Death's Chill Between
Chide not; let me breathe a little,For I shall not mourn him long;Though the life-cord was so brittle,The love-cord was very strong.I would wake a little spaceTill I find a sleeping-place.
You can go,--I shall not weep;You can go unto your rest.My heart-ache is all too deep,And too sore my throbbing breast.Can sobs be, or angry tears,Where are neither hopes nor fears?
Though with you I am aloneAnd must be so everywhere,I will make no useless moan,--None shall say 'She could not bear:'While life lasts I will be strong,--But I shall not struggle long.
Listen, listen! EverywhereA low voice is calling me,And a step is on the stair,And one comes ye do not see,Listen, listen! EvermoreA dim hand knocks at the door.
Hear me; he is come again,--My own dearest is come back.Bring him in from the cold rain;Bring wine, and let nothing lack.Thou and I will rest together,Love, until the sunny weather.
I will shelter thee from harm,--Hide thee from all heaviness.Come to me, and keep thee warmBy my side in quietness.I will lull thee to thy sleepWith sweet songs:--we will not weep.
Who hath talked of weeping?--YetThere is something at my heart,Gnawing, I would fain forget,And an aching and a smart.--Ah! my mother, 'tis in vain,For he is not come again.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- ache n.
- A name given to several species of plants; as, smallage, wild celery, parsley. Holland. [F. ache, L. apium parsley.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- heaviness n.
- The state or quality of being heavy in its various senses; weight; sadness; sluggishness; oppression; thickness.
- lull v. t.
- To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet. [Akin to OD. lullen to sing to sleep, G. lullen, Dan. lulle, Sw. lulla; all of imitative origin. Cf. Loll, Lollard.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- aching a.
- That aches; continuously painful. See Ache.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Death's Chill Between is in the public domain. This text is taken from Goblin Market, The Prince's Progress, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #16950; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Christina Rossetti, Death's Chill Between, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/death-s-chill-between.html, id L04343.
Form and metre
Death's Chill Between is 42 lines in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABABCC littleA · longB · brittleA · strongB · spaceC · placeC
- 2 ABABCC weepA · restB · deepA · breastB · tearsC · fearsC
- 3 ABABCC aloneA · everywhereB · moanA · bearB · strongC · longC
- 4 ABABCC everywhereA · meB · stairA · seeB · evermoreC · doorC
- 5 ABABCC againA · backB · rainA · lackB · togetherC · weatherC
- 6 -A-ABB harm · heavinessA · warm · quietnessA · sleepB · weepB
- 7 ABABCC yetA · heartB · forgetA · smartB · vainC · againC
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Chide not; let me breathe a little, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| For I shall not mourn him long; | 7 | ······· |
| Though the life-cord was so brittle, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| The love-cord was very strong. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I would wake a little space | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Till I find a sleeping-place. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| You can go,--I shall not weep; | 7 | ······· |
| You can go unto your rest. | 7 | ······· |
| My heart-ache is all too deep, | 7 | ······· |
| And too sore my throbbing breast. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Can sobs be, or angry tears, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Where are neither hopes nor fears? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Though with you I am alone | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| And must be so everywhere, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I will make no useless moan,-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| None shall say 'She could not bear:' | 7 | ······· |
| While life lasts I will be strong,-- | 7 | ······· |
| But I shall not struggle long. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Listen, listen! Everywhere | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| A low voice is calling me, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And a step is on the stair, | 7 | ······· |
| And one comes ye do not see, | 7 | ······· |
| Listen, listen! Evermore | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| A dim hand knocks at the door. | 7 | ······· |
| Hear me; he is come again,-- | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| My own dearest is come back. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Bring him in from the cold rain; | 7 | ······· |
| Bring wine, and let nothing lack. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Thou and I will rest together, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Love, until the sunny weather. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| I will shelter thee from harm,-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Hide thee from all heaviness. | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Come to me, and keep thee warm | 7 | ······· |
| By my side in quietness. | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| I will lull thee to thy sleep | 7 | ······· |
| With sweet songs:--we will not weep. | 7 | ······· |
| Who hath talked of weeping?--Yet | 8 | ···˘·/˘· |
| There is something at my heart, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Gnawing, I would fain forget, | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| And an aching and a smart. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| --Ah! my mother, 'tis in vain, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| For he is not come again. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
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.