Nay, but I Fancy Somehow, Year by Year
A speaker reflects with quiet optimism on the passage of time and the deepening of love. Rather than dreading the years ahead, the speaker imagines them growing progressively lighter, the difficulties of life becoming less burdensome as time moves forward. Central to this vision is the relationship between the speaker and a beloved, and the conviction that emotional closeness will only strengthen with each passing season. Hope is presented as a force powerful enough to overcome fear, effectively displacing anxiety about the future with a sense of warmth and anticipation. Love is portrayed as triumphant, following in hope's wake, crowned and joyful. The emotional tone is one of tender certainty rather than desperate longing, suggesting a mature and settled affection rather than the turbulent passion of new romance. The speaker projects a vision far into the future, imagining the beloved companion and themselves moving together through time, growing ever closer. This journey is rendered in gently pastoral imagery, evoking a soft and tranquil landscape where harvests lie still in the midday heat, the sky meets the sea at a pale horizon, and moonlight gradually fills an open plain. The imagery carries a sense of peacefulness and arrival, as though the culmination of a long life shared together leads naturally into a kind of luminous, restful place. The lit windows visible across the meadow at the poem's close suggest home, warmth, and belonging, a destination toward which the two figures are quietly and steadily moving, hand in hand. There is no urgency or anxiety in this movement, only a gentle forward motion sustained by love and mutual devotion. The work functions as a meditation on the sustaining power of love across time, arguing implicitly that a life shared with a cherished person becomes not harder but sweeter as it progresses. The difficulties of the road yield gradually, the bond between two people deepens rather than fades, and the future, rather than being something to fear, becomes a landscape of quiet promise and deepening intimacy.
By Robert Louis Stevenson · First published 1896 · Genre: Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Meditation · 168 words
First lines
Nay, but I fancy somehow, year by year / The hard road waxing easier to my feet; / Nay, but I fancy as the seasons fleet / I shall grow ever dearer to my dear.
Hope is so strong that it has conquered fear; / Love follows, crowned and glad for fear's defeat.
Down the long future I behold us, sweet, / Pass, and grow ever dearer and more near; / Pass and go onward into that mild land / Where the blond harvests slumber all the noon, / And the pale sky bends downward to the sea; / Pass, and go forward, ever hand in hand, / Till all the plain be quickened with the moon, / And the lit windows beckon o'er the lea.
Genres
- Poetry — This is a poem by Stevenson, characterized by verse structure and lyrical language exploring themes of time and memory.
- Lyric Poetry — The work exhibits personal, introspective qualities typical of lyric poetry, focusing on the speaker's emotions and reflections about aging and the passage of years.
- Meditation — The poem's contemplative nature and philosophical tone suggest a meditative exploration of time, change, and human existence.
- Romantic Poetry — Stevenson's work often reflects Romantic sensibilities with emphasis on emotion, personal reflection, and the sublime nature of human experience.
Tags
poetry · Victorian literature · lyric poem · reflective · nostalgic · melancholic · introspective · memory · passing time · aging · childhood · imagination
What this Textopian page supports
Nay, but I Fancy Somehow, Year by Year is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, dated 1896 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
- Date: 1896 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Meditation, Romantic Poetry, Verse Literature
- Length: 168 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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- Work identity for Nay, but I Fancy Somehow, Year by Year by Robert Louis Stevenson
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More by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Treasure Island (1883)
- The Pavilion on the Links (1909)
- Olalla (1885)
- A Child's Garden of Verses (1885)
- Father Damien, An Open Letter To The Reverend Doctor Hyde Of Honolulu (1914)
- A Lowden Sabbath Morn (1916)
- Songs of Travel and Other Verses (1908)
- Prayers Written At Vailima (1916)
- All works by Robert Louis Stevenson