L. E. L
Downstairs I laugh, I sport and jest with all;But in my solitary room aboveI turn my face in silence to the wall;My heart is breaking for a little love.Though winter frosts are done,And birds pair every one,And leaves peep out, for springtide is begun.
I feel no spring, while spring is wellnigh blown,I find no nest, while nests are in the grove:Woe's me for mine own heart that dwells alone,My heart that breaketh for a little love.While golden in the sunRivulets rise and run,While lilies bud, for springtide is begun.
All love, are loved, save only I; their heartsBeat warm with love and joy, beat full thereof:They cannot guess, who play the pleasant parts,My heart is breaking for a little love.While beehives wake and whirr,And rabbit thins his fur,In living spring that sets the world astir.
I deck myself with skills and jewelry,I plume myself like any mated dove:They praise my rustling show, and never seeMy heart is breaking for a little love.While sprouts green lavenderWith rosemary and myrrh,For in quick spring the sap is all astir.
Perhaps some saints in glory guess the truth,Perhaps some angels read it as they move,And cry one to another full of ruth,'Her heart is breaking for a little love.'Though other things have birth,And leap and sing for mirth,When springtime wakes and clothes and feeds the earth.
Yet saith a saint: 'Take patience for thy scathe;'Yet saith an angel: 'Wait, for thou shalt proveTrue best is last, true life is born of death,O thou, heart-broken for a little love.Then love shall fill they girth,And love make fat thy dearth,When new spring builds new heaven and clean new earth.'
Words in this poem
- downstairs adv.
- Down the stairs; to a lower floor.
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- springtide n.
- The time of spring; springtime. Thomson.
- whirr v. i.
- To whirl round, or revolve, with a whizzing noise; to fly or more quickly with a buzzing or whizzing sound; to whiz.
- astir adv.
- Stirring; in a state of activity or motion; out of bed. [Pref. a- + stir.]
- ruth n.
- Sorrow for the misery of another; pity; tenderness. [From Rue, v.: cf. Icel. hryggedh, hrygedh.]
- springtime n.
- The season of spring; springtide.
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- scathe v. t.
- To do harm to; to injure; to damage; to waste; to destroy. [Icel. skatha; akin to AS. sceathan, sceth\'eban, Dan. skade, Sw. skada, D. & G. schaden, OHG. scadon, Goth. skaÞjan.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- 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,]
- dearth n.
- Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine. [OE. derthe, fr. dere. See Dear.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
L. E. L 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, L. E. L, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/l-e-l.html, id L26124.
Form and metre
L. E. L is 42 lines in 6 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCC, complete in 4 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABCCC allA · aboveB · wallA · loveB · doneC · oneC · begunC
- 2 A-A-BBB blownA · grove · aloneA · love · sunB · runB · begunB
- 3 ABABCCC heartsA · thereofB · partsA · loveB · whirrC · furC · astirC
- 4 -A-A-BB jewelry · doveA · see · loveA · lavender · myrrhB · astirB
- 5 ABABCCC truthA · moveB · ruthA · loveB · birthC · mirthC · earthC
- 6 ABABCCC scatheA · proveB · deathA · loveB · girthC · dearthC · earthC
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Downstairs I laugh, I sport and jest with all; | 10 | //········ |
| But in my solitary room above | 10 | ···/˘·˘··· |
| I turn my face in silence to the wall; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| My heart is breaking for a little love. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Though winter frosts are done, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And birds pair every one, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| And leaves peep out, for springtide is begun. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| I feel no spring, while spring is wellnigh blown, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I find no nest, while nests are in the grove: | 10 | ·········· |
| Woe's me for mine own heart that dwells alone, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| My heart that breaketh for a little love. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| While golden in the sun | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Rivulets rise and run, | 6 | ······ |
| While lilies bud, for springtide is begun. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| All love, are loved, save only I; their hearts | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Beat warm with love and joy, beat full thereof: | 10 | ·········· |
| They cannot guess, who play the pleasant parts, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| My heart is breaking for a little love. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| While beehives wake and whirr, | 6 | ·/···· |
| And rabbit thins his fur, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| In living spring that sets the world astir. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| I deck myself with skills and jewelry, | 10 | ···/···/˘˘ |
| I plume myself like any mated dove: | 10 | ···/·/˘/˘· |
| They praise my rustling show, and never see | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| My heart is breaking for a little love. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| While sprouts green lavender | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| With rosemary and myrrh, | 6 | ·/·˘·· |
| For in quick spring the sap is all astir. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Perhaps some saints in glory guess the truth, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Perhaps some angels read it as they move, | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| And cry one to another full of ruth, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| 'Her heart is breaking for a little love.' | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Though other things have birth, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And leap and sing for mirth, | 6 | ······ |
| When springtime wakes and clothes and feeds the earth. | 10 | ·/········ |
| Yet saith a saint: 'Take patience for thy scathe;' | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yet saith an angel: 'Wait, for thou shalt prove | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| True best is last, true life is born of death, | 10 | ·········· |
| O thou, heart-broken for a little love. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Then love shall fill they girth, | 6 | ······ |
| And love make fat thy dearth, | 6 | ······ |
| When new spring builds new heaven and clean new earth.' | 10 | ·····/···· |
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.