Sudden Light

Sudden Light

by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

I have been here before,

But when or how I cannot tell;

I know the grass beyond the door,

The sweet keen smell,

The sighing sound, the lights around the shore.

You have been mine before,

How long ago I may not know:

But just when at the swallow's soar

Your neck turned so,

Some veil did fall - I knew it all of yore.

Has this been thus before?

And shall not thus time's eddying flight

Still with our lives our love restore

In death's despite,

And day and night yield one delight once more?

This is a particularly fun poem, in my opinion. Each of the three stanzas are composed of five lines, meaning we can call it a cinquain, a quintet, or a quintain. I have always heard quintain used more frequently in this case, so that is what I prefer to use. Cinquain can also be used when speaking about a specific syllable-counting form, as well as a different French-originating verse form, so I typically try to avoid use of that term at all costs just to avoid unnecessary confusion. It is, however, technically correct.

The meter is mixed, and I think it lends a more casual feel to what may have otherwise been a bit serious and eerie. The syllabic break down of the first stanza is as follows:

Line 1: 6 syllables (trimeter)
Line 2: 8 syllables (tetrameter)
Line 3: 8 syllables (tetrameter)
Line 4: 4 syllables (dimeter)
Line 5: 10 syllables (pentameter)

This is mimicked in the next two stanzas, though not necessarily to a "T".

It has a base rhyme scheme of ababa, meaning that the first, third, and fifth lines are interlinked, whereas the second and fourth also share a rhyme. The internal rhyme scheme of the pentameters is something to be appreciated, too, though. Inside of all this carefully considered syllabic structure, weighed out words, and thoughtful subject matter, he took the time to give us this little treat, too. Rossetti really was a master of near any craft he took it upon himself to learn. For your convenience in reading, the internal rhymes are italicized below:

1st Pentameter: The sighing sound, the lights around the shore.
2nd Pentameter: Some veil did fall - I knew it all of yore.
3rd Pentameter: And day and night yield one delight once more.

That's all the technical information I'll bore you with today. Let me know what you think!

((If you have any further questions, would like to make a suggestion for a future poem/topic of discussion, or would like a deeper analysis of this poem, please inform me by leaving a comment below. I will address any and all comments in the order they are received, as quickly as I can.))