Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONNET: 10, by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONNET: 10, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: As in the hostel by the bridge, I sate
Last Line: With ineffectual ardour sought to rise.
Alternate Author Name(s): Stevenson, Robert Lewis Balfour
Subject(s): Night; Bedtime


AS in the hostel by the bridge, I sate
Mailed with indifference fondly deemed complete
And (O strange chance, more sorrowful than sweet)
The counterfeit of her that was my fate,
Dressed in like vesture, graceful and sedate,
Went quietly up the vacant village street,
The still small sound of her most dainty feet
Shook, like a trumpet blast, my soul's estate.
Instant revolt ran riot through my brain;
And all night long, thereafter, hour by hour,
The pageant of dead love before my eyes
Went proudly; and old hopes broke loose again
From the restraint of wisely temperate power,
With ineffectual ardour sought to rise.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net