"At an Inn" is a poem from Thomas Hardy's first collection, Wessex Poems, published in 1898. Generally thought to be based on Hardy's own life, the poem describes a visit to an inn, during which the speaker and his female friend are mistaken for lovers—and not just any lovers, but "Love's own pair!" Looking back on the visit many years later, the speaker laments how he and this woman seemed in love back then but weren't, and how now they are in love but can't be together due to distance and the pesky fact that one (or both) of them is already married. The poem casts doubt on the idealized idea of love, suggesting that actual love is more like an anarchic prankster having fun at humanity's expense.
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The Full Text of “At an Inn”
1When we as strangers sought
2Their catering care,
3Veiled smiles bespoke their thought
4Of what we were.
5They warmed as they opined
6Us more than friends—-
7That we had all resigned
8For love's dear ends.
9And that swift sympathy
10With living love
11Which quicks the world--maybe
12The spheres above,
13Made them our ministers,
14Moved them to say,
15"Ah, God, that bliss like theirs
16Would flush our day!"
17And we were left alone
18As Love's own pair;
19Yet never the love-light shone
20Between us there!
21But that which chilled the breath
22Of afternoon,
23And palsied unto death
24The pane-fly's tune.
25The kiss their zeal foretold,
26And now deemed come,
27Came not: within his hold
28Love lingered numb.
29Why cast he on our port
30A bloom not ours?
31Why shaped us for his sport
32In after-hours?
33As we seemed we were not
34That day afar,
35And now we seem not what
36We aching are.
37O severing sea and land,
38O laws of men,
39Ere death, once let us stand
40As we stood then!
The Full Text of “At an Inn”
1When we as strangers sought
2Their catering care,
3Veiled smiles bespoke their thought
4Of what we were.
5They warmed as they opined
6Us more than friends—-
7That we had all resigned
8For love's dear ends.
9And that swift sympathy
10With living love
11Which quicks the world--maybe
12The spheres above,
13Made them our ministers,
14Moved them to say,
15"Ah, God, that bliss like theirs
16Would flush our day!"
17And we were left alone
18As Love's own pair;
19Yet never the love-light shone
20Between us there!
21But that which chilled the breath
22Of afternoon,
23And palsied unto death
24The pane-fly's tune.
25The kiss their zeal foretold,
26And now deemed come,
27Came not: within his hold
28Love lingered numb.
29Why cast he on our port
30A bloom not ours?
31Why shaped us for his sport
32In after-hours?
33As we seemed we were not
34That day afar,
35And now we seem not what
36We aching are.
37O severing sea and land,
38O laws of men,
39Ere death, once let us stand
40As we stood then!
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“At an Inn” Summary
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“At an Inn” Themes
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The Pain and Cruelty of Love
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “At an Inn”
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Lines 1-4
When we as strangers sought
Their catering care,
Veiled smiles bespoke their thought
Of what we were. -
Lines 5-8
They warmed as they opined
Us more than friends—-
That we had all resigned
For love's dear ends. -
Lines 9-13
And that swift sympathy
With living love
Which quicks the world--maybe
The spheres above,
Made them our ministers, -
Lines 14-16
Moved them to say,
"Ah, God, that bliss like theirs
Would flush our day!" -
Lines 17-20
And we were left alone
As Love's own pair;
Yet never the love-light shone
Between us there! -
Lines 21-24
But that which chilled the breath
Of afternoon,
And palsied unto death
The pane-fly's tune. -
Lines 25-28
The kiss their zeal foretold,
And now deemed come,
Came not: within his hold
Love lingered numb. -
Lines 29-32
Why cast he on our port
A bloom not ours?
Why shaped us for his sport
In after-hours? -
Lines 33-36
As we seemed we were not
That day afar,
And now we seem not what
We aching are. -
Lines 37-40
O severing sea and land,
O laws of men,
Ere death, once let us stand
As we stood then!
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“At an Inn” Symbols
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The Fly
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“At an Inn” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Allusion
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Apostrophe
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Consonance
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Enjambment
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Metaphor
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Personification
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Repetition
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Rhetorical Question
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Irony
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“At an Inn” 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.
- Catering
- Bespoke
- Dear Ends
- Quicks
- Spheres
- Ministers
- Flush
- Palsied
- Unto
- Pane-fly
- Zeal
- Foretold
- Cast
- Port
- Bloom
- Sport
- Severing
- Ere
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “At an Inn”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“At an Inn” Speaker
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“At an Inn” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “At an Inn”
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More “At an Inn” Resources
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External Resources
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Wessex Poems and Other Verses — Check out the full text of the collection in which "At an Inn" first appeared.
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Hardy and Henniker — Read letters between the poet and Florence Henniker, thought to have been his companion on that day at the inn.
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Heart of Thomas Hardy Documentary — Watch a BBC documentary about Hardy's life and works.
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The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a recording of "At an Inn."
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"The Old Inns of England" — Browse an illustrated history of England's inns, some over 500 years old, in this book from the early 20th century.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Thomas Hardy
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