Good Night
Good night to thee, lady!--though manyHave join’d in the dance to-night,Thy form was the fairest of any,Where all was seducing and bright;Thy smile was the softest and dearest,Thy form the most sylph-like of all,And thy voice the most gladsome and clearestThat e’er held a partner in thrall.
Good night to thee, lady!--’tis over--The waltz, the quadrille, and the song--The whisper’d farewell of the lover,The heartless adieu of the throng;The heart that was throbbing with pleasure,The eyelid that long’d for repose--The beaux that were dreaming of treasure,The girls that were dreaming of beaux.
’Tis over--the lights are all dying,The coaches all driving away;And many a fair one is sighing,And many a false one is gay;And Beauty counts over her numbersOf conquests, as homeward she drives---And some are gone home to their slumbers,And some are gone home to their wives.
And I, while my cab in the showerIs waiting, the last at the doorAm looking all around for the flowerThat fell from your wreath on the floor,I’ll keep it--if but to remind me,Though withered and faded its hue--Wherever next season may find me--Of England--of Almack’s--and you!
There are tones that will haunt us, though lonelyOur path be o’er mountain or sea;There are looks that will part from us onlyWhen memory ceases to be;There are hopes which our burden can lighten,Though toilsome and steep be the way;And dreams that, like moonlight, can brightenWith a light that is clearer than day.
There are names that we cherish, though nameless;For aye on the lips they may be;There are hearts that, though fetter’d, are tameless,And thoughts unexpress’d, but still free!And some are too grave for a rover,And some for a husband too light.--The ball and my dream are all over--Good night to thee, lady! good night!
Words in this poem
- gladsome a.
- Pleased; joyful; cheerful.
- waltz n.
- A dance performed by two persons in circular figures with a whirling motion; also, a piece of music composed in triple measure for this kind of dance. [G. walzer, from walzen to roll, revolve, dance, OHG. walzan to roll; akin to AS. wealtan. See Welter.]
- quadrille n.
- A dance having five figures, in common time, four couples of dancers being in each set. [F. quadrille, n. fem., fr. Sp. cuadrilla meeting of four or more persons or It. quadriglia a band of soldiers, a sort of dance; dim. fr. L. quadra a square, fr.]
- heartless a.
- Without a heart.
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
- remind v. t.
- To put (one) in mind of something; to bring to the remembrance of; to bring to the notice or consideration of (a person).
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
- brighten v. t.
- To make bright or brighter; to make to shine; to increase the luster of; to give a brighter hue to.
- clearer n.
- One who, or that which, clears.
- nameless a.
- Without a name; not having been given a name; as, a nameless star.
- tameless a.
- Incapable of being tamed; wild; untamed; untamable. Bp. Hall.
- rover n.
- One who practices robbery on the seas; a pirate. [D. roover a robber. See Rove, v. i.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Good Night is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poems of Winthrop Mackworth Praed. [selected], Project Gutenberg ebook #71008; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Winthrop Mackworth Praed, Good Night, in Poems (1820–1839), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #71008, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/praed-poems/good-night.html, id L10189.
Form and metre
Good Night is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 4 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 19 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic 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 ABAB-C-C manyA · nightB · anyA · brightB · dearest · allC · clearest · thrallC
- 2 -A-AB-B- over · songA · lover · throngA · pleasureB · repose · treasureB · beaux
- 3 ABABCDCD dyingA · awayB · sighingA · gayB · numbersC · drivesD · slumbersC · wivesD
- 4 ABABCDCD showerA · doorB · flowerA · floorB · meC · hueD · meC · youD
- 5 ABABCDCD lonelyA · seaB · onlyA · beB · lightenC · wayD · brightenC · dayD
- 6 ABABCDCD namelessA · beB · tamelessA · freeB · roverC · lightD · overC · nightD
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Good night to thee, lady!--though many | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Have join’d in the dance to-night, | 7 | ······· |
| Thy form was the fairest of any, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Where all was seducing and bright; | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| Thy smile was the softest and dearest, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Thy form the most sylph-like of all, | 8 | ········ |
| And thy voice the most gladsome and clearest | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| That e’er held a partner in thrall. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Good night to thee, lady!--’tis over-- | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| The waltz, the quadrille, and the song-- | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| The whisper’d farewell of the lover, | 9 | ·/˘·/··/˘ |
| The heartless adieu of the throng; | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| The heart that was throbbing with pleasure, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| The eyelid that long’d for repose-- | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| The beaux that were dreaming of treasure, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| The girls that were dreaming of beaux. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| ’Tis over--the lights are all dying, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The coaches all driving away; | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| And many a fair one is sighing, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| And many a false one is gay; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And Beauty counts over her numbers | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Of conquests, as homeward she drives--- | 8 | ·/··/˘·· |
| And some are gone home to their slumbers, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And some are gone home to their wives. | 8 | ········ |
| And I, while my cab in the shower | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Is waiting, the last at the door | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Am looking all around for the flower | 9 | ·/˘·····/ |
| That fell from your wreath on the floor, | 8 | ········ |
| I’ll keep it--if but to remind me, | 9 | ······˘/· |
| Though withered and faded its hue-- | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Wherever next season may find me-- | 9 | ˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Of England--of Almack’s--and you! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| There are tones that will haunt us, though lonely | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Our path be o’er mountain or sea; | 8 | /···/˘·· |
| There are looks that will part from us only | 10 | ········/˘ |
| When memory ceases to be; | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| There are hopes which our burden can lighten, | 10 | ····//˘·/˘ |
| Though toilsome and steep be the way; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And dreams that, like moonlight, can brighten | 9 | ····/··/˘ |
| With a light that is clearer than day. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| There are names that we cherish, though nameless; | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| For aye on the lips they may be; | 8 | ········ |
| There are hearts that, though fetter’d, are tameless, | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| And thoughts unexpress’d, but still free! | 8 | ········ |
| And some are too grave for a rover, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And some for a husband too light. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| --The ball and my dream are all over-- | 8 | ········ |
| Good night to thee, lady! good night! | 8 | ····/˘·· |
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.