Up-Hill
Does the road wind up-hill all the way?Yes, to the very end.Will the day's journey take the whole long day?From morn to night, my friend.
But is there for the night a resting-place?A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.May not the darkness hide it from my face?You cannot miss that inn.
Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?Those who have gone before.Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?They will not keep you standing at that door.
Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?Of labour you shall find the sum.Will there be beds for me and all who seek?Yea, beds for all who come.
Words in this poem
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Up-Hill 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, Up-Hill, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/up-hill.html, id L04276.
Form and metre
Up-Hill is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables.
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 ABAB wayA · endB · dayA · friendB
- 2 ABAB placeA · beginB · faceA · innB
- 3 ABAB nightA · beforeB · sightA · doorB
- 4 ABAB weakA · sumB · seekA · comeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Does the road wind up-hill all the way? | 9 | ········· |
| Yes, to the very end. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Will the day's journey take the whole long day? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| From morn to night, my friend. | 6 | ······ |
| But is there for the night a resting-place? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A roof for when the slow dark hours begin. | 10 | ·······/˘/ |
| May not the darkness hide it from my face? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| You cannot miss that inn. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Shall I meet other wayfarers at night? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Those who have gone before. | 6 | ······ |
| Then must I knock, or call when just in sight? | 10 | ·········· |
| They will not keep you standing at that door. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak? | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Of labour you shall find the sum. | 8 | ·/······ |
| Will there be beds for me and all who seek? | 10 | ·········· |
| Yea, beds for all who come. | 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.