The Farewell of Clarimonde
Adieu, Romauld! But thou canst not forget me.Although no more I haunt thy dreams at night,Thy hungering heart forever must regret me,And starve for those lost moments of delight.
Naught shall avail thy priestly rites and duties,Nor fears of Hell, nor hopes of Heaven beyond:Before the Cross shall rise my fair form's beauties---The lips, the limbs, the eyes of Clarimonde.
Like gall the wine sipped from the sacred chaliceShall taste to one who knew my red mouth's bliss,When Youth and Beauty dwelt in Love's own palace,And life flowed on in one eternal kiss.
Through what strange ways I come, dear heart, to reach thee,From viewless lands, by paths no man e'er trod!I braved all fears, all dangers dared, to teach theeA love more mighty than thy love of God.
Think not in all His Kingdom to discoverSuch joys, Romauld, as ours, when fierce yet fondI clasped thee--kissed thee--crowned thee my one lover:Thou canst not find another Clarimonde.
I knew all arts of love: he who possessed mePossessed all women, and could never tire;A new life dawned for him who once caressed me;Satiety itself I set on fire.
Inconstancy I chained: men died to win me;Kings cast by crowns for one hour on my breast:And all the passionate tide of love within meI gave to thee, Romauld. Wert thou not blest?
Yet, for the love of God, thy hand hath rivenOur welded souls. But not in prayer well conned,Not in thy dearly-purchased peace of Heaven,Canst thou forget those hours with Clarimonde.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- chalice n.
- A cup or bowl; especially, the cup used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [OR. chalis, calice, OF. chalice, calice, F. calice, fr. L. calix, akin to Gr. helmet. Cf. Calice, Calyx.]
- viewless a.
- Not perceivable by the eye; invisible; unseen.
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Farewell of Clarimonde 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, The Farewell of Clarimonde, in Poems of Passion (1883), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16776, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wilcox-passion/the-farewell-of-clarimonde.html, id L22180.
Form and metre
The Farewell of Clarimonde is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 meA · nightB · meA · delightB
- 2 ABAB dutiesA · beyondB · beautiesA · clarimondeB
- 3 AAAA chaliceA · blissA · palaceA · kissA
- 4 ABAB theeA · trodB · theeA · godB
- 5 ABAB discoverA · fondB · loverA · clarimondeB
- 6 ABAB meA · tireB · meA · fireB
- 7 ABAB meA · breastB · meA · blestB
- 8 -A-A riven · connedA · heaven · clarimondeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Adieu, Romauld! But thou canst not forget me. | 11 | ˘/······˘/· |
| Although no more I haunt thy dreams at night, | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy hungering heart forever must regret me, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/· |
| And starve for those lost moments of delight. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Naught shall avail thy priestly rites and duties, | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Nor fears of Hell, nor hopes of Heaven beyond: | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Before the Cross shall rise my fair form's beauties--- | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| The lips, the limbs, the eyes of Clarimonde. | 10 | ·········· |
| Like gall the wine sipped from the sacred chalice | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Shall taste to one who knew my red mouth's bliss, | 10 | ·········· |
| When Youth and Beauty dwelt in Love's own palace, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| And life flowed on in one eternal kiss. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Through what strange ways I come, dear heart, to reach thee, | 11 | ··········· |
| From viewless lands, by paths no man e'er trod! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| I braved all fears, all dangers dared, to teach thee | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| A love more mighty than thy love of God. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Think not in all His Kingdom to discover | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Such joys, Romauld, as ours, when fierce yet fond | 10 | ·····/···· |
| I clasped thee--kissed thee--crowned thee my one lover: | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Thou canst not find another Clarimonde. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| I knew all arts of love: he who possessed me | 11 | ········˘/· |
| Possessed all women, and could never tire; | 11 | ˘/·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| A new life dawned for him who once caressed me; | 11 | ········˘/· |
| Satiety itself I set on fire. | 11 | ˘/˘˘˘/···/˘ |
| Inconstancy I chained: men died to win me; | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Kings cast by crowns for one hour on my breast: | 10 | ······/··· |
| And all the passionate tide of love within me | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| I gave to thee, Romauld. Wert thou not blest? | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet, for the love of God, thy hand hath riven | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Our welded souls. But not in prayer well conned, | 10 | //˘······· |
| Not in thy dearly-purchased peace of Heaven, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Canst thou forget those hours with Clarimonde. | 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.