The Newcomer's Wife
Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)
He paused on the sill of a door ajar
That screened a lively liquor-bar,
For the name had reached him through the door
Of her he had married the week before.
'We called her the Hack of the Parade;
But she was discreet in the games she played;
If slightly worn, she's pretty yet,
And gossips, after all, forget.
'And he knows nothing of her past;
I am glad the girls in luck at last;
Such ones, though stale to native eyes,
Newcomers snatch at as a prize.'
'Yes, being a stranger he sees her blent
Of all that's fresh and innocent,
Nor dreams how many a love-campaign
She had enjoyed before his reign!'
That night there was the splash of a fall
Over the slimy harbour-wall:
They searched, and at the deepest place
Found him with crabs upon his face.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 176 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABB CCDD EEFF CXGG HHII |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 736 |
Words | 145 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"The Newcomer's Wife" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/36536/the-newcomer's-wife>.
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