Sympathy
Lately, alas! I knew a gentle boy,Whose features all were cast in Virtue’s mould,As one she had designed for Beauty’s toy,But after manned him for her own stronghold.
On every side he open was as day,That you might see no lack of strength within;For walls and ports do only serve alwayFor a pretence to feebleness and sin.
Say not that Caesar was victorious,With toil and strife who stormed the House of Fame;In other sense this youth was glorious,Himself a kingdom wheresoe’er he came.
No strength went out to get him victory,When all was income of its own accord;For where he went none other was to see,But all were parcel of their noble lord.
He forayed like the subtle haze of summer,That stilly shows fresh landscapes to our eyes,And revolutions works without a murmur,Or rustling of a leaf beneath the skies.
So was I taken unawares by this,I quite forgot my homage to confess;Yet now am forced to know, though hard it is,I might have loved him, had I loved him less.
Each moment as we nearer drew to each,A stern respect withheld us farther yet,So that we seemed beyond each other’s reach,And less acquainted than when first we met.
We two were one while we did sympathise,So could we not the simplest bargain drive;And what avails it, now that we are wise,If absence doth this doubleness contrive?
Eternity may not the chance repeat;But I must tread my single way alone,In sad remembrance that we once did meet,And know that bliss irrevocably gone.
The spheres henceforth my elegy shall sing,For elegy has other subject none;Each strain of music in my ears shall ringKnell of departure from that other one.
Make haste and celebrate my tragedy;With fitting strain resound, ye woods and fields;Sorrow is dearer in such case to meThan all the joys other occasion yields.
Is’t then too late the damage to repair?Distance, forsooth, from my weak grasp has reftThe empty husk, and clutched the useless tare,But in my hands the wheat and kernel left.
If I but love that virtue which he is,Though it be scented in the morning air,Still shall we be truest acquaintances,Nor mortals know a sympathy more rare.
Words in this poem 15
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- pretence n.
- The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. [LL. praetensus, for L. praetentus, p. p. of praetendere. See Pretend, and cf. Tension.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- income n.
- A coming in; entrance; admittance; ingress; infusion.
- stilly a.
- Still; quiet; calm.
- sympathise v. t.
- To experience together.
- doubleness n.
- The state of being double or doubled.
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- elegy n.
- A mournful or plaintive poem; a funereal song; a poem of lamentation.
- 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,]
- departure n.
- Division; separation; putting away. [From Depart.]
- forsooth v. t.
- To address respectfully with the term forsooth.
- reft n.
- A chink; a rift. See Rift. Rom. of R.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sympathy is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Nature, Project Gutenberg ebook #59988; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry David Thoreau, Sympathy, in Poems of Nature (1895), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59988, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thoreau-poems/sympathy.html, id L02799.
Form and metre
Sympathy is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 6 of the 13 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% 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 ABAB boyA · mouldB · toyA · strongholdB
- 2 -A-A day · withinA · alway · sinA
- 3 ABAB victoriousA · fameB · gloriousA · cameB
- 4 -A-A victory · accordA · see · lordA
- 5 -A-A summer · eyesA · murmur · skiesA
- 6 -A-A this · confessA · is · lessA
- 7 ABAB eachA · yetB · reachA · metB
- 8 ABAB sympathiseA · driveB · wiseA · contriveB
- 9 A-A- repeatA · alone · meetA · gone
- 10 ABAB singA · noneB · ringA · oneB
- 11 -A-A tragedy · fieldsA · me · yieldsA
- 12 -A-A repair · reftA · tare · leftA
- 13 ABAB isA · airB · acquaintancesA · rareB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lately, alas! I knew a gentle boy, | 10 | /˘˘/···/˘· |
| Whose features all were cast in Virtue’s mould, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| As one she had designed for Beauty’s toy, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| But after manned him for her own stronghold. | 10 | ········/· |
| On every side he open was as day, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| That you might see no lack of strength within; | 10 | ·········· |
| For walls and ports do only serve alway | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| For a pretence to feebleness and sin. | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Say not that Caesar was victorious, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| With toil and strife who stormed the House of Fame; | 10 | ·········· |
| In other sense this youth was glorious, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Himself a kingdom wheresoe’er he came. | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| No strength went out to get him victory, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| When all was income of its own accord; | 10 | ···/····˘/ |
| For where he went none other was to see, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But all were parcel of their noble lord. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| He forayed like the subtle haze of summer, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| That stilly shows fresh landscapes to our eyes, | 10 | ·/˘··/··/· |
| And revolutions works without a murmur, | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| Or rustling of a leaf beneath the skies. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| So was I taken unawares by this, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| I quite forgot my homage to confess; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Yet now am forced to know, though hard it is, | 10 | ·········· |
| I might have loved him, had I loved him less. | 10 | ·········· |
| Each moment as we nearer drew to each, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| A stern respect withheld us farther yet, | 10 | ··˘/˘/·/˘· |
| So that we seemed beyond each other’s reach, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And less acquainted than when first we met. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| We two were one while we did sympathise, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| So could we not the simplest bargain drive; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And what avails it, now that we are wise, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| If absence doth this doubleness contrive? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| Eternity may not the chance repeat; | 9 | ˘/˘····˘/ |
| But I must tread my single way alone, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| In sad remembrance that we once did meet, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| And know that bliss irrevocably gone. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The spheres henceforth my elegy shall sing, | 9 | ··//·/˘·· |
| For elegy has other subject none; | 9 | ·/˘·/˘˘/· |
| Each strain of music in my ears shall ring | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Knell of departure from that other one. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Make haste and celebrate my tragedy; | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| With fitting strain resound, ye woods and fields; | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| Sorrow is dearer in such case to me | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Than all the joys other occasion yields. | 10 | ····/˘˘/˘· |
| Is’t then too late the damage to repair? | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Distance, forsooth, from my weak grasp has reft | 10 | /˘˘/······ |
| The empty husk, and clutched the useless tare, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| But in my hands the wheat and kernel left. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| If I but love that virtue which he is, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Though it be scented in the morning air, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Still shall we be truest acquaintances, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Nor mortals know a sympathy more rare. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
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.