In Memoriam A. H. H.: 5. Sometimes I Hold it half a Sin



I sometimes hold it half a sin
      To put in words the grief I feel;
      For words, like Nature, half reveal
   And half conceal the Soul within.
   But, for the unquiet heart and brain,
      A use in  measured language lies;
      The sad mechanic exercise,
   Like dull narcotics, numbing pain.
   In words, like weeds, I'll wrap me o'er,
     Like coarsest clothes against the cold;
     But that large grief which these enfold
  Is given in outline and no more.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 21, 2023

24 sec read
434

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBACDDCEFFG
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 467
Words 79
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets.  more…

All Alfred Lord Tennyson poems | Alfred Lord Tennyson Books

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    "In Memoriam A. H. H.: 5. Sometimes I Hold it half a Sin" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/1014/in-memoriam-a.-h.-h.:-5.-sometimes-i-hold-it-half-a-sin>.

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