Analysis of Sonnet XLII: Hope Overtaken

Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828 (London) – 1882 (Birchington-on-Sea)



I deemed thy garments, O my Hope, were grey,
So far I viewed thee. Now the space between
Is passed at length; and garmented in green
Even as in days of yore thou stand'st to-day.
Ah God! and but for lingering dull dismay,
On all that road our footsteps erst had been
Even thus commingled, and our shadows seen
Blent on the hedgerows and the water-way.
O Hope of mine whose eyes are living love,
No eyes but hers,—O Love and Hope the same!—
Lean close to me, for now the sinking sun
That warmed our feet scarce gilds our hair above.
O hers thy voice and very hers thy name!
Alas, cling round me, for the day is done!


Scheme ABBAACBADEFDEF
Poetic Form
Metre 1111011101 1111110101 11110101 101011111111 11011100101 1111101111 10101001011 110100101 1111111101 1110110101 1111110101 111011110101 1011010011 0111110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 614
Words 124
Sentences 9
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 472
Words per stanza (avg) 120
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
120

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. more…

All Dante Gabriel Rossetti poems | Dante Gabriel Rossetti Books

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