If This Be All

Anne Brontë 1820 (Thornton, West Yorkshire) – 1849 (Scarborough, North Yorkshire)



O God! if this indeed be all
    That Life can show to me;
If on my aching brow may fall
    No freshening dew from Thee, --
If with no brighter light than this
    The lamp of hope may glow,
And I may only dream of bliss,
    And wake to weary woe;

If friendship's solace must decay,
    When other joys are gone,
And love must keep so far away,
    While I go wandering on, --

Wandering and toiling without gain,
    The slave of others' will,
With constant care, and frequent pain,
    Despised, forgotten still;

Grieving to look on vice and sin,
    Yet powerless to quell
The silent current from within,
    The outward torrent's swell:

While all the good I would impart,
    The feelings I would share,
Are driven backward to my heart,
    And turned to wormwood, there;

If clouds must ever keep from sight
    The glories of the Sun,
And I must suffer Winter's blight,
    Ere Summer is begun;

If life must be so full of care,
    Then call me soon to Thee;
Or give me strength enough to bear
    My load of misery.

Acton

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

56 sec read
136

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDCD EXEX FGFG HIHI JKJK LMLM KBKB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,007
Words 186
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Anne Brontë

Anne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. more…

All Anne Brontë poems | Anne Brontë Books

2 fans

Discuss the poem If This Be All with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "If This Be All" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/3146/if-this-be-all>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    17
    hours
    9
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote a famed poem about the Crimean War?
    A Alfred Lord Tennyson
    B Alfred E. Neuman
    C Oscar Wilde
    D Alfred Douglas