“Away, Melancholy” Introduction

• Read the full text of “Away, Melancholy”

“Away, Melancholy” Summary

“Away, Melancholy” Themes

• 

  Despair and Hope

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-48
• 

  Humanity vs. Nature

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 8-27

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Away, Melancholy”

• Lines 1-7

  Away, melancholy, ...
  ... Away melancholy.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 8-12

  The ant is ...
  ... Away, melancholy.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-17

  Man, too, hurries, ...
  ... let it go.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 18-27

  Man of all ...
  ... let it go.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 28-36

  Speak not to ...
  ... let it go.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 37-46

  Man aspires ...
  ... Not his failing.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 47-48

  Away, melancholy, ...
  ... let it go.

  

  

  

  

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“Away, Melancholy” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Refrain

  

  

  

  

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  Where refrain appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-2: “Away, melancholy, / Away with it, let it go.”
  • Line 7: “Away melancholy.”
  • Line 12: “Away, melancholy.”
  • Lines 16-17: “With a hey ho melancholy, / Away with it, let it go.”
  • Line 20: “(Away melancholy)”
  • Line 23: “(Away melancholy)”
  • Line 27: “Away melancholy, let it go.”
  • Line 36: “Away, melancholy, let it go.”
  • Lines 47-48: “Away, melancholy, / Away with it, let it go.”

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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  Where repetition appears in the poem:

  • Line 3: “green”
  • Line 4: “green”
  • Line 5: “wind blow”
  • Line 6: “Fire leap,” “rivers flow”
  • Line 8: “The ant is busy”
  • Line 10: “All things hurry”
  • Line 24: “god”
  • Line 25: “good”
  • Line 26: “good, God.”
  • Line 30: “God”
  • Line 31: “good”
  • Line 34: “man's,” “good”
  • Line 35: “man's,” “God”
  • Line 38: “good”
  • Line 44: “Love, love.”

• Rhetorical Question

  

  

  

  

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  Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:

  • Lines 3-6: “Are not the trees green, / The earth as green? / Does not the wind blow, / Fire leap and the rivers flow?”

• Asyndeton

  

  

  

  

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  Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

  • Lines 13-14: “hurries, / Eats, couples, buries,”
  • Lines 28-29: “tears, / Tyranny, pox, wars,”
  • Lines 41-44: “Beaten, corrupted, dying / In his own blood lying / Yet heaves up an eye above / Cries, Love, love.”

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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  Where alliteration appears in the poem:

  • Line 6: “Fire,” “flow”
  • Line 24: “god”
  • Line 25: “good”
  • Line 26: “good, God”
  • Line 28: “tears”
  • Line 29: “Tyranny”
  • Line 30: “God”
  • Line 31: “good”
  • Lines 33-34: “stuffed / Stone”
  • Line 34: “good, growing”
  • Line 35: “God”

• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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  Where assonance appears in the poem:

  • Line 3: “trees green”
  • Line 4: “green”
  • Line 6: “leap”
  • Line 8: “is busy”
  • Line 11: “be eaten,” “eat”
  • Line 15: “also”
  • Line 16: “ho”
  • Line 21: “He,” “creatures,” “alone”
  • Line 22: “stone”
  • Line 24: “stone”
  • Line 25: “knows”
  • Line 28: “tears”
  • Line 29: “Tyranny”
  • Line 30: “God”
  • Line 31: “thoughts”
  • Line 32: “enough”
  • Line 33: “stuffed”
  • Line 34: “Stone,” “growing”
  • Line 45: “explaining”
  • Line 46: “failing”

“Away, Melancholy” 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.

• Melancholy
• Carrieth his meat
• Couples
• Superlative
• Pox

• (Location in poem: Line 1: “Away, melancholy,”; Line 7: “Away melancholy.”; Line 12: “Away, melancholy.”; Line 16: “With a hey ho melancholy,”; Line 20: “(Away melancholy)”; Line 23: “(Away melancholy)”; Line 27: “Away melancholy, let it go.”; Line 36: “Away, melancholy, let it go.”; Line 47: “Away, melancholy,”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Away, Melancholy”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Away, Melancholy” Speaker

“Away, Melancholy” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Away, Melancholy”

More “Away, Melancholy” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.

  • A Brief Biography — Learn more about Stevie Smith's life and work at the Poetry Foundation.

  • Smith's Influence — Read an appreciation of Smith's poetry that praises her knack for "uneasy verse."

  • Smith on Melancholy — Listen to Smith discussing how sadness and struggle inspired her poetry.

  • Smith's Legacy — Read a 2021 article honoring the 50th anniversary of Smith's death.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Stevie Smith

  • Not Waving but Drowning

  • Touch and Go