"My head unturned lest my dream should fade...."See in text(Text of the Poem)
The rhyme scheme in the third and final stanza—AABACCBC—is consistent throughout the poem, with the exception of line 7 in the second stanza which is unrhymed. The end rhymes in the poem are mostly perfect rhymes, such as “see”/“me”/“be” and “glade,”/“shade”/“fade” in this stanza. Sometimes the end rhymes are examples of approximate rhyme or off rhyme, such as “unvision” and “apparition” in this stanza and “shadows”/“shoulders” in the first stanza.
"I long had learned to lack..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
Even as Hardy is drawn deeper into imagining Emma’s presence, he acknowledges her having died. The alliteration of the “L” sound in “long,” “learned,” and “lack” unites the three words, suggesting that he has lived without her for some time and that living without her had been difficult, something he had to learn how to do.
"shifting shadows..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
With this line the focus of the poem changes from the stone to the shadows on the stone; the focus shifts simultaneously with the shadows shifting on it. The alliteration of the “S” sound emphasizes the dynamic in the line and in the poem. The repetition of the alliteration in the following lines (“some,” “swing,” “shaped,” “shade,” “shoulders”) unifies the stanza, leading to the final and most important alliterative word: “she.” “She” refers to Emma, the subject of Hardy’s meditation.
To brood means to dwell on a subject while in an anxious or gloomy state of mind. With the word “broods,” Hardy personifies the stone, ascribing to it his own depressed emotional state.
