“After” Summary

“After” Themes

• 

  Love, Loss, and Grief

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• 

  Time and Mortality

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “After”

• Lines 1-4

  A little time for laughter,
  A little time to sing,
  A little time to kiss and cling,
  And no more kissing after.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  A little while for scheming
  Love's unperfected schemes;
  A little time for golden dreams,
  Then no more any dreaming.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  A little while 'twas given
  To me to have thy love;
  Now, like a ghost, alone I move
  About a ruined heaven.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  A little time for speaking
  Things sweet to say and hear;
  A time to seek, and find thee near,
  Then no more any seeking.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 17-20

  A little time for saying
  Words the heart breaks to say;
  A short sharp time wherein to pray,
  Then no more need of praying;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 21-24

  But long, long years to weep in,
  And comprehend the whole
  Great grief that desolates the soul,
  And eternity to sleep in.

  

  

  

  

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“After” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Anaphora

  

  

  

  

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• Polyptoton

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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“After” 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.

• 'Twas
• Thy
• Thee
• Wherein
• Desolates

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “After”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“After” Speaker

“After” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “After”

More “After” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a recording of Marston's poem.   

  • The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood — Read about the artistic group whose works inspired Marston. 

  • Poems of Sorrow and Grieving — Browse the Poetry Foundation's collection of poems dealing with loss.  

  • Consumption: the Most Feared of Diseases — Read about the disease that killed Marston's fiancée, Mary Nesbit.