · deedsB · faceC · earD · dearD · traceC
- 3 ABABCDDC fateA · smileB · disconsolateA · whileB · placeC · thereD · yearD · traceC
- 4 ABABCDDC rockedA · handB · lockedA · standB · chaseC · tearD · yearD · traceC
- 5 ABABCDDC fallA · woeB · callA · noB · faceC · disappearD · yearD · traceC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| One year entombs another year, as men | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Deliver fellow-men to death's dominion; | 11 | ˘/˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| And now a year is sepulchred again, | 10 | ·······˘˘/ |
| Smitten by hurrying time's destructive pinion. | 11 | /˘·/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| O be extinguished, dying year! Efface | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| All footprints of thy presence, buried year! | 10 | ·/···/˘/˘· |
| Amidst the records to my memory dear, | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Of thy past history I would find no trace. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thou busyedst me with many smiling schemes, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Thou scatteredst broadcast many hopeful seeds, | 10 | ····/·//˘· |
| Filledst my soul with flattering, flowery dreams, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| With words of promise, plans of prosperous deeds; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Thy gleams of sunshine brightened on my face, | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| Thy fame-proclaiming voices filled mine ear; | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Yet midst the records to my memory dear, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Of thy past history I would find no trace. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| My heart was but the football of hard fate, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| And bore the brand of suffering; at thy smile, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That heart, relieved, felt less disconsolate, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| And its fierce burnings were extinguished, while | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| The crater of its fires had yet a place | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| Within me—still tormenting, troubling there, | 10 | ····/·˘/˘· |
| And midst my memory's records, parting year! | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Of thy past history I would find no trace. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| O dying year! upon thy grave is rocked | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| My fragile cradle, by a gentle hand, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And by hope's sweet embraces kindly locked | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| In visions, I on Eden's borders stand. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Should they deceive me, should the future chase | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Such dreamings—I will drop no bitter tear; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| But midst my memory's records, dying year! | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Of thy past history thou shalt leave no trace. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But then, but then, Hungaria's curse shall fall | 10 | ·········· |
| Upon them, bringing hate and wail and woe, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| If to her liberty-arousing call— | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/˘· |
| If thou shouldst answer with a thund'ring—No! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Tear up her garlands, let her hide her face | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In shame and sorrow, let her disappear | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| In darkness—dying, but deceitful year! | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Of thy past history I will find no trace. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
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