The Consolation
I had this thought awhile ago,'My darling cannot understandWhat I have done, or what would doIn this blind bitter land.'
And I grew weary of the sunUntil my thoughts cleared up again,Remembering that the best I have doneWas done to make it plain;
That every year I have cried, 'At lengthMy darling understands it all,Because I have come into my strength,And words obey my call.'
That had she done so who can sayWhat would have shaken from the sieve?I might have thrown poor words awayAnd been content to live.
Words in this poem
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Consolation is in the public domain. This text is taken from Responsibilities, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #36865; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: W. B. Yeats, The Consolation, in Responsibilities (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36865, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/yeats-responsibilities/the-consolation.html, id L04585.
Form and metre
The Consolation is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 44% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 -A-A ago · understandA · do · landA
- 2 ABAB sunA · againB · doneA · plainB
- 3 ABAB lengthA · allB · strengthA · callB
- 4 ABAB sayA · sieveB · awayA · liveB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I had this thought awhile ago, | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| 'My darling cannot understand | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| What I have done, or what would do | 8 | ········ |
| In this blind bitter land.' | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And I grew weary of the sun | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Until my thoughts cleared up again, | 9 | ·····˘·˘/ |
| Remembering that the best I have done | 10 | ˘/˘˘······ |
| Was done to make it plain; | 6 | ······ |
| That every year I have cried, 'At length | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| My darling understands it all, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Because I have come into my strength, | 9 | ········· |
| And words obey my call.' | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| That had she done so who can say | 8 | ········ |
| What would have shaken from the sieve? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I might have thrown poor words away | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And been content to live. | 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.