The Scottish poet Charles Mackay's "Sympathy" is a fable-like poem with a strong moral lesson. The speaker, suffering from illness and poverty, receives help from two different people: a "proud man" who gives the speaker money (but very little kindness), and a "poor man" who tends to the speaker with grace, selflessness, and empathetic understanding. The poem concludes that, though "gold" is admittedly "great," "heavenly sympathy" is far superior. "Sympathy" was first collected in Songs for Music in 1858 and, as the title suggests, was meant to be sung as a lyric.
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The Full Text of “Sympathy”
1I lay in sorrow, deep distressed;
2My grief a proud man heard;
3His looks were cold, he gave me gold,
4But not a kindly word.
5My sorrow passed I paid him back
6The gold he gave to me;
7Then stood erect and spoke my thanks
8And blessed his charity.
9I lay in want, grief, and pain;
10A poor man passed my way;
11He bound my head, he gave me bread,
12He watched me night and day.
13How shall I pay him back again
14For all he did to me?
15Oh, gold is great, but greater far
16Is heavenly Sympathy.
The Full Text of “Sympathy”
1I lay in sorrow, deep distressed;
2My grief a proud man heard;
3His looks were cold, he gave me gold,
4But not a kindly word.
5My sorrow passed I paid him back
6The gold he gave to me;
7Then stood erect and spoke my thanks
8And blessed his charity.
9I lay in want, grief, and pain;
10A poor man passed my way;
11He bound my head, he gave me bread,
12He watched me night and day.
13How shall I pay him back again
14For all he did to me?
15Oh, gold is great, but greater far
16Is heavenly Sympathy.
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“Sympathy” Summary
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“Sympathy” Themes
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The Value of Human Kindness
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Sympathy”
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Lines 1-4
I lay in sorrow, deep distressed;
My grief a proud man heard;
His looks were cold, he gave me gold,
But not a kindly word. -
Lines 5-8
My sorrow passed I paid him back
The gold he gave to me;
Then stood erect and spoke my thanks
And blessed his charity. -
Lines 9-12
I lay in want, grief, and pain;
A poor man passed my way;
He bound my head, he gave me bread,
He watched me night and day. -
Lines 13-16
How shall I pay him back again
For all he did to me?
Oh, gold is great, but greater far
Is heavenly Sympathy.
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“Sympathy” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Parallelism
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Aphorism
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Juxtaposition
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Repetition
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Rhetorical Question
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Asyndeton
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“Sympathy” 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.
- Deep
- Kindly
- Erect
- Want
- Bound
- Heavenly Sympathy
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Sympathy”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Sympathy” Speaker
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“Sympathy” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Sympathy”
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More “Sympathy” Resources
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External Resources
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Victorian Poetry — Learn more about the society in which Mackay lived and wrote.
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How to Write a Ballad — Try your hand at writing a poem using the same form that Mackay turns to in "Sympathy."
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Mackay's Biography and Obituary — A piece offering wide-ranging insight into Mackay's life and work.
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The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a recording of "Sympathy" read aloud.
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