Little Queen
Do you remember the name I wore--The old pet-name of Little Queen--In the dear, dead days that are no more,The happiest days of our lives, I ween?For we loved with that passionate love of youthThat blesses but once with its perfect bliss--A love that, in spite of its trust and truth,Seems never to thrive in a world like this.
I lived for you, and you lived for me;All was centered in "Little Queen;"And never a thought in our hearts had weThat strife or trouble could come between.What utter sinking of self it was!How little we cared for the world of men!For love's fair kingdom and love's sweet lawsWere all of the world and life to us then.
But a love like ours was a challenge to Fate;She rang down the curtain and shifted the scene;Yet sometimes now, when the day grows late,I can hear you calling for Little Queen;For a happy home and a busy lifeCan never wholly crowd out our past;In the twilight pauses that come from strife,You will think of me while life shall last.
And however sweet the voice of fameMay sing to me of a great world's praise,I shall long sometimes for the old pet-nameThat you gave to me in the dear, dead days;And nothing the angel band can say,When I reach the shores of the great Unseen,Can please me so much as on that dayTo hear your greeting of "Little Queen."
Words in this poem
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- 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,]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Little Queen is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Passion, Project Gutenberg ebook #16776; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Little Queen, in Poems of Passion (1883), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16776, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wilcox-passion/little-queen.html, id L22154.
Form and metre
Little Queen is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%).
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 ABABCDCD woreA · queenB · moreA · weenB · youthC · blissD · truthC · thisD
- 2 ABABCDCD meA · queenB · weA · betweenB · wasC · menD · lawsC · thenD
- 3 ABABCDCD fateA · sceneB · lateA · queenB · lifeC · pastD · strifeC · lastD
- 4 ABABCDCD fameA · praiseB · nameA · daysB · sayC · unseenD · dayC · queenD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Do you remember the name I wore-- | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| The old pet-name of Little Queen-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In the dear, dead days that are no more, | 9 | ········· |
| The happiest days of our lives, I ween? | 10 | ·/˘˘··/··· |
| For we loved with that passionate love of youth | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That blesses but once with its perfect bliss-- | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| A love that, in spite of its trust and truth, | 10 | ·········· |
| Seems never to thrive in a world like this. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| I lived for you, and you lived for me; | 10 | ··˘······· |
| All was centered in "Little Queen;" | 9 | ··/˘˘·/˘· |
| And never a thought in our hearts had we | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| That strife or trouble could come between. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| What utter sinking of self it was! | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| How little we cared for the world of men! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| For love's fair kingdom and love's sweet laws | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Were all of the world and life to us then. | 10 | ·········· |
| But a love like ours was a challenge to Fate; | 11 | ····/··/˘·· |
| She rang down the curtain and shifted the scene; | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| Yet sometimes now, when the day grows late, | 9 | ·˘/······ |
| I can hear you calling for Little Queen; | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| For a happy home and a busy life | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Can never wholly crowd out our past; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| In the twilight pauses that come from strife, | 10 | ··/·/˘···· |
| You will think of me while life shall last. | 9 | ········· |
| And however sweet the voice of fame | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| May sing to me of a great world's praise, | 9 | ········· |
| I shall long sometimes for the old pet-name | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| That you gave to me in the dear, dead days; | 10 | ·········· |
| And nothing the angel band can say, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| When I reach the shores of the great Unseen, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Can please me so much as on that day | 9 | ········· |
| To hear your greeting of "Little Queen." | 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.