Algernon Charles Swinburne's "A Leave-Taking" illustrates the pain and frustration of unrequited love. The poem's angsty speaker laments that the woman he loves is totally unmoved by the beautiful songs he sings for her. In fact, she doesn't seem to acknowledge his existence at all. Finally deciding that enough is enough, he declares his intention to drown himself in the sea—an action he laments still won't get her attention, let alone her pity. "A Leave-Taking" was published in Swinburne's first poetry collection, Poems and Ballads, First Series, in 1866.
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The Full Text of “A Leave-Taking”
1Let us go hence, my songs; she will not hear.
2Let us go hence together without fear;
3Keep silence now, for singing-time is over,
4And over all old things and all things dear.
5She loves not you nor me as all we love her.
6Yea, though we sang as angels in her ear,
7 She would not hear.
8Let us rise up and part; she will not know.
9Let us go seaward as the great winds go,
10Full of blown sand and foam; what help is here?
11There is no help, for all these things are so,
12And all the world is bitter as a tear.
13And how these things are, though ye strove to show,
14 She would not know.
15Let us go home and hence; she will not weep.
16We gave love many dreams and days to keep,
17Flowers without scent, and fruits that would not grow,
18Saying 'If thou wilt, thrust in thy sickle and reap.'
19All is reaped now; no grass is left to mow;
20And we that sowed, though all we fell on sleep,
21 She would not weep.
22Let us go hence and rest; she will not love.
23She shall not hear us if we sing hereof,
24Nor see love's ways, how sore they are and steep.
25Come hence, let be, lie still; it is enough.
26Love is a barren sea, bitter and deep;
27And though she saw all heaven in flower above,
28 She would not love.
29Let us give up, go down; she will not care.
30Though all the stars made gold of all the air,
31And the sea moving saw before it move
32One moon-flower making all the foam-flowers fair;
33Though all those waves went over us, and drove
34Deep down the stifling lips and drowning hair,
35 She would not care.
36Let us go hence, go hence; she will not see.
37Sing all once more together; surely she,
38She too, remembering days and words that were,
39Will turn a little toward us, sighing; but we,
40We are hence, we are gone, as though we had not been there.
41Nay, and though all men seeing had pity on me,
42 She would not see.
The Full Text of “A Leave-Taking”
1Let us go hence, my songs; she will not hear.
2Let us go hence together without fear;
3Keep silence now, for singing-time is over,
4And over all old things and all things dear.
5She loves not you nor me as all we love her.
6Yea, though we sang as angels in her ear,
7 She would not hear.
8Let us rise up and part; she will not know.
9Let us go seaward as the great winds go,
10Full of blown sand and foam; what help is here?
11There is no help, for all these things are so,
12And all the world is bitter as a tear.
13And how these things are, though ye strove to show,
14 She would not know.
15Let us go home and hence; she will not weep.
16We gave love many dreams and days to keep,
17Flowers without scent, and fruits that would not grow,
18Saying 'If thou wilt, thrust in thy sickle and reap.'
19All is reaped now; no grass is left to mow;
20And we that sowed, though all we fell on sleep,
21 She would not weep.
22Let us go hence and rest; she will not love.
23She shall not hear us if we sing hereof,
24Nor see love's ways, how sore they are and steep.
25Come hence, let be, lie still; it is enough.
26Love is a barren sea, bitter and deep;
27And though she saw all heaven in flower above,
28 She would not love.
29Let us give up, go down; she will not care.
30Though all the stars made gold of all the air,
31And the sea moving saw before it move
32One moon-flower making all the foam-flowers fair;
33Though all those waves went over us, and drove
34Deep down the stifling lips and drowning hair,
35 She would not care.
36Let us go hence, go hence; she will not see.
37Sing all once more together; surely she,
38She too, remembering days and words that were,
39Will turn a little toward us, sighing; but we,
40We are hence, we are gone, as though we had not been there.
41Nay, and though all men seeing had pity on me,
42 She would not see.
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“A Leave-Taking” Summary
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“A Leave-Taking” Themes
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The Pain of Unrequited Love
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “A Leave-Taking”
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Lines 1-4
Let us go hence, my songs; she will not hear.
Let us go hence together without fear;
Keep silence now, for singing-time is over,
And over all old things and all things dear. -
Lines 5-7
She loves not you nor me as all we love her.
Yea, though we sang as angels in her ear,
She would not hear. -
Lines 8-14
Let us rise up and part; she will not know.
Let us go seaward as the great winds go,
Full of blown sand and foam; what help is here?
There is no help, for all these things are so,
And all the world is bitter as a tear.
And how these things are, though ye strove to show,
She would not know. -
Lines 15-21
Let us go home and hence; she will not weep.
We gave love many dreams and days to keep,
Flowers without scent, and fruits that would not grow,
Saying 'If thou wilt, thrust in thy sickle and reap.'
All is reaped now; no grass is left to mow;
And we that sowed, though all we fell on sleep,
She would not weep. -
Lines 22-25
Let us go hence and rest; she will not love.
She shall not hear us if we sing hereof,
Nor see love's ways, how sore they are and steep.
Come hence, let be, lie still; it is enough. -
Lines 26-28
Love is a barren sea, bitter and deep;
And though she saw all heaven in flower above,
She would not love. -
Lines 29-35
Let us give up, go down; she will not care.
Though all the stars made gold of all the air,
And the sea moving saw before it move
One moon-flower making all the foam-flowers fair;
Though all those waves went over us, and drove
Deep down the stifling lips and drowning hair,
She would not care. -
Lines 36-42
Let us go hence, go hence; she will not see.
Sing all once more together; surely she,
She too, remembering days and words that were,
Will turn a little toward us, sighing; but we,
We are hence, we are gone, as though we had not been there.
Nay, and though all men seeing had pity on me,
She would not see.
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“A Leave-Taking” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Parallelism
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Repetition
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Metaphor
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Simile
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Alliteration
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Apostrophe
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“A Leave-Taking” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Hence
- Yea
- Ye
- Strove
- If thou wilt
- Thy
- Sickle
- Reap
- Hereof
- Steep
- Barren
- Moon-flower
- Foam-flowers
- Fair
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “A Leave-Taking”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“A Leave-Taking” Speaker
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“A Leave-Taking” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “A Leave-Taking”
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More “A Leave-Taking” Resources
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External Resources
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Algernon Charles Swinburne's Life and Work — Read a Poetry Foundation biography of Algernon Charles Swinburne.
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An Introduction to the Victorian Era — Read about the historical period in which Swinburne lived and wrote.
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Listen to the Poem Out Loud — "A Leave-Taking" as read by Tom O'Bedlam.
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The Algernon Charles Swinburne Project — Peruse Indiana University's digital collection of Swinburne's work.
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A Collection of Anti-Love Poems — Browse the Poetry Foundation's top picks for poems about breakups, heartache, and unrequited love.
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