The Rain Is over and Done
A lyrical poem expressing emotional exhaustion and weariness with the experience of love. The speaker, addressing a beloved, reflects on a state of fatigue that runs deeper than mere romantic disappointment. Using the image of rain having passed as an opening metaphor, the poem establishes a mood of aftermath and lingering desolation rather than renewal or relief. The speaker surveys the world around them, observing women of various kinds, yet finds no comfort or rekindled desire in what they see. The gaze cast on others is detached and jaded, suggesting that the capacity for romantic feeling has been worn down by time, disappointment, or simply the relentless passage of life. Love, once presumably a source of vitality, has become a slow and burdensome thing. The poem dwells on a painful contradiction: the speaker has not fully abandoned love, yet is exhausted by it. The phrase "half weary" suggests an ambivalence, a soul caught between holding on and letting go, unable to fully surrender either to passion or to indifference. This halfway state is itself a form of suffering, more draining perhaps than either full devotion or complete detachment would be. Time is felt as an oppressive force throughout. Its slowness magnifies suffering, stretching moments of longing or disillusionment into something almost unbearable. The hearts and eyes of people, including presumably the speaker's own, are described as blindly wrong, suggesting a universal human tendency toward self-deception or misguided feeling in matters of love. The poem closes on a dark and striking note, with the speaker expressing a wish that life itself were done. This is not presented with dramatic flair but with a quiet resignation that makes it all the more affecting. The desire for death is not passionate or angry but tired, the sentiment of someone who has simply had enough rather than someone consumed by acute despair. Overall the piece is a compact and melancholy meditation on romantic exhaustion, the burden of time, and the quiet anguish of a heart that has loved long enough to grow weary of the entire enterprise.
By Robert Louis Stevenson · First published 1896 · Genre: Poetry, Romantic, Nature Writing · 84 words
First lines
The rain is over and done; / I am aweary, dear, of love; / I look below and look above, / On russet maiden, rustling dame, / And love's so slow and time so long, / And hearts and eyes so blindly wrong, / I am half weary of my love, / And pray that life were done.
Genres
- Poetry — The title 'The Rain Is over and Done' is characteristic of Stevenson's poetic works, employing lyrical language and rhythmic patterns typical of his verse collections.
- Romantic — Stevenson's work often embraces Romantic themes of nature, emotion, and introspection, with the rain imagery suggesting emotional catharsis and renewal common to Romantic literature.
- Nature Writing — The focus on weather and natural phenomena as a central element indicates this work engages with themes of nature observation and its metaphorical significance.
- Lyric — The short, evocative title suggests a lyrical poem designed to express personal emotion and mood rather than narrative, typical of Stevenson's lyrical output.
Tags
poetry · children's literature · nature · rain · weather · spring · sunshine · garden · childhood · optimism · renewal · outdoors
What this Textopian page supports
The Rain Is over and Done 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, Romantic, Nature Writing, Lyric, Scottish Literature
- Length: 84 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
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- Work identity for The Rain Is over and Done by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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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