Memory I
I nursed it in my bosom while it lived,I hid it in my heart when it was dead;In joy I sat alone, even so I grievedAlone and nothing said.
I shut the door to face the naked truth,I stood alone--I faced the truth alone,Stripped bare of self-regard or forms or ruthTill first and last were shown.
I took the perfect balances and weighed;No shaking of my hand disturbed the poise;Weighed, found it wanting: not a word I said,But silent made my choice.
None know the choice I made; I make it still.None know the choice I made and broke my heart,Breaking mine idol: I have braced my willOnce, chosen for once my part.
I broke it at a blow, I laid it cold,Crushed in my deep heart where it used to live.My heart dies inch by inch; the time grows old,Grows old in which I grieve.
Words in this poem
- ruth n.
- Sorrow for the misery of another; pity; tenderness. [From Rue, v.: cf. Icel. hryggedh, hrygedh.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- idol n.
- An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Memory I 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, Memory I, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/memory-i.html, id L04319.
Form and metre
Memory I is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -A-A lived · deadA · grieved · saidA
- 2 ABAB truthA · aloneB · ruthA · shownB
- 4 ABAB stillA · heartB · willA · partB
- 5 A-A- coldA · live · oldA · grieve
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I nursed it in my bosom while it lived, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I hid it in my heart when it was dead; | 10 | ·········· |
| In joy I sat alone, even so I grieved | 10 | ····˘//··· |
| Alone and nothing said. | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| I shut the door to face the naked truth, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I stood alone--I faced the truth alone, | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Stripped bare of self-regard or forms or ruth | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Till first and last were shown. | 6 | ······ |
| I took the perfect balances and weighed; | 9 | ···/·/˘·· |
| No shaking of my hand disturbed the poise; | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Weighed, found it wanting: not a word I said, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But silent made my choice. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| None know the choice I made; I make it still. | 10 | ·········· |
| None know the choice I made and broke my heart, | 10 | ·········· |
| Breaking mine idol: I have braced my will | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Once, chosen for once my part. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| I broke it at a blow, I laid it cold, | 10 | ·········· |
| Crushed in my deep heart where it used to live. | 10 | ·········· |
| My heart dies inch by inch; the time grows old, | 10 | ·········· |
| Grows old in which I grieve. | 6 | ······ |
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.