Despised and Rejected
My sun has set, I dwellIn darkness as a dead man out of sight;And none remains, not one, that I should tellTo him mine evil plightThis bitter night.I will make fast my doorThat hollow friends may trouble me no more.
'Friend, open to Me.'--Who is this that calls?Nay, I am deaf as are my walls:Cease crying, for I will not hearThy cry of hope or fear.Others were dear,Others forsook me: what art thou indeedThat I should heedThy lamentable need?Hungry should feed,Or stranger lodge thee here?
'Friend, My Feet bleed.Open thy door to Me and comfort Me.'I will not open, trouble me no more.Go on thy way footsore,I will not rise and open unto thee.
'Then is it nothing to thee? Open, seeWho stands to plead with thee.Open, lest I should pass thee by, and thouOne day entreat My FaceAnd howl for grace,And I be deaf as thou art now.Open to Me.'
Then I cried out upon him: Cease,Leave me in peace:Fear not that I should craveAught thou mayst have.Leave me in peace, yea trouble me no more,Lest I arise and chase thee from my door.What, shall I not be letAlone, that thou dost vex me yet?
But all night long that voice spake urgently:'Open to Me.'Still harping in mine ears:'Rise, let Me in.'Pleading with tears:'Open to Me that I may come to thee.'While the dew dropped, while the dark hours were cold:'My Feet bleed, see My Face,See My Hands bleed that bring thee grace,My Heart doth bleed for thee,Open to Me.'
So till the break of day:Then died awayThat voice, in silence as of sorrow;Then footsteps echoing like a sighPassed me by,Lingering footsteps slow to pass.On the morrowI saw upon the grassEach footprint marked in blood, and on my doorThe mark of blood for evermore.
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
- entreat v. t.
- To treat, or conduct toward; to deal with; to use. [OE. entreten to treat, request, OF. entraiter to treat of; pref. en- (L. in) + traitier to treat. See Treat.]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- 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,]
- urgently adv.
- In an urgent manner.
- harping a.
- Pertaining to the harp; as, harping symphonies.
- footprint n.
- The impression of the foot; a trace or footmark; as,
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Despised and Rejected 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, Despised and Rejected, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/despised-and-rejected.html, id L04334.
Form and metre
Despised and Rejected is 58 lines in 7 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter. 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 ABABBCC dwellA · sightB · tellA · plightB · nightB · doorC · moreC
- 2 AABBBCCCCB callsA · wallsA · hearB · fearB · dearB · indeedC · heedC · needC · feedC · hereB
- 3 -A--A bleed · meA · more · footsore · theeA
- 4 AABCCBA seeA · theeA · thouB · faceC · graceC · nowB · meA
- 5 AABBCCDD ceaseA · peaceA · craveB · haveB · moreC · doorC · letD · yetD
- 6 -AB-BA-CCAA urgently · meA · earsB · in · tearsB · theeA · cold · faceC · graceC · theeA · meA
- 7 AABCCDBDEE dayA · awayA · sorrowB · sighC · byC · passD · morrowB · grassD · doorE · evermoreE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| My sun has set, I dwell | 6 | ······ |
| In darkness as a dead man out of sight; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And none remains, not one, that I should tell | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| To him mine evil plight | 6 | ···/˘· |
| This bitter night. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| I will make fast my door | 6 | ······ |
| That hollow friends may trouble me no more. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| 'Friend, open to Me.'--Who is this that calls? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Nay, I am deaf as are my walls: | 8 | ········ |
| Cease crying, for I will not hear | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Thy cry of hope or fear. | 6 | ······ |
| Others were dear, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Others forsook me: what art thou indeed | 10 | /˘˘/····˘/ |
| That I should heed | 4 | ···· |
| Thy lamentable need? | 6 | ·˘/˘˘· |
| Hungry should feed, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Or stranger lodge thee here? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| 'Friend, My Feet bleed. | 4 | ···· |
| Open thy door to Me and comfort Me.' | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| I will not open, trouble me no more. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Go on thy way footsore, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| I will not rise and open unto thee. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'Then is it nothing to thee? Open, see | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Who stands to plead with thee. | 6 | ······ |
| Open, lest I should pass thee by, and thou | 10 | /˘········ |
| One day entreat My Face | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And howl for grace, | 4 | ···· |
| And I be deaf as thou art now. | 8 | ········ |
| Open to Me.' | 4 | /˘·· |
| Then I cried out upon him: Cease, | 8 | ········ |
| Leave me in peace: | 4 | ···· |
| Fear not that I should crave | 6 | ······ |
| Aught thou mayst have. | 4 | ···· |
| Leave me in peace, yea trouble me no more, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Lest I arise and chase thee from my door. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| What, shall I not be let | 6 | ······ |
| Alone, that thou dost vex me yet? | 8 | ˘/······ |
| But all night long that voice spake urgently: | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| 'Open to Me.' | 4 | /˘·· |
| Still harping in mine ears: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| 'Rise, let Me in.' | 4 | ···· |
| Pleading with tears: | 4 | /˘·· |
| 'Open to Me that I may come to thee.' | 10 | /˘········ |
| While the dew dropped, while the dark hours were cold: | 10 | ·······/·· |
| 'My Feet bleed, see My Face, | 6 | ······ |
| See My Hands bleed that bring thee grace, | 8 | ········ |
| My Heart doth bleed for thee, | 6 | ······ |
| Open to Me.' | 4 | /˘·· |
| So till the break of day: | 6 | ······ |
| Then died away | 4 | ··˘/ |
| That voice, in silence as of sorrow; | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Then footsteps echoing like a sigh | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| Passed me by, | 3 | ··· |
| Lingering footsteps slow to pass. | 8 | /˘˘/···· |
| On the morrow | 4 | ··/˘ |
| I saw upon the grass | 6 | ······ |
| Each footprint marked in blood, and on my door | 10 | ·/········ |
| The mark of blood for evermore. | 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.