“Absent from thee (A Song)” Summary

“Absent from thee (A Song)” Themes

• 

  Infidelity and the Power of Lust

  • See where this theme is active in the poem.

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Absent from thee (A Song)”

• Lines 1-4

  Absent from thee I languish still;
  Then ask me not when I return.
  The straying fool 'twill plainly kill
  To wish all day, all night to mourn.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 5-8

  Dear! from thine arms then let me fly,
  That my fantastic mind may prove
  The torments it deserves to try
  That tears my fixed heart from my love.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 9-12

  When wearied with a world of woe
  To thy safe bosom I retire,
  Where love, and peace, and truth does flow,
  May I contented there expire,

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 13-16

  Lest, once more wandering from that heaven,
  I fall on some base heart unblest,
  Faithless to thee, false, unforgiven,
  And lose my everlasting rest.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

“Absent from thee (A Song)” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Consonance

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Apostrophe

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Extended Metaphor

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Cliché

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Asyndeton

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

“Absent from thee (A Song)” 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.

• Thee, Thine, Thy
• Languish
• Still
• Straying
• 'Twill
• Plainly
• Fly
• Fantastic
• Prove
• Torments
• Fixed
• Bosom
• Retire
• Expire
• Lest
• Base
• Unblest
• Faithless
• False

• • See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Absent from thee (A Song)”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Absent from thee (A Song)” Speaker

“Absent from thee (A Song)” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Absent from thee (A Song)”

More “Absent from thee (A Song)” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Brief Biography — Read about Rochester's short and scandalous life at the Poetry Foundation.

  • The Poem Aloud — Listen to the poem read aloud.

  • Rochester in his World — Read about how Rochester's libertine poetry fit into the Restoration court he lived and worked in.

  • Rochester the Iconoclast — Read a witty article about how Rochester's lewd poetry reflects his iconoclastic philosophy.

  • Rochester in Manuscript — See images of Rochester's poetry in its original form: as a handwritten manuscript meant to be passed around among courtiers.