The poem is a close companion piece to nearly all the poems DGR printed in the âLyrics &c.â section of Ballads and Sonnets. Compare especially âSpheral Changeâ, âAlas, So Longâ, and âAdieuâ. The final stanza's reference to the âone true goalâ of his faith, hope, and love distinctly recalls the final stanza of âThe House of Lifeâ, âThe One Hopeâ.
This is a late poem, composed in 1881. A fragment of the first stanza is drafted into the small Notebook III in the British Library, and another fragmentary piece of that stanza is preserved in a miscellaneous manuscript collection at Princeton.. The printer's copy manuscript is also at Princeton.
First published in the first edition of the 1881 Ballads and Sonnets, collected thereafter.
This collection contains 14 texts and images, including:
Ballads and Sonnets first edition text
Scholarly Commentary
IntroductionÂ
The poem is a close companion piece to nearly all the poems DGR printed in the âLyrics &c.â section of Ballads and Sonnets. Compare especially âSpheral Changeâ, âAlas, So Longâ, and âAdieuâ. The final stanza's reference to the âone true goalâ of his faith, hope, and love distinctly recalls the final stanza of âThe House of Lifeâ, âThe One Hopeâ.
Textual History: CompositionÂ
This is a late poem, composed in 1881. A fragment of the first stanza is drafted into the small Notebook III in the British Library, and another fragmentary piece of that stanza is preserved in a miscellaneous manuscript collection at Princeton.. The printer's copy manuscript is also at Princeton.
Printing HistoryÂ
First published in the first edition of the 1881 Ballads and Sonnets, collected thereafter.