Despondency Poem by Anne Brontë

Despondency

Rating: 3.3


I have gone backward in the work,
The labour has not sped,
Drowsy and dark my spirit lies,
Heavy and dull as lead.
How can I rouse my sinking soul
From such a lethargy?
How can I break these iron chains,
And set my spirit free?

There have been times when I have mourned,
In anguish o'er the past;
And raised my suppliant hands on high,
While tears fell thick and fast,

And prayed to have my sins forgiven
With such a fervent zeal,
An earnest grief --- a strong desire
That now I cannot feel!

And vowed to trample on my sins,
And called on Heaven to aid
My spirit in her firm resolves
And hear the vows I made.

And I have felt so full of love,
So strong in spirit then,
As if my heart would never cool
Or wander back again.

And yet, alas! how many times
My feet have gone astray,
How oft have I forgot my God,
How greatly fallen away!

My sins increase, my love grows cold,
And Hope within me dies,
And Faith itself is wavering now,
O how shall I arise!

I cannot weep but I can pray,
Then let me not despair;
Lord Jesus, save me lest I die,
And hear a wretch's prayer.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Jeffrey 18 May 2018

Made me cry. Thank yuou for such beauty

3 0 Reply
Sem Ralfh 18 May 2018

Spirit we should free for doing good things good for humanity

3 0 Reply
Kumarmani Mahakul 18 May 2018

I cannot weep but I can pray, Then let me not despair; Lord Jesus, save me lest I die, And hear a wretch's prayer.......prayer for despair nicely expressed. Beautiful poem.

2 0 Reply
Kumarmani Mahakul 18 May 2019

I am glad that this poem has been selected as the poem of the day for second time. It is really a beautiful poem by Anne Bronte.

1 0 Reply
Savita Tyagi 18 May 2019

Beautiful poem. Between our joys and griefs wanders our soul, all this time holding the firm rope of faith.

0 0 Reply
Mahtab Bangalee 18 May 2019

And vowed to trample on my sins, And called on Heaven to aid My spirit in her firm resolves And hear the vows I made......./// I vow, and I bow my head to the ground, it touches the feet of the ground to make sure that I have to come back one day to this ground and have to change myself into soil........///

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Sylvia Frances Chan 18 May 2019

The three sisters published their books with a male´s name. The books were an instant success due to the passion it shines and the originality of the stories. The last stanza is very touching, it sounds so true. Anne was truly tired of her situation. Emily and Anne died young, but Charlotte was the eldest and lived the longest of all sisters. What a time, what an era! ! I cannot weep but I can pray, Then let me not despair; Lord Jesus, save me lest I die, And hear a wretch's prayer.

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Sylvia Frances Chan 18 May 2019

You become despondent when you are in such situations because the mind knows what it wants, but the circumstances are not yet ready, so that all expectations are met what the poet wanted. Her era was an era full of unsympathy for women, no chance to be known in public.

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Sylvia Frances Chan 18 May 2019

CONGRATULATIONS on being chosen as The Classic Poem of The Day, Hurray. This poetess is well known to me during my lit.universal study I regard their life as melancholic and saddest those days, isolated in a male world. However they managed to be known as writers and could sell their books under male pseudonyms. Very smartly done. They did not give up as female writers who could not sell their stories. Finally they became famous

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Sylvia Frances Chan 18 May 2019

The Brontës were a nineteenth-century literary family, born in the village of Thornton and later associated with the village of Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte (1816–1855) , Emily (1818–1848) , and Anne (1820–1849) , are well known as poets and novelists.

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Anne Brontë

Anne Brontë

Thornton, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
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