"Home-Thoughts, from Abroad" is English poet Robert Browning's tale of homesickness and longing. Visiting some exotic foreign country, the poem's speaker can only think of the springtime beauty of their native England. The speaker's wistful memory of every detail of an English spring, from buttercups to birdsong, suggests that homesickness has the power to disenchant even the pleasantest travels: to this speaker, there's no place like home. This poem first appeared in Browning's 1845 collection Dramatic Romances and Lyrics.
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The Full Text of “Home-Thoughts, from Abroad”
1Oh, to be in England
2Now that April's there,
3And whoever wakes in England
4Sees, some morning, unaware,
5That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
6Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
7While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
8In England—now!
9And after April, when May follows,
10And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
11Hark, where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge
12Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
13Blossoms and dewdrops—at the bent spray's edge—
14That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
15Lest you should think he never could recapture
16The first fine careless rapture!
17And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
18All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
19The buttercups, the little children's dower
20—Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!
The Full Text of “Home-Thoughts, from Abroad”
1Oh, to be in England
2Now that April's there,
3And whoever wakes in England
4Sees, some morning, unaware,
5That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
6Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
7While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
8In England—now!
9And after April, when May follows,
10And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
11Hark, where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge
12Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
13Blossoms and dewdrops—at the bent spray's edge—
14That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
15Lest you should think he never could recapture
16The first fine careless rapture!
17And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
18All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
19The buttercups, the little children's dower
20—Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!
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“Home-Thoughts, from Abroad” Summary
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“Home-Thoughts, from Abroad” Themes
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The Power of Homesickness
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Spring and Renewal
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Home-Thoughts, from Abroad”
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Lines 1-4
Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware, -
Lines 5-8
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England—now! -
Lines 9-10
And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows! -
Lines 11-14
Hark, where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops—at the bent spray's edge—
That's the wise thrush; -
Lines 14-16
he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture! -
Lines 17-20
And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower
—Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!
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“Home-Thoughts, from Abroad” Symbols
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Spring
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“Home-Thoughts, from Abroad” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Imagery
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Repetition
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Anthropomorphism
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Enjambment
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Caesura
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Assonance
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Alliteration
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Consonance
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“Home-Thoughts, from Abroad” 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.
- Unaware
- Brushwood sheaf
- Bole
- Chaffinch
- Whitethroat
- Hark
- The bent spray
- Thrush
- Lest
- Hoary
- Gay
- Dower
- Gaudy
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Home-Thoughts, from Abroad”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Home-Thoughts, from Abroad” Speaker
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“Home-Thoughts, from Abroad” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Home-Thoughts, from Abroad”
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More “Home-Thoughts, from Abroad” Resources
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External Resources
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Browning's Legacy — Read a bicentenary appreciation of Browning that discusses his enduring importance.
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A Short Biography — Learn more about Browning's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.
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Browning's Work — Visit the British Library's website to learn more about Browning's poetry.
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to the actor Geoffrey Palmer reading the poem (with a poignant musical accompaniment).
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The Brownings — Learn about Browning's marriage to fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The two lovingly supported and influenced each other's work.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Robert Browning
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