Wherefore?
Wherefore in dreams are sorrows borne anew,A healed wound opened, or the past revived?Last night in my deep sleep I dreamed of you;Again the old love woke in me, and thrivedOn looks of fire, and kisses, and sweet wordsLike silver waters purling in a stream,Or like the amorous melodies of birds:A dream--a dream!
Again upon the glory of the sceneThere settled that dread shadow of the crossThat, when hearts love too well, falls in between;That warns them of impending woe and loss.Again I saw you drifting from my life,As barques are rudely parted in a stream;Again my heart was torn with awful strife:A dream--a dream!
Again the deep night settled on me there,Alone I groped, and heard strange waters roll,Lost in that blackness of supreme despairThat comes but once to any living soul.Alone, afraid, I called your name aloud--Mine eyes, unveiled, beheld white stars agleam,And lo! awake, I cried, "Thank God, thank God!A dream--a dream!"
Words in this poem
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- purling n.
- The motion of a small stream running among obstructions; also, the murmur it makes in so doing. [See 3d Purl.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- agleam adv.
- Gleaming; as, faces agleam. Lowell. [Pref. a- + gleam.]
- 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; -]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Wherefore? 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, Wherefore?, in Poems of Passion (1883), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16776, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wilcox-passion/wherefore.html, id L22155.
Form and metre
Wherefore? is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 anewA · revivedB · youA · thrivedB · wordsC · streamD · birdsC · dreamD
- 2 ABABCDCD sceneA · crossB · betweenA · lossB · lifeC · streamD · strifeC · dreamD
- 3 ABAB-C-C thereA · rollB · despairA · soulB · aloud · agleamC · god · dreamC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wherefore in dreams are sorrows borne anew, | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| A healed wound opened, or the past revived? | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Last night in my deep sleep I dreamed of you; | 10 | ·········· |
| Again the old love woke in me, and thrived | 10 | ˘/········ |
| On looks of fire, and kisses, and sweet words | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| Like silver waters purling in a stream, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Or like the amorous melodies of birds: | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| A dream--a dream! | 4 | ···· |
| Again upon the glory of the scene | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| There settled that dread shadow of the cross | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| That, when hearts love too well, falls in between; | 10 | ·········· |
| That warns them of impending woe and loss. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Again I saw you drifting from my life, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| As barques are rudely parted in a stream; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Again my heart was torn with awful strife: | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| A dream--a dream! | 4 | ···· |
| Again the deep night settled on me there, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Alone I groped, and heard strange waters roll, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Lost in that blackness of supreme despair | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘/ |
| That comes but once to any living soul. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Alone, afraid, I called your name aloud-- | 10 | ˘/˘/····˘/ |
| Mine eyes, unveiled, beheld white stars agleam, | 10 | ··˘/˘/··˘/ |
| And lo! awake, I cried, "Thank God, thank God! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| A dream--a dream!" | 4 | ···· |
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.