The poem is a close companion piece to nearly all the poems DGR printed in the “Lyrics &c.” section of Ballads and Sonnets. Compare especially “Spheral Change”, “Alas, So Long”, and “Adieu”. The final stanza's reference to the “one true goal” of his faith, hope, and love distinctly recalls the final stanza of “The House of Life”, “The One Hope”.
This is a late poem, composed in 1881. A fragment of the first stanza is drafted into the small Notebook III in the British Library, and another fragmentary piece of that stanza is preserved in a miscellaneous manuscript collection at Princeton.. The printer's copy manuscript is also at Princeton.
First published in the first edition of the 1881 Ballads and Sonnets, collected thereafter.
This collection contains 14 texts and images, including:
Ballads and Sonnets first edition text
Scholarly Commentary
Introduction
The poem is a close companion piece to nearly all the poems DGR printed in the “Lyrics &c.” section of Ballads and Sonnets. Compare especially “Spheral Change”, “Alas, So Long”, and “Adieu”. The final stanza's reference to the “one true goal” of his faith, hope, and love distinctly recalls the final stanza of “The House of Life”, “The One Hope”.
Textual History: Composition
This is a late poem, composed in 1881. A fragment of the first stanza is drafted into the small Notebook III in the British Library, and another fragmentary piece of that stanza is preserved in a miscellaneous manuscript collection at Princeton.. The printer's copy manuscript is also at Princeton.
Printing History
First published in the first edition of the 1881 Ballads and Sonnets, collected thereafter.