I Look Into My Glass

Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)



I LOOK into my glass,
       And view my wasting skin,
     And say, "Would God it came to pass
       My heart had shrunk as thin!"

     For then, I, undistrest
       By hearts grown cold to me,
     Could lonely wait my endless rest
       With equanimity.

     But Time, to make me grieve,
       Part steals, lets part abide;
     And shakes this fragile frame at eve
       With throbbings of noontide.

About this poem

"I Look into My Glass" is a poem by Thomas Hardy. It was written in 1898 and reflects Hardy's introspective thoughts on aging and the passage of time. In the poem, the speaker contemplates their reflection in a glass and observes the effects of aging on their appearance. The reflective tone captures the inevitability of time's impact and the melancholy associated with the changes it brings. Hardy's poetry often explores themes of fate, the transience of life, and the human condition.  

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified by acronimous on November 12, 2023

22 sec read
1,395

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CXCC DCDC
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 418
Words 75
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy, was not a Scottish Minister, not a Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland nor a Professor of Eccesiastical History at Edinburgh University. more…

All Thomas Hardy poems | Thomas Hardy Books

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