I Shall Not Pass This Way Again
By Eva Rose York
I shall not pass this way again—
Although it bordered be with flowers,
Although I rest in fragrant bowers,
And hear the singing
Of song-birds winging
To highest heaven their gladsome flight;
Though moons are full and stars are bright,
And winds and waves are softly sighing,
While leafy trees make low replying;
Though voices clear in joyous strain
Repeat a jubilant refrain;
Though rising suns their radiance throw
On summer’s green and winter’s snow,
In such rare splendor that my heart
Would ache from scenes like these to part;
Though beauties heighten,
And life-lights brighten,
And joys proceed from every pain—
I shall not pass this way again.
Then let me pluck the flowers that blow,
And let me listen as I go
To music rare
That fills the air;
And let hereafter
Songs and laughter
Fill every pause along the way;
And to my spirit let me say:
“O soul, be happy; soon ‘tis trod,
The path made thus for thee by God.
Be happy, thou, and bless His name
By whom such marvellous beauty came.”
And let no chance by me be lost
To kindness show at any cost.
I shall not pass this way again;
Then let me now relieve some pain,
Remove some barrier from the road,
Or brighten someone’s heavy load;
A helping hand to this one lend,
Then turn some other to befriend.
O God, forgive
That I now live
As if I might, sometime, return
To bless the weary ones that yearn
For help and comfort every day,—
For there be such along the way.
O God, forgive that I have seen
The beauty only, have not been
Awake to sorrow such as this;
That I have drunk the cup of bliss
Remembering not that those there be
Who drink the dregs of misery.
I love the beauty of the scene,
Would roam again o’er fields so green;
But since I may not, let me spend
My strength for others to the end,—
For those who tread on rock and stone,
And bear their burdens all alone,
Who loiter not in leafy bowers,
Nor hear the birds nor pluck the flowers.
A larger kindness give to me,
A deeper love and sympathy;
Then, O, one day
May someone say—
Remembering a lessened pain—
“Would she could pass this way again.”
Summary of I Shall Not Pass This Way Again
- Popularity of “I Shall Not Pass This Way Again”: This short and beautiful poem “I Shall Not Pass This Way Again” by Eva Rose York, an American-born Canadian Baptist poet, and editor, first appeared in 1935 and was termed one of the best poems at that time. Despite having some patriotic feelings as the first verse evinces, the poem shows the good intentions of the poet with pleas to God to bless her with more goodness to do some good for humanity. The popularity of the poem lies in the vows of the poet to do good.
- “I Shall Not Pass This Way Again” As a Representative of God’s Blessings to Do Good: Presenting her views in the first person, the poet, Eva Rose York states that although she is passing a highly beautiful way that she cannot leave it due to its beauty, its music, its joyous scenes, and nature, yet she has to pass it on to the next one. Therefore, she comes to the point of plucking a flower and giving ears to the music for a moment so that she could be happy. Then she thanks God for creating such ways for her and seeks His forgiveness to state that she desires to return to this way to guide the rest.
In fact, this way is a metaphor of righteousness and she wants to assert that as she has followed this path, she wants to help others to tread the same path. Her major purpose is to guide others and be remembered as a good person so that people could have a sigh of relief amid miseries. - Major Themes in “I Shall Not Pass This Way Again”: Beauty of nature, blessings of God, and purpose to guide others to righteousness are three major themes of this poem. Although the poet presents a metaphor of a path to present her pursuit of goodness, she has given a good description of the natural scenes and beauty she sees when passing through this way. The way is full of music, natural creatures, flowers, stars, and moons yet she has to pass it to move forward. Therefore, she thanks God for these blessings and prays that He may bless others with these things. She also thanks God and asks her soul to be happy stating that although she would not return this way, she wants to guide others as people are living in extreme misery and that they need a helping hand. This intention of the poet to guide others to do good and show the right path to the “weary ones” becomes another secondary idea of the poem that ends when she expresses her desire to be remembered by those guided by her.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in I Shall Not Pass This Way Again
Eva Rose York has used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices Eva Rose uses in this poem are as given below.
- Apostrophe: It is a literary device used to show the call of the poet to some absent person or idea. The poem shows the use of apostrophes such as “O God” and “O soul.”
- Allusion: It is a reference to a literary, historical, and social event or incident, or figure to show its importance in the existing context. The poet referred to God and His blessings which is a religious allusion.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a// in “I shall not pass this way again” and the sound of /o/ in “Though voices clear in joyous strain.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /h/ in “helping hand.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /n/ in “Though rising suns their radiance throw” and the sound of /s/ in “Would she could pass this way again.”.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Eva Rose York used imagery in this poem such as “To highest heaven their gladsome flight”, “And winds and waves are softly sighing” and “While leafy trees make low replying.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet used different metaphors such as winds and waves comparing them to musicians and singers.
- Personifications: It means to attribute human traits to inanimate objects and ideas. The poem shows the use of personifications such as winds, waves, leafy trees, and hearts have some human traits. Therefore, they are good examples of personifications.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as flowers, bowers, birds, moons, and stars to show the blessings of God.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in I Shall Not Pass This Way Again
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows formal, poetic, and theological diction.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Eva Rose York has used end rhyme in this poem, such as flowers/bowers, singing/winging, and flight/bright.
- Refrain: It is the repetition of a verse after a stanza or break. The poem shows the use of repetition in the first stanza, such as “I shall not pass this way again.”
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows AABB, and this continues until the end of the poem except with an intervention of a refrain “I shall not pass this way again.”
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas in this poem, with each comprising a different number of verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a didactic, religious and righteous tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote about the blessings of God to do good to others.
I love the beauty of the scene,
Would roam again o’er fields so green;
But since I may not, let me spend
My strength for others to the end,—
For those who tread on rock and stone,
And bear their burdens all alone,
Who loiter not in leafy bowers,
Nor hear the birds nor pluck the flowers.
