"A Complaint" is a short poem by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. Published in 1807, the poem is often taken as being about Wordsworth's falling out with his close friend and fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, though it can also be read as a commentary on the pain of lost love more generally. The poem portrays the love that speaker used to have as a life-enriching force. The loss of this love, in turn, feels like a wellspring of joy has suddenly dried up. In this way, the poem captures the despair felt by anyone who has lost the love of someone dear and can't seem to stop thinking about what used to be.
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The Full Text of “A Complaint”
1There is a change—and I am poor;
2Your love hath been, nor long ago,
3A fountain at my fond heart's door,
4Whose only business was to flow;
5And flow it did; not taking heed
6Of its own bounty, or my need.
7What happy moments did I count!
8Blest was I then all bliss above!
9Now, for that consecrated fount
10Of murmuring, sparkling, living love,
11What have I? shall I dare to tell?
12A comfortless and hidden well.
13A well of love—it may be deep—
14I trust it is,—and never dry:
15What matter? if the waters sleep
16In silence and obscurity.
17—Such change, and at the very door
18Of my fond heart, hath made me poor.
The Full Text of “A Complaint”
1There is a change—and I am poor;
2Your love hath been, nor long ago,
3A fountain at my fond heart's door,
4Whose only business was to flow;
5And flow it did; not taking heed
6Of its own bounty, or my need.
7What happy moments did I count!
8Blest was I then all bliss above!
9Now, for that consecrated fount
10Of murmuring, sparkling, living love,
11What have I? shall I dare to tell?
12A comfortless and hidden well.
13A well of love—it may be deep—
14I trust it is,—and never dry:
15What matter? if the waters sleep
16In silence and obscurity.
17—Such change, and at the very door
18Of my fond heart, hath made me poor.
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“A Complaint” Summary
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“A Complaint” Themes
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Loss, Loss, and Memory
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “A Complaint”
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Line 1
There is a change—and I am poor;
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Lines 2-4
Your love hath been, nor long ago,
A fountain at my fond heart's door,
Whose only business was to flow; -
Lines 5-6
And flow it did; not taking heed
Of its own bounty, or my need. -
Lines 7-8
What happy moments did I count!
Blest was I then all bliss above! -
Lines 9-12
Now, for that consecrated fount
Of murmuring, sparkling, living love,
What have I? shall I dare to tell?
A comfortless and hidden well. -
Lines 13-16
A well of love—it may be deep—
I trust it is,—and never dry:
What matter? if the waters sleep
In silence and obscurity. -
Lines 17-18
—Such change, and at the very door
Of my fond heart, hath made me poor.
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“A Complaint” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Extended Metaphor
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Juxtaposition
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Alliteration
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Rhetorical Question
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Repetition
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Caesura
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Asyndeton
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Personification
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“A Complaint” 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.
- Taking Heed
- Complaint
- Change
- Fond
- Bounty
- Consecrated
- Obscurity
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “A Complaint”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“A Complaint” Speaker
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“A Complaint” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “A Complaint”
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More “A Complaint” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a recording of "A Complaint."
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Biography of William Wordsworth — Find out more about William Wordsworth, the man and the poet, through the Poetry Foundation.
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Coleridge and Wordsworth — Learn more about Coleridge's infatuation with Sara Hutchinson and his falling out with Wordsworth after the eventful Christmas of 1806.
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British Romanticism — Find out more about the roots and central tenets of the British Romantic movement.
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Complaints — Learn about the widespread genre of "complaint" via this article on the Encyclopædia Britannica.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Wordsworth
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