'They Desire a Better Country'
I would not if I could undo my past,Tho' for its sake my future is a blank;My past, for which I have myself to thank,For all its faults and follies first and last.I would not cast anew the lot once cast,Or launch a second ship for one that sank,Or drug with sweets the bitterness I drank,Or break by feasting my perpetual fast.I would not if I could: for much more dearIs one remembrance than a hundred joys,More than a thousand hopes in jubilee;Dearer the music of one tearful voiceThat unforgotten calls and calls to me,'Follow me here, rise up, and follow here.'
What seekest thou far in the unknown land?In hope I follow joy gone on before,In hope and fear persistent more and more,As the dry desert lengthens out its sand.Whilst day and night I carry in my handThe golden key to ope the golden doorOf golden home; yet mine eye weepeth soreFor the long journey that must make no stand.And who is this that veiled doth walk with thee?Lo, this is Love that walketh at my right;One exile holds us both, and we are boundTo selfsame home-joys in the land of light.Weeping thou walkest with him; weepeth he?--Some sobbing weep, some weep and make no sound.
A dimness of a glory glimmers hereThro' veils and distance from the space remote,A faintest far vibration of a noteReaches to us and seems to bring us near,Causing our face to glow with braver cheer,Making the serried mist to stand afloat,Subduing languor with an antidote,And strengthening love almost to cast out fear,Till for one moment golden city wallsRise looming on us, golden walls of home,Light of our eyes until the darkness falls;Then thro' the outer darkness burdensomeI hear again the tender voice that calls,'Follow me hither, follow, rise, and come.'
Words in this poem
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- tearful a.
- Abounding with tears; weeping; shedding tears; as, tearful eyes.
- veiled a.
- Covered by, or as by, a veil; hidden.
- selfsame a.
- Precisely the same; the very same; identical. [Self, a. + same.]
- sobbing n.
- A series of short, convulsive inspirations, the glottis being suddenly closed so that little or no air enters into the lungs.
- serried a.
- Crowded; compact; dense; pressed together. [See Serry.]
- afloat adv.
- Borne on the water; floating; on board ship. [Pref. a- + float.]
- looming n.
- The indistinct and magnified appearance of objects seen in particular states of the atmosphere. See Mirage.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
'They Desire a Better Country' 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, 'They Desire a Better Country', in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/they-desire-a-better-country.html, id L04356.
Form and metre
'They Desire a Better Country' is 42 lines in 3 stanzas of 14 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% 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 ABBAABBAC-D-DC pastA · blankB · thankB · lastA · castA · sankB · drankB · fastA · dearC · joys · jubileeD · voice · meD · hereC
- 2 ABBAABBACDEDCE landA · beforeB · moreB · sandA · handA · doorB · soreB · standA · theeC · rightD · boundE · lightD · heC · soundE
- 3 ABBAABBACDCDCD hereA · remoteB · noteB · nearA · cheerA · afloatB · antidoteB · fearA · wallsC · homeD · fallsC · burdensomeD · callsC · comeD
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 would not if I could undo my past, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Tho' for its sake my future is a blank; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| My past, for which I have myself to thank, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| For all its faults and follies first and last. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I would not cast anew the lot once cast, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Or launch a second ship for one that sank, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Or drug with sweets the bitterness I drank, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Or break by feasting my perpetual fast. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| I would not if I could: for much more dear | 10 | ·········· |
| Is one remembrance than a hundred joys, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| More than a thousand hopes in jubilee; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Dearer the music of one tearful voice | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| That unforgotten calls and calls to me, | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Follow me here, rise up, and follow here.' | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| What seekest thou far in the unknown land? | 10 | ·/˘····˘/· |
| In hope I follow joy gone on before, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In hope and fear persistent more and more, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| As the dry desert lengthens out its sand. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Whilst day and night I carry in my hand | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The golden key to ope the golden door | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Of golden home; yet mine eye weepeth sore | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| For the long journey that must make no stand. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And who is this that veiled doth walk with thee? | 10 | ·········· |
| Lo, this is Love that walketh at my right; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| One exile holds us both, and we are bound | 10 | ·/········ |
| To selfsame home-joys in the land of light. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Weeping thou walkest with him; weepeth he?-- | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Some sobbing weep, some weep and make no sound. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| A dimness of a glory glimmers here | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Thro' veils and distance from the space remote, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| A faintest far vibration of a note | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Reaches to us and seems to bring us near, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Causing our face to glow with braver cheer, | 10 | /˘/····/˘· |
| Making the serried mist to stand afloat, | 10 | /˘·/˘···˘/ |
| Subduing languor with an antidote, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And strengthening love almost to cast out fear, | 10 | ·/˘·/····· |
| Till for one moment golden city walls | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Rise looming on us, golden walls of home, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Light of our eyes until the darkness falls; | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| Then thro' the outer darkness burdensome | 9 | ···//˘/˘˘ |
| I hear again the tender voice that calls, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| 'Follow me hither, follow, rise, and come.' | 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.