To F
Beloved! amid the earnest woesThat crowd around my earthly path—(Drear path, alas! where growsNot even one lonely rose)—My soul at least a solace hathIn dreams of thee, and therein knowsAn Eden of bland repose.
And thus thy memory is to meLike some enchanted far-off isleIn some tumultuous sea—Some ocean throbbing far and freeWith storms—but where meanwhileSerenest skies continuallyJust o’er that one bright island smile.
Words in this poem
- amid 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]
- drear n.
- Sadness; dismalness.
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
- eden n.
- The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To F is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of Edgar Allan Poe, Project Gutenberg ebook #79019; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edgar Allan Poe, To F, in The Raven, and Other Poems (1827–1849), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #79019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poe-poems/to-f.html, id L04167.
Form and metre
To F is 14 lines in 2 stanzas of 7 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 64% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABAABAA woesA · pathB · growsA · roseA · hathB · knowsA · reposeA
- 2 ABAAB-B meA · isleB · seaA · freeA · meanwhileB · continually · smileB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Beloved! amid the earnest woes | 8 | ˘/˘/·/˘· |
| That crowd around my earthly path— | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| (Drear path, alas! where grows | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Not even one lonely rose)— | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| My soul at least a solace hath | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In dreams of thee, and therein knows | 8 | ········ |
| An Eden of bland repose. | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| And thus thy memory is to me | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Like some enchanted far-off isle | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| In some tumultuous sea— | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Some ocean throbbing far and free | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| With storms—but where meanwhile | 6 | ····/· |
| Serenest skies continually | 9 | ˘/˘·˘/˘˘˘ |
| Just o’er that one bright island smile. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
On this poem
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.