Sonnet
Remember me when I am gone away,Gone far away into the silent land;When you can no more hold me by the hand,Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.Remember me when no more day by dayYou tell me of our future that you planned:Only remember me; you understandIt will be late to counsel then or pray.Yet if you should forget me for a whileAnd afterwards remember, do not grieve:For if the darkness and corruption leaveA vestige of the thoughts that once I had,Better by far you should forget and smileThan that you should remember and be sad.
The curtains were half drawn, the floor was sweptAnd strewn with rushes, rosemary and mayLay thick upon the bed on which I lay,Where through the lattice ivy-shadows crept.He leaned above me, thinking that I sleptAnd could not hear him; but I heard him say:'Poor child, poor child:' and as he turned awayCame a deep silence, and I knew he wept.He did not touch the shroud, or raise the foldThat hid my face, or take my hand in his,Or ruffle the smooth pillows for my head:He did not love me living; but once deadHe pitied me; and very sweet it isTo know he still is warm though I am cold.
About this text
Sonnet 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, Sonnet, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/sonnet-2.html, id L04249.
Form and metre
Sonnet is 28 lines in 2 stanzas of 14 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 43% 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 ABBAABBACDDECE awayA · landB · handB · stayA · dayA · plannedB · understandB · prayA · whileC · grieveD · leaveD · hadE · smileC · sadE
- 2 ABBAABBACDEEDC sweptA · mayB · layB · creptA · sleptA · sayB · awayB · weptA · foldC · hisD · headE · deadE · isD · coldC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Remember me when I am gone away, | 10 | ˘/˘·····˘/ |
| Gone far away into the silent land; | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| When you can no more hold me by the hand, | 10 | ·········· |
| Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Remember me when no more day by day | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| You tell me of our future that you planned: | 10 | ····//˘··· |
| Only remember me; you understand | 10 | /˘˘/˘···˘/ |
| It will be late to counsel then or pray. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yet if you should forget me for a while | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And afterwards remember, do not grieve: | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/˘··· |
| For if the darkness and corruption leave | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| A vestige of the thoughts that once I had, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Better by far you should forget and smile | 10 | /˘····˘/·· |
| Than that you should remember and be sad. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| The curtains were half drawn, the floor was swept | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And strewn with rushes, rosemary and may | 10 | ···/˘/·˘·· |
| Lay thick upon the bed on which I lay, | 10 | ·········· |
| Where through the lattice ivy-shadows crept. | 10 | ···/˘/˘/·· |
| He leaned above me, thinking that I slept | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And could not hear him; but I heard him say: | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Poor child, poor child:' and as he turned away | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Came a deep silence, and I knew he wept. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He did not touch the shroud, or raise the fold | 10 | ·········· |
| That hid my face, or take my hand in his, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or ruffle the smooth pillows for my head: | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| He did not love me living; but once dead | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| He pitied me; and very sweet it is | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| To know he still is warm though I am cold. | 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.