Gone for Ever
O happy rose-bud bloomingUpon thy parent tree,Nay, thou art too presuming;For soon the earth entombingThy faded charms shall be,And the chill damp consuming.
O happy skylark springingUp to the broad blue sky,Too fearless in thy winging,Too gladsome in thy singing,Thou also soon shalt lieWhere no sweet notes are ringing.
And through life's shine and showerWe shall have joy and pain;But in the summer bower,And at the morning hour,We still shall look in vainFor the same bird and flower.
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,]
- skylark n.
- A lark that mounts and sings as it files, especially the common species (Alauda arvensis) found in Europe and in some parts of Asia, and celebrated for its melodious song; -- called also sky laverock.
- gladsome a.
- Pleased; joyful; cheerful.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Gone for Ever 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, Gone for Ever, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/gone-for-ever.html, id L04332.
Form and metre
Gone for Ever is 18 lines in 3 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAABA. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.7 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% 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 ABAABA bloomingA · treeB · presumingA · entombingA · beB · consumingA
- 2 ABAABA springingA · skyB · wingingA · singingA · lieB · ringingA
- 3 ABAABA showerA · painB · bowerA · hourA · vainB · flowerA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O happy rose-bud blooming | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Upon thy parent tree, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Nay, thou art too presuming; | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| For soon the earth entombing | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Thy faded charms shall be, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And the chill damp consuming. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| O happy skylark springing | 7 | ·/˘/·/˘ |
| Up to the broad blue sky, | 6 | ······ |
| Too fearless in thy winging, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Too gladsome in thy singing, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Thou also soon shalt lie | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Where no sweet notes are ringing. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And through life's shine and shower | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| We shall have joy and pain; | 6 | ······ |
| But in the summer bower, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And at the morning hour, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| We still shall look in vain | 6 | ······ |
| For the same bird and flower. | 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.